Book Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Rating:

Genre: Young Adult > Contemporary | Realistic Fiction

‘I walk around the school hallways and look at the people. I look at the teachers and wonder why they’re here. Not in a mean way. In a curious way. It’s like looking at all the students and wondering who’s had their heart broken that day… or wondering who did the heart breaking and why.’

Charlie is a freshman. And while he’s not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it. Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But Charlie can’t stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

*****

But even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there.

I didn’t expect to get (magically) swept away. I really didn’t. I was expecting a whining, dramatic fifteen-year-old Charlie. But all i encountered was openness and sweet, sweet honesty. Oh, Charlie. You owned me from page one. :)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a lot of things. It dealt with drugs, sex, abuse, bullying. You might find that negatively intimidating but Chbosky’s writing softened the blows that might have stung because of such delicate issues. The softening was a welcome embrace.

Charlie had a run with (almost) everything teenager-y. Unrequited first love. LSD. Make out sessions. Smoking. Abortion. With all this, he still felt he was standing on the sidelines. But he was loved by his sister. he talked to his dead aunt in the graveyard when no one else wants to be his friend. he has his English teacher who kept on giving him books that seemed to be the little stories of his life.

A tumultuous year it might’ve been, but Charlie made it. By being unconsciously strong, and unflinchingly accepting to things he cannot alter.

Once I started, I could not put down The Perks of Being a Wallflower. It’s charisma is undeniable. Numerous chuckles erupted from me every now and then. I want to shelter Charlie from the harsh realities of life, but Charlie reveled in it. He flourished. And while things in the past cannot change, Charlie chose to move on with his life. But this time, he will be living it, and not for others. =)

I am in love with the mixed tapes! Asleep by the Smiths. Landslide by Fleetwood Mac. A song from Nirvana. Me and Charlie have similar taste in music!

 

And Charlie likes to read! *high five* Mostly they are classics, and yes, i will read them soon. i already added them to my TBR list! such is the power of Charlie over me. Gosh, classics. Help me. Haha!