SParkfan77's Full Review: Stephen Chbosky - Perks of Being a Wallflower
Many books have been published in our time. By “our time” I mean Generation X’ers of course. Anyway, certain books are written that change your entire outlook on life and make you think differently. Well, this may sound like a thematic essay, but The Perks Of Being A Wallflower is one of those books. Now, coming from someone that hates reading, listen to what I have to say, some things in this review may appear to be strange coming from my mouth….uh, computer.
::The Perks Of Being A Wallflower::
The unique style of the book makes it interesting to read. Here’s the thing, the author tells this story as a first person, outside story. Let me clarify:
The entire book is written and told by pen pal letters by the author, (main character). Charlie is your ordinary freshmen genius. Until this year, he never took a risk in his life, but after meeting a few seniors in his school, Charlie learns friendship, love, sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Now, when I said that I hated reading earlier, I meant it. I despise reading. It all started at this years book fair in school. I had no intention in buying anything, so this is when my friends and I started going through books and just plain out bash them. This is when I crept up to a book that I remembered my sister raving about a few years back. I quickly picked it up and it was described on the back as a Catcher In The Rye for this generation. Now, here’s another surprise, I loved Catcher In The Rye; so I had no problem purchasing this book immediately. My English teacher was staggered to see that I was buying a book and was interested what it was. She loved the synopsis on back, and before you knew it, all 10 copies were sold to some of my other classmates. This book took my class by storm and gave our generation a voice perhaps, if only on paper.
::Synopsis::
Charlie is explained throughout this book by his actions and what he says about himself. There are no outside descriptions; it’s all in the eyes of this innocent 15 year old. But he doesn’t stay this way. All I kept thinking about throughout this entire book was “how could a kid that is so innocent, completely change in only a few months?” Charlie was a different person, and a better one because of two strangers that he met at a high school football game.
One night early in the school year, Charlie attended a football game from his school. There he met two seniors; Sam and Patrick. They were brother and sister who both attended Charlie’s high school. They saw him alone and began talking to him.
Anyway, to make a long story short, they get to know each other. Soon, they are hanging out constantly, hanging at parties with each other and experiencing life together. The thing is, is that Charlie was a bookworm and had no social smarts. This is where Sam and Patrick had to help Charlie out, to make sure that he never compromises himself for someone else. Now, please note that this means that Charlie will experience things that he never dreamed of doing, but it is done for his progression in life. Sound confusing, well, I don’t want to give away a lot about the book.
“I Feel Infinite”
I will say that something develops between Charlie and Sam throughout the book. The pimple comes to a head toward the end. It’s really something that you have to read to really appreciate. Charlie is caught up into many situations that do test his ability to try new things and meet new people. At a party, he is given a “tainted” brownie.
The entire book revolves around this kids life; how is friends around him are, and how they betray him, his family and how much he values all of them. This book really has two different plots going for it at once. There are the scenes with Sam and Patrick and then the scenes with Charlie and his family. Now, in my opinion, the Sam and Patrick plot is more effective and worth while in this book and the family chapters were still sentimental, but did not catch my interests nearly enough. I guess I look for stuff that I can relate to as a teenager and the high school plot is easier to follow.
So how did this book make me feel about reading? Will I ever read a book again? Lets see how The Perks Of Being A Wallflower stacks up. Ratings are from one to five stars.
::Here’s The Breakdown::
::Ease Of Comprehension::
****
Now, since this is probably one of the only few book reviews that I will ever write, I will add this category. All this separates from the book is how easy is it to read. Five stars being the easiest to read. Now, although this book was pretty straightforward, there are some words that might confuse, but not some. Also, some situations in this book just need age for some to understand. Other than that, this should be a fairly easy read.
I decided not to give it a perfect score for a few reasons. Now, although it was a fairly easy read, and I read it almost non-stop, the book did have its slow parts, such as the family scenes. They did not catch my attention much. But, the author did have an excellent story to tell which makes this book worth your time and if I enjoy reading this then anyone will, I’m sure.
I would also strongly recommend this book to any teenager out there that feels a little different. This book teaches you that being different is a part of life and that you are who you are because you are unique. Be who you are, and not what you are told to be. This books theme can best be described as a quote from Sam saying:
“Charlie, you know how that the only thing that makes us different then the other kids is what wear and why we wear it? We’ll I think that’s bullsh*t”
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