The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Rating:
Summary: Refreshing
Review: It is thoroughly refreshing to finally see a book with meaning being written for the teens/adults of today. Charlie is your normal outcast. No friends, smart, a strange family. His best friend from 8th grade killed himself, his best friend's girlfriend hates him, and now is going around with every guy in school. Charlie's only sanctuary is with the duo Patrick and Sam. Two pot-smoking, acid-dropping teens on their way to college. Between Patrick and Sam and Charlie's English teacher he'll be able to survive high school and life, but not without challenges along the way.

This is an interesting coming of age story and a must read for anyone who feels like they're a wallflower.

Rating:
Summary: Poignant, moving, brilliant-definitely a 5 star effort.
Review: A very unique reading experience.

Charlie, the protagonist in this novel, is a very intelligent, very naive high school freshman. Intelligent and naïve is not a combination that matches a lot of high school cliques and Charlie is in fact severely limited in the popularity department-even thinking of himself as a 'wallflower".

Charlie's story is told via a series of rather long letters to an unidentified friend-it's not clear if these are actually letters ever sent to anyone-that are open, honest, angst filled tales of what life in high school and home is like for Charlie.

This is a truly unique story told in a truly unique manner. Usually I loath the "letter" format of fiction, but in this case the letter format works-mainly because the letters essentially are chapter in fact. Charlie comes through as a real person-the letters are the sort of philosophical rambling juxtaposed with mundane detail that so characterize teen thinking patterns. Moreover, the story seems realistic-normal teen experiences with nothing overly dramatic or outlandish-till the very end, anyway.

A lot of people apparently don't like the twist at the end-I thought it fit in well. It's clear almost from the onset something's up-Charlie is obviously trying to deal with something, it's just never clear what it is. Finding out is a revelation that I think provides a quite fitting ending.

An exceptional effort-I'm really looking forward to more from Chbosky.

Rating:
Summary: Very strange, very sad, very interesting
Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower was a book I put off reading for a very long time. I thought I would not be interested in the plot or (even worse) hate it altogether. However, I was very pleasantly surprised. The book is a sort of diary outlet for the lead character "Charlie" (That could be his real name, and it could not). Charlie writes to his "friend" quite often as his life becomes increasingly complicated. He looks at life with a refined wisdom and a long line of new feelings every day, he has an undeniable innocence and a good character development.

The book is tragic in a way. I won't spoil the ending for those who haven't read it, but it is heartbreaking to realize why his character is the way it is. On the way to all that sadness, however, are some wonderful times with his friends Patrick and Sam and a lot of the usual self-discovery themes. The book tends to revolve upon Charlie's school reading assignments, and there are often veiled references to characters and plots from the stories mentioned.

The perspective on life is fresh and light, with very little unnecassry information to drag down the plot. It's a book very similar to The Princess Diaries or "Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging," yet keeps a very clear and refreshing plot. This is a book every teen would enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: The perks of being a teenager
Review: Someone else thinks like I do? After reading this book the first thing I said to my best friend was "isn't it great when you find out that you arent the only one who thinks some things?" As I read each line I found myself astounded at how simply yet beautifully life was described. It's a wonderful book. I even loaned it to my mother to read, and she loved it just as much as I do.

Rating:
Summary: Charlie
Review: I've read this book a countless number of times. Charlie's words are true, emotional and completely genuine. If you're an emo kid like me, you'll love it. I bought it a long time ago before all this stuff was popular and i still cherish that book. It really makes you realize certain things about life and I don't think there's a better book out there.

Rating:
Summary: The perks of reading this book
Review: This book is considerabley one of the best books I have ever read. If you are a teen it reaches inside you and pulls out everything you ever shared feeling with this author. If you are an adult, it takes you back to when you felt this way, and you remember it.
When my friend finished this book, she handed it to me and smiled and said "I think you'll like it." That's all she said to me. The second it touched my hands I wanted to read it, but I had to go to class. So I put it into my backpack and soon forgot that it was in there. That night, I took it out, and read almost the whole book. It was 2 AM when I finally quit reading. In the few hours I read, I had cried, laughed, and cried again. Then I read the few remaining pages at school and let the tears drop on my desk. I really felt what he was writing, I really wanted to give Charlie a hug. It was wonderful reading about this gentle boy who feels out of place and then finds the right friends to lead him through the trials and tribulations of a freshman's first year in high school; dealing with people, sexuality, drugs, crushes, parties... you name it, it's in here. I want to thank Stephen Chbosky for writing a truly unique book.

