The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Rating:
Summary: What an amazing perspective book!
Review: If you are looking for a book that deals with real life topics, I definatly recomend The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I just couldn't put it down!

Rating:
Summary: A teen novel?
Review: I bought this book unaware that it was a "teen novel". I still would not have known if there wasn't conterversy regarding the content at a local high school here. I found this book taking me to my "cool days" when there was a group of friends that meant everything, and did everything with. What made it more memorable was that Charlie is exactly my age, and that it took place at the same time I had a special group of friends that all thought we were "infinite". This was very fulfilling. I recommended this to anyone who has a group of friends from your coming of age years that you will never forget, even if you aren't friends with them anymore.

The characters were well developed and believeable. The whole time I knew there was something more to Charlie, and was happy to read the explaination at the end.

Rating:
Summary: On Being Infinite . . .
Review: Just when a book hits the stand with numerous reviews, many readers are born thereafter. Mine was such an occurrence. For some reason, some books are banned from U.S. public school reading lists every year. This novel happened to be one of these. I sought the book after reading the censorship article. Then, I understood the need for books that speak to our time--without regard to convention--to begin the necessary revisionist tradition.

I read this book in one gulp. Chbosky's voice enters Charlie's world with depth and clarity. No one could have done this better than a gifted writer such as Chbosky who enters the halls of Charlie's mind and feelings. The novel speaks to readers of all colors and ages. This is a necessary coming-of-age novel, and I cannot compare it to any other young adult novel. Indeed, there are many "perks of being a wallflower."

....

Rating:
Summary: don't let the cover frighten you
Review: the cover says MTV on it. i know, this is very frigthening and would prevent me from buying a book, without a doubt. however when i originally got this one it was borrowed and i never did read the back so i never saw the spine. i just read. and read. and read. 5, 6 hours later, i was done. merely 213 pages. but one fascinating and captivating piece of literature.

charlie, the main character, is writing to someone whose name you can almost guess, you can almost feel who this person is, but you never find out, never know. charlie is extremely naive, to the point that everyday profanity, common to all teenagers, he puts in quotation marks as though it was some foreign word that he didn't expect you to have heard before or know the meaning of. charlie's ignorance is vital to the novel; he is in no way jaded to the world, and not touched by stereotype, thus he can deliver the truth as it really is. for instance, he finds it coincidental that his friend Bob does an excessive amount of pot, and that Bob 1) really likes twinkies, 2) knows a myriad of trivia about Mary Tyler Moore and other old sitcoms, 3) has a strong belief in karma, 4) tends to say the same things over and over and over and over. to me, this fits the pothead stereotype to a T, but to charlie, it is very funny and quirky.

the characters all reflect different aspects of the numerous themes. one clear theme is how much we are affected by what happens to us when we are young, how our parents shape who we are. beatings and molestations are a running theme in the book. Bob's parents left him alone a lot as a child. as a result, he turned to drugs for company, and is wasting away his life smoking out and going to community college. beatings from a stepfather wrecked charlie's mother as well as his father. they destroyed his aunt helen.

another important theme in the book is how one can't just let life pass him or her by, that you have to participate. this somewhat runs parallel to the theme of Catcher in the Rye; that you can't go backwards, only forwards. in this novel, the theme is incarnated in charlie, who likes to watch the world pass him by, without stepping in; he prefers to be a "shoulder." chbosky tells readers that you can't do this in life; you have to go out and live it, make a difference, don't just stand there, somebody may need you!! anyway, sorry, got a little off track there.

anyway, one cannot ignore the countless parallels to catcher in the rye, including that charlie is slowly losing his mind, that he is passive-aggressive (REALLY agressive; enough so that the self described "wimp" could beat up 5 members of the football team at one time), that he prefers to run from his problems, and watch other people without getting involved and critique them, and more specific things, for instance, a teacher who seems a little too much like Mr. Antolini, the suicide of a friend who it is not exactly clear whether charlie is very close to or not, and, well, some other huge ones but i'd be giving away the best parts of the story if i told them to you. this book is more like a rip-off than a tribute, but i will let that go because chbosky knows that (his main character reads Catcher in the Rye several times during the story).

to fans of this book, i recommend the novel Youth in Revolt by CD Payne, which is a completely different spin on Catcher. if you have not read Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, you should read that as well, and one should definitely read it BEFORE reading this novel if given the choice. i also recommend, to those who enjoyed this book or either of my recommendations, the album "Pinkerton" by Weezer.

