The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a review

I had heard great things about this book, and so I went online, bought it and eagerly anticipated its arrival. And it did not disappoint.

 

The story follows fifteen year old Charlie as he begins his first year of high school. The book is written as a series of letters to an unnamed ‘friend’ who he apparently has never met. The narrative is short and choppy, as it literally follows the thought pattern of a neurotic, confused and lonely teenager. It is reminiscent of The Catcher in The Rye which, incidentally, is mentioned during the book.

 

Once you get past the initial confusing inner monologue, you begin to be taken in by Charlie’s life and his experiences, from making his first real friends, to his first love, to his first kiss and finally to him growing closer to his family.

 

I loved the fact that Charlie was such an honest and innocent character who just seems to want to do anything and everything to make those around him feel loved and special and that he sees the best in people. It was quite a refreshing read, particularly as Charlie is quite naive which makes him come out with such blunt anecdotes that made me quietly titter into the wee hours, when I felt that I just couldn’t put the book down!

 

There were things about Charlie that annoyed me, such as his almost constant crying and his incessant worrying and panic attacks. I just could not imagine a person being THAT over emotional. But overall I found that he was such a lovable character that this was easy to overlook. I even began to relate with him.

 

This story made me laugh, and cry and I just kept turning the pages even when sleep was beckoning! The plot isn’t exactly rich with detail, but it was an easy read and I quickly fell in love with this book; it is a truly wonderful coming of age story. I would definitely recommend to anyone that is thinking of reading this book…to read it now!

 

I am now very much looking forward to the film adaptation (directed by the author Stephen Chobsky) that is coming out later this year (particularly since the very British Emma Watson, will be attempting an American accent!).

 

For those that are interested, here’s the trailer: