Book #17
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Charlie is a shy and introspective boy, a wallflower always standing on the edge of the action. He encounters many of the struggles familiar to everybody from their school days, but he must also deal with his best friend's suicide and shocking realization about his beloved late Aunt Helen.
I must have read this book over a hundred times. Nothing gets old, I love it each and every time I read it. I always smile and cry at the same parts, and I always, always find new parts that make me smile and cry.
There is a lot of criticism for this book out there. Although I can see why many people don't like it, or don't think it's an excellent work of literature, I just have too much love for this book to bring myself to detail any of these evaluations here. I first picked this book up when I was quite young, perhaps fourteen, and it was before it was so hyped up that people deemed it "too overrated." So my love for the book still stands, it's helped me, and it will honestly stay with me forever.
The book is written in letter format, which is a style I've always enjoyed. The main character, Charlie, is so incredibly loveable from the outset. He has a sort of honest naivety that surrounds him, as well as wonderful intellect and depth. He says how he feels, or what he thinks, and you nod because you know what he means.
The book doesn't have a plot as such, instead it follows Charlie around as he takes on major issues such as love, friendship, homosexuality and sexual assault. Aside from these massive themes, the book also allows the reader to step back and think about the small things that cause happiness in life, and what really matters.
The moral I took from the story is a nice, positive one. Although Charlie definitely has his flaws, I believe the book is telling us that people come in all kinds of different packages, urging us to remain true to ourselves, and to pursue happiness as far as possible. It's beautiful in an unconventional sort of way.
This book is an absolute rarity, and it's one I believe everyone should attempt at least once. It's an emotion stirrer, and that's what reading a book is all about. It's wonderful, believe me.