Book Review - The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I'll start things off with a review of one of my favorite novels, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.

After reading this book for the first time shortly after it came out (and while I was still in high school), I put it on a pedestal. I was reluctant to read it again after 10+ years of holding it in such esteem. Yet due to the moving coming out soon, I took the plunge and broke it out again. Surprisingly, I found it to be even better the second time around! Then again, several life experiences had occurred that made me relate to the protagonist, Charlie, even more than before.

When I first read the novel, I automatically fell in love with it. It was so different from what I usually read at the time. I wasn't familiar with epistolary novels (I hadn't tried reading Dracula) so the style really struck me as being incredibly unique. For those of you who don't know, epistolary novels are novels that are primarily written in the form of documents. In this novel, it's in the form of letters written by Charlie to someone he has never met. The letters are only written by Charlie as he never gives a return address, and the letters are days and sometimes weeks apart. Thus, the writing starts as a "this is what I did" and slowly evolves into something much better but still that simple.

The story follows Charlie as he enters his Freshman year of high school after his best friend passes away. He's an introvert, staying in the background as much as possible. That is, until he meets Sam and Patrick. Soon his introvert ways are swallowed up by these extreme extroverts and he is folded into their style of life. He miraculously fits in with them, not quite blossoming into an extrovert but at least out of his previous introvert ways.

The things that truly gets me excited about the book are the subtle mysteries included. Who exactly is the main character? You can tell that something is "off" with him just by the way he writes and Chbosky slowly tells it from time to time. He has deep, mental scars and an instability brought on by anything, which usually leaves him crying for no reason or turning into a ball of rage he wishes to avoid. Whenever a new part of his past is written, it's never made to be a big revelation but more of a common knowledge. Since the style is only in the form of letters written by Charlie, we can only find out about himself from what he lets out. He is a surprisingly honest writer, just saying whatever comes to mind, letting it flow from his fingers to the page without extra thought put into it.You can tell that Charlie does get better at writing but not by much; it's more a subtle change, something Chbosky doesn't really make into a big deal.

Occasionally while reading this book, you may want to scream at Charlie for being so oblivious and almost simple-minded. He sees so many things but sometimes they just don't click for him. The good thing about that feeling is that it lets you know that you truly care for the character. There are times you can tell something horrible is going to happen and the dread builds up to a point where you won't want to read it. Yet you will obviously keep reading, why wouldn't you?

This was one of the rare books where I absolutely cannot put it down. It took me only a day and a half to read the whole novel, which is very unusual. The last time I was this enthralled by a novel was Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. This is a book I highly recommend.

Quotes

"Sometimes people use thought to not participate in life."

If you're too busy thinking about life, how can you experience life? I relate to this as I sadly do this. I overthink everything, talking myself out of doing simple stuff that shouldn't really be even thought of.

"We accept the love we think we deserve."

This is an incredibly powerful quote, especially for people with low self-esteem and issues with their body image. When you convince yourself that a person won't like you, you don't give yourself a window to even try. It relates to the above quote, how you can think yourself out of participating in life. This also falls into the category of people who settle for someone that is beneath them simply because they don't believe they can do better, they feel that what they got is what they deserve.

"You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand." 

The epitome of being a wallflower. He keeps to himself, but at the same time he absorbs everything around him. In the novel, he uses this unknowingly to his advantage in gift giving by getting things he hears people talking about yet they truly don't realize how often they bring it up. This is also good in keeping secrets, which can fall more into "minding my own business" type of category. He knows things about everyone but most of the time doesn't think twice about them. 

"I want to make sure that the first person you kiss loves you."

That's my ultimate desire, and I know it's sort of an archaic type of thinking but it's such a beautiful concept. Brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it, just thinking how powerful this statement truly is. A first kiss to some is a casual event, whereas to others it is an achievement. So many people take it for granted.