The Perks of Being a Wallflower

-Stephen Chbosky

There isn’t enough written about this book.
Being the major english nerd I am, soon after I finished reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower (and deeply enjoying it), I went to google to look up essays and analyses of it. But I couldn’t find very much, which made me sad. And it left me there, stewing with thoughts about the novel.
I don’t often get emotional over books. I don’t cry about them, and to be honest, if I don’t like a book, I don’t usually finish it. There is no in between range of a book being “just okay”. Either love it or I don’t read it. Wallflower took me to a different place. Not like when people say that about fantasy novels. It’s difficult to describe and it’s difficult to even put on a common plane because I’m certain that this is the type of book people all take differently. But I did cry while I read this, and that’s got to mean something. I’m not sure if it’s going to make my to-read-again list, but it’s certainly the kind of novel that made a lasting impression.
Wallflower is strongly influenced by The Catcher in the Rye (picked this up on my own – it was very obvious- and later found out that the author intended it this way) and deals heavily with coming of age and adolescence, which I personally enjoy.
So a basic summary (no spoilers) of this book without giving too much away: the main character (Charlie) is 15. His best and only friend has committed suicide just before the book starts and has left him to his freshman year alone. The entire book is written in the form of letters Charlie writes to an anonymous stranger. He is an outcast, but eventually makes a few friends (Patrick and Sam, 12th graders) who act as role models and take him under their wings teaching him about parties, drugs, relationships and other such teenager-y things. In the letters he writes (which one can assume are as a form of self-therapy, because he is obviously not totally sane) he talks about his experiences, feelings and ranges on topics from family, death, sex, drugs and growing up. Yep, I said that it was coming of age and I meant it.
Anyway, as I said, it draws heavy parallels with The Catcher in the Rye and I was immediately reminded of it (it is among my favourite books by the way). The main character is a nutty teenage boy. He has trauma in his past. The writing style is skewed and biased towards the narrator. The boy has a fairly average home life. Enormously quotable. Features an english teacher who is a role model and friend. It’s a short, but powerful novel. I would say stunning if it weren’t so cheesy sounding. The best thing about it for me was the madness of the narrator. I always find books with crazy protagonists the best because it forces the reader to step outside themselves and second-guess what they are being told. I don’t know why, but when the narrator is unreliable, it always leaves a stronger impression on me. It feels more true to life.
Anyway, this book is a must read. The odd writing style, and very powerful events and messages make this a highly recommended book for me. Also watch for the movie, starring Emma Watson, to be released (soon?). If you enjoy The Catcher in the Rye I can almost gaurantee that you will like this book. If you hate The Catcher in the Rye then you might still find value in reading this.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower has left my head swarming with unforgettable quotes, raw emotion and some very hipster music. Read it.