Bookworm Wednesday: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I've decided that every Wednesday I'm going to write about a book I've read recently, and I'm going to call it "Bookworm Wednesday"! In case you didn't know, I'm a huge bookworm. I've loved to read ever since I learned how to at age three, and before that I loved being read to. I may not be a professional critic or an English major (anymore!), but I have read a lot of books. I always love to spread the word when I like something, so, here we go!

This week's book is The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.

Picture found here

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a series of letters written by the fictional character, Charlie. We do not know who the letters are being written to, as they are simply addressed, "Dear Friend." Charlie's letters follow him through his first year of high school in the years 1991 through 1992, and talk about his experiences with his family, making new friends, and being a "wallflower."

At the start of the novel, Charlie's best and only friend has just committed suicide. It is clear from the beginning that Charlie is not a normal adolescent. Although the book never provides an explanation, he is highly emotional, dreamy, and often depressive and anxious, and has a hard time interacting with other people. At a football game, Charlie befriends Patrick and Sam, two seniors who are stepbrother and stepsister. Through them, he really learns to "participate" in life, and goes through an adolescent journey that ranges from the silly and awkward (e.g.; first kisses, truth or dare) to the traumatic and the tragic (e.g.; abusive relationships, alcoholism, sexual abuse). 


I'm shocked that this book escaped me during my adolescent years, but I'm so glad that I found it now. Chbosky openly drew inspiration from Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, and it is obvious, but his novel takes on a beauty all its own. Charlie is one of the most endearing, poignant and insightful characters I have ever experienced. His experience of life and the people in it are to be admired and learned from, and his optimism is inspiring in a way Holden Caufield never managed to be.

Many of his side comments and questions made my eyes well up throughout the book, and at the end, I was emotionally drained. It's been a really long time since a book affected me that way, actually, probably since I read The Catcher in the Rye for the first time! 


I don't want to explain too much, because reading it is such an experience. Needless to say, I highly recommend it.