The Perks of Being a Wallflower

by Stephen Chbosky

It's been three days short of a year since I last blogged. Feels good doing this again. ^^

So here's how I came across of one of the best books I've ever read. I saw the Season 4 promo of Glee, I fell in love with the song "It's Time" by Imagine Dragons, and then I saw the movie trailer.

It's the guy who played Percy Jackson, the girl who played Hermione Granger,

and "It's Time" by Imagine Dragons (1:16). How could I not be interested?

Synopsis

It's about Charlie's first year of high school; about finding his new friends: Patrick and Sam; and all the fun, weird, exciting, despairing, heartbreaking, and exhilarating adventures and experiences they had together in that school year. Being an introvert, Charlie was challenged by his English teacher, Bill, to "participate" more. Charlie tries to in his own way. He is, as described by Patrick, a wallflower.

"He's a wallflower. You see things, You keep quiet about them. And you understand."

Review

It's just another coming of age story to be honest, but I found it to be a really, really good story. It was told in the form of letters that Charlie sends to an anonymous person. It's like he wants the reader to read his diary and learn his story. It is implied early on that Charlie is special. For the most part of the story, it's for the reader to figure out if there is something off about him or if he's really just that way.

There is a whole lot of books, movies, television shows, and songs featured in the book. Some of it are "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, M*A*S*H, and "Asleep" by The Smiths.

The book tackles a lot of issues that could happen in a high school. From heartbreak, sexuality, and drugs to child abuse, abortion, and suicide. Feels like a lot doesn't it? But the thing is, at least for my part, I have never encountered many of these issues and I would never want to ever. But many people do encounter these and in Charlie's case, he's only sixteen. That's what makes me want to read it more. It makes me curious.

But underneath all those things is a really good story. Like quoted earlier, he sees things, he keeps quiet about them, and he understands. It's a surprisingly fun read despite all the issues tackled, not dark at all.

When I finished the book, I closed it with a smile in my face, goosebumps on the back of my neck, "It's Time" playing in my head, and I did feel infinite.