Rating:
Summary: If you like "Wallflower", you might try these...
Review: I read and enjoyed The Perks of Being a Wallflower. At 33, I am probably a little older than it's target audience, but I still found it to be an honest, heartfelt work...I am not surprised to see that this novel has resonated so deeply with so many people. I have also read the plea's of many teenagers, desperate to know about more books like this.

To those of you wanting to read more books like "Wallflower", I would first suggest reading all of the books Charlie's teacher recommended to him. All are excellent, and all contain the spirit of "Wallflower". Certainly "Catcher In The Rye" and "A Separate Peace" are the closest in terms of story arc.

Other than that, I would also recommend "Rule of the Bone" by Russel Banks. Like "Wallflower", "Rule of the Bone" is often compared to "Catcher in the Rye". While Chappie from "Bone" and Charlie each face different challenges, each could be soulmates in that each is an honest, lonely soul, just looking for his place in the world. Check it out, you won't be able to put it down. It will move you in much the same way "Wallflower" did. In fact, I liked it a little better than "Wallflower".

I'd also recommend "About A Boy" by Nick Hornby. It is more humorous and lighthearted than "Wallflower", but it also contains an lonely, outsider young adult who finds a friend in an older, popular classmate who sees him for the unique, special guy that he is.

Let's see, what else... have you read "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" yet? No? Go read that one too!!!

Finally, I loved that Charlie listened to The Smiths. If you are in highschool now, or if you did not grow up listening to the Smiths... and, if you feel a spiritual kinship with Charlie... then The Smiths should be the soundtrack for your life. "Asleep" is just one of many wonderful songs by Morrisey and Marr. Also check out "Unloveable", "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want", "How Soon Is Now", and "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore", and literally, anything else by The Smiths.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful.
Review: I read this book the first time around the middle of my first year in college. I had nothing else to read, and my roommate suggested it. I devoured the book in less than two hours. Since then (it's been about a year) I've read it 3 more times, forced my best friends to read it, and gave it to my sister for a school assignment. I highlighted passages, and wrote in the margins. I never write in books; I have a certain respect for them and try not to defile them except for writing my name inside the cover. But "Wallflower" spoke to me in a way that other books never have. I felt I had to add in my agreement. This is one of the first books that ever made me want to cry. Chbosky got it all right, down to the Rocky Horror Picture Show (which I love). This book is perfect for anyone who was ever a teenager, anyone who wondered why the world is the way it is, and anyone who needs to read something real. This book was worth every cent I paid and, as a college student, $10 is worth a lot.

Rating:
Summary: Everyone wants to feel invincible
Review: This book was given to me as a gift, after being recommended for a year before that. It was a skeptical gift, as I wasn't sure how I would react to a series of letters written by an adolescent. I had read my coming of age books when I was actually coming of age, and didn't believe I had much more to learn about 'growing up'.

How wrong I was. I was impressed by the novel's tone and its ability to speak about both 'participating' in life and it's co-theme of stepping back to observe. I enjoyed this book from beginning to end, and know it will be a gift to be shared for birthdays and special gifts from now on.

Rating:
Summary: In the eyes of charlie
Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky, is a wonderful book about the trials and tribulations of a teenage boy named Charlie who is in the 9th grade. Charlie writes the book in letterform. We do not know where Charlie lives, or to whom he is writing his letters to. What we do know is that he must deal with real life situations; such as drugs, love and relationships, family problems, sexuality, how to make friends, and his best friend's recent suicide. Charlie is not an outgoing person, nor is he unpopular. He's somewhere in-between. In these letters he tells about his whole life, including his feelings, thoughts and every thing that has occurred to him. In order to get well again, he is forced to face the death of his best friend as well as the previous events of his aunt's tragic life and death. Helping him through these times is his English teacher, Bill, who understands that Charlie is very smart, and his two loyal friends, Sam and Patrick. But even with the help of these people, depression still overcomes him and he is hospitalized. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a great choice for all teenagers and adults to read. It explains how many outcast high schoolers feel and function in their real lives. Teenagers like Charlie are filled with doubts and worries that are just as complicated as the problems adults face every day.