Sorry for the essay of a review!! I had a minute. By the way, the book is very good. :-)

Rating:
Summary: I liked this a lot
Review: I read this whole thing yesterday. I thought it was very good; you can relate to it. It was somewhat like Catcher In The Rye.

Rating:
Summary: Books never bring tears to my eyes...this one succeeded.
Review: I just finished this amazing novel and had to share how much I loved it and would recommend it in a heartbeat. The passion and emotions that Charlie feels leap out from the pages. I would literally laugh out loud, or sit quietly, amazed, and saddened by what I had just read. I can't recommend it enough, and good luck to whoever begins to read it..you're in for a rollercoaster ride of emotions that will make you happy and "infinite" in the end. READ IT. ;-)

Rating:
Summary: Bought it for my teenager, read it myself in one sitting
Review: I bought this book for my 13 year old daughter but wanted to read it first to see if it is appropriate It is a wonderfully written book in which Charlie, a deeply sensitive boy, finds true friends and learns to live, to love, to lose, and move on. The author gives this boy a voice and it's magnificent. I so appreciate Charlie's depth of emotions. I have a sensitive, emotional son and will want him to read this book in a couple years. Suicide, homosexuality, infatuation, deep deep friendships, finding yourself and re-finding yourself are all themes in this book. The author captures "moments" of adolescence -- those incredible high moments that might last just minutes -- and makes them so real. If only more kids could put a voice to these feelings. One reviewer doesn't think this book captures adolescence in the 90's -- I don't know because I'm a Mom . . . but I don't care. Charlie deals with drugs, smoking, drinking, messing up friendships, feeling alone, and uncovers family problems he has to deal with. And he deals with it as a young man who can stand back, look at it all, and make decisions about what he has experienced. I want my daughter to read it, maybe now or maybe in a couple years, for the hope it left me with. Charlie survived being hopelessly in love with one of his best friends. It hurt and he felt it and it didn't defeat him. With everything thrown at kids in jr. high and high school this book might just help them survive it a little more intact. I think I'm going to go talk to my kids right now . . . .

Rating:
Summary: accurate portrayal of a teenager in the 90's?? huh?
Review: This is a very well-written book, but I couldn't relate to Charlie one bit and I'm a teenager. Wide-eyed, ignorant and innocent -- he doesn't seem like a 15-year-old boy of the early nineties at all. Maybe the 1890's. The author seems to want to portray him as some sort of innocent puppy dog to elicit an "awww, how cute" response from the reader. (ie: When Sam tells Patrick Charlie has a crush on her, he replies, in true cornball fashion, "I'm trying not to.") Some of the stuff he thinks about and does make the antics of the Brady Bunch kids seem progressive. He breaks into tears at the drop of a hat. He dreams about a girl naked and cries about it as he admits it to her. I mean, that's piling it on a little thick. The author is a very talented writer; hopefully in his next book he'll come up with a more believable character.

Rating:
Summary: AMAZING.
Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower is not your average teen-based book. I'ts a breath of fresh air from that " Sally met Todd at summer camp and they went shopping but Todd tried to feel up her shirt so she slapped him and spent the night at her friends house. A makeover always did make her feel better..." This book is down to earth and deals with problems teen-agers can relate to. You can't put this book down. You'll wish it never ends.

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Book
Review: This is one of the best books I have ever read. I read it about a year and half ago and still will read it at least once a month. So many books for teenagers now eitehr make everything seem perfect or where everything always goes wrong. This book was very truthful. I think everyone can relate to the main character of Charlie. I laughed at some parts in this book and came close to crying at others. I think this is one the greatest books ever written and everyone should read it.