Review: Perks of Being a Wallflower
RATING: 4.5/5
I ended up enjoying this book a lot more that I thought. I had watched the movie when it came out but barely payed attention and hardly remembered any of it. My roommate suggested that I read it so I took it along for my road trip to Arizona.
This is a great coming-of-age novel about a shy, intelligent and very socially awkward boy trying to survive his biggest challenge yet: high school. It's a beautiful story of how this introspective kid makes friends, experiences new things, navigates through situations he can't quite understand and grows up.
I liked the way the book was written: letters that Charlie writes and how it's never revealed who Charlie is writing too. The whole book is told from Charlie's POV and the way he writes is like word vomit, his thoughts just spewing onto the pages. He has a lot of mental problems because of his past, which is a lot more prominent in the book.
I rewatched the movie after reading this and realized a major plot point that I didn't pick up in the book: Charlie was molested by Aunt Helen. It was so subtle in the book that I never figured it out. It completely changed my whole view of Aunt Helen and put together pieces that now I find were so obvious. Watching the movie after reading the book, I now realize the beauty of this story. It's become one of my favorites.
It's a very quick but impactful read. Reading it, you just feel so close to Charlie because you're in his head throughout the whole story. He's a very strange kid, but it's a very heartfelt story that has you rooting for him all throughout.
