baby.baby's Full Review: Stephen Chbosky - Perks of Being a Wallflower
Summary of Plot
Although the main idea (coming-of-age) has been done many times through out history, this book is really special in that it's very simple, yet intriguing. The language is really plain and simple, the writing style is simple. Complete emotion is shown through the usage of words, incomplete and jumbled thoughts, and life through the eyes of a lost freshmen.
First, there are a few things to know:
- The main character is Charlie and we do not really know who he is or where he's from.
- This book covers Charlie's freshman year in high school.
- It is written as a series of letters throughout the year to some "mystery man" Charlie trusts enough to talk to because he heard that this person listens and is respectful to others.
- These letters include narrations, memories, dialogue, his inner-most thoughts, feelings, frustrations, etc.
- Charlie is depicted as a "wallflower"
:::Referring to the second definition, Webster's Online Dictionary (www.webster.com) defines a wallflower as "a person who from shyness or unpopularity remains on the sidelines of a social activity (as a dance)":::
The first letter introduces us to Charlie and his life. It gives us background information about his family and his friends and why he is writing to "us." We're introduced to his family and most importantly his Aunt Helen. It's learned later that Charlie falsely blames himself for her death - she was getting him a special present, but a snow storm got the best of her. His family, including his brother, sister, parents, grandparents, and aunts and uncles stress him out a lot just because of how many times everyone argues and what not.
As the story moves on we learn about how he is growing this year. He has an English teacher who really believes in him and wants him to keep doing his best. Therefore his teacher Bill gives him more/harder assignments than the other kids. It's just extra work to help him excel and he can do it when he gets time without adding pressure to his life (like reading and discussing extra books). Bill also continually tries to give him a boost to get involved.
Eventually he begins hanging out with a group of kids, most of whom are seniors, and making a circle of friends he can be involved with (although there are negative actions and experiences involved, they're part of this coming-of-age story). We learn of his first kiss and other interactions with girls, we hear of his friends' crazy stories (suicide, what happened when some preferred a homogenous relationship, involvement with the law, etc.), the ties he creates with his friends, and the valuable things he learns from them (like becoming more involved, speaking up, having fun with other people, enjoying simple things like the wind blowing in through your hair, and just lessons of life).
Through memories he reveals that he's been in a hospital treatment program and therapy for depression/stress. He assures us from time to time that although he might be sad or confused he is happy. Towards the end of his freshmen he realizes that most of the friends are going to be graduating and moving on to college. This creates a hectic scene for him that heightens throughout the summer.
FYI: The next paragraph reveals the ending
Scroll down to the next section (Reader's Overview) to hide this paragraph!
::::At the end of the book (which also happens to be the ending of his summer before sophomore year) he has another severe episode of depression and goes back to the hospital. Even though he comes out and things seem to be going well enough again we are left with a farewell that states he'll be ok, but might not write anymore because he will be too busy trying to participate during his sophomore year; hence leaving us to wonder what has happened to him.::::
Reader's Overview
I received this book as a gift for Christmas. As I was more into reading classical tales (Shakespeare, Homer, etc) at the time I let it collect a little dust. (It didn't help that even after reading the back page I thought the book was talking in a fictional manner about being a member of the band "The Wallflowers." It just seemed like it was describing a sad life of a musician, just like VH1 Behind the Music is always doing...needless to say, I was wrong.)After a few months I decided I would get it out and read it sometime. I wanted to read a good story, and a good story is what I got indeed.
I started reading in mid-evening one night and couldn't stop until I finished in the wee hours of the morning. It was unlike other books I've read. Yes, I've read books that evoke lots of feelings, books where you feel you can relate to the characters, books that made me cry, laugh, and taught me something before. However, I hadn't read a story written recently that didn't involve a killing or mystery (I love suspense books).
This book surpassed my expectations within a few minutes of reading it. Although I couldn't directly relate to some of Charlie's experiences, many connections were made and I could relate to the base of the story (shyness, feeling alone, severe depression, etc). At the time I was a bit upset about some things and it was somehow relieving to read someone else's story, even if it was fictional, even if it did depress me more at times. I wouldn't really recommend reading it if you are deeply upset, it basically just heightened my own emotions when I completed it the first time, although I do highly recommend reading it when your emotions are as intact as they can be: this book is somewhat of an emotional roller coaster, a journey through one boy's life.
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