(Goodreads)
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 mix 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 he 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.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.I loved this book.
I would say I don't know why it took me so long to read it but I know why. At the time the movie came out I felt like it was overhyped and I rolled my eyes at the praise and later streamed the movie in secrecy long after it came out. I was a bit of an elitist snob back then, I honestly don't know why and it's embarrassing lol.
I've mostly gotten over being an elitist snob (old habits die hard) so I was excited for this book. However, I did not expect for this book to impact me the way it did. There weren't moments where I could feel my heart being pulled apart, but I related to Charlie's sadness so much that sometimes I had to put the book down and take a moment to process what I was feeling.
I really loved the letter-writing format that Chbosky did. It's different than the movie in that the movie allows you to see a wider spectrum whereas the book only gives you a tiny slice of Charlie's life and leaves a lot of things open for interpretation. Charlie's voice is incredibly innocent but observant and wise without him knowing it. I think that's what makes so many lines from this book so quotable and beautiful in their simplicity.
Chbosky's characters are memorable and unique. Charlie's eye for observation gives you important details about them that an average person might not catch. These details jumped from the page and painted a full picture of a character in a matter of sentences.
Charlie sometimes reminded me of my brother (who happens to have autism): not necessarily understanding social norms, being a generally in the background of the action, and waiting for instructions a lot of the times. Maybe that's another factor that played into me having such a tender spot for Charlie.
I see myself buying a copy of this book to read again and again. I went through the book so fast that I was on Charlie's final letter before I was ready to say goodbye.
"My grandfather was crying.
The kind of crying that is quiet and a secret. The kind of crying that only I noticed. I thought about him going into my mom's room when she was little and hitting my mom and holding up her report card and saying that her bad grades would never happen again. And I think now that maybe he meant my older brother. Or my sister. Or me. That he would make sure he was the last one to work in a mill." (59)
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