The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Ratings1,168
Average rating4.1
The book was alright
But the ending just earned it another star
Not the writing style I prefer but it was quite enjoyable
I don't really know what I was supposed to take away from this book. It read like a teen tv show from the early 2000's where there isn't really a plot, but you follow teen characters. Charlie was right on the line of being adorable and obnoxiously naïve. Granted, he is 14, but still. It was okay, but I think I'll enjoy the movie better.
goddamn did this book hit close to home. literally spent most of part 1 and 2 literally sobbing.
I will never be able to actually write how I felt reading this, but yes, it was wonderful to read about someone who thinks and acts exactly like me.
“Charlie, we accept the love we think we deserve.”
This is a quote that hits really hard for me so I couldn't not include it here. One of the hardest things for some people is to truly accept that they deserve better than what they've made themselves believe. I wish everyone could see their true worth and receive the love they really deserve.
The story follows Charlie as he writes about what happens in his life in the form of letters. This book is so special to me. It tackles such important issues that aren't often addressed in appropriate ways in fictional works.
It's not very often that books get the portrayal of mental illness right so it was so important to me that this book did. Charlie quickly became a character that felt very special to me. I know what it's like to struggle and to feel the guilt of feeling like I'm a burden or too much for my family because they get worried for me so to see that in a character and it be shown in a way that felt like I was practically watching myself made me feel very seen.
I could write my own novel on why this book is so special.
“And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.”
The Perks of Being a Wallflower has been one of my top 5 favorite movies since the first time I ever watched it. I love it so much and I finally sat down and read the book and was blown away. It was absolutely incredible, so much more was put into it (like most book to movie adaptions). Still, Patrick was my favorite, I really felt for him a lot for what he had to go through, as well as Charlie. It somehow didn't make me cry like the movie did but nonetheless, still a beautifully written book. I had high expectations and this book exceeded them. Brilliantly done!
Una historia extraña, una lectura que me enajena, una escritura que me obliga a empatizar con alguien que no termino de comprender, ¿experiencias psicóticas? Tal vez, ¿pasivo agresivo?... complicado, una psicopatología que me parece a borderline, con conductas estúpidas y pensamiento concreto. Al final me gustó mucho, pues me sentí invisible.
Truth be told I don't think me giving this book a rating is fair because I just don't know what to say about it. The second half of it was so full of pain that I'd rather not talk about.
I really wasn't sure what to expect going into this one. I knew there was a lot of hype surrounding it but I've never seen the movie or even knew what this book was about. I jumped in blind.
I'm surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did despite this being a sad, melancholy read. There are various small times of happiness but overall the theme seems to be about trauma and the eventual recognition and healing of that trauma.
Charlie could be any one of us as teens, or teens we knew growing up. Ones who struggle with experiences we never knew about. Yet somehow, despite his trauma (later revealed) Charlie is a keen watcher, sensitive and intuitive. He has trouble connecting with others and really getting involved...but then aren't most of us that way?
i don't think i can explain why this is such a special book to me, but it is. charlie's life and experiences are very different from mine, but i see so much of myself in him, i feel so much of how he sees the world, and maybe that's the point or maybe it's really not a good thing, but to me it's just infinite.
i hated this one a lot. worst one i read this year. it's all “haha look at the teenagers suffering. now cry.”
don't read if you're feeling terrible.
This is a complex book
Pros: Very well written, creative and deep.
Cons: drugs, sex and a little too much for me as an adolecent.
In 2014, I rated this book one star. I truly did not see what everyone liked about this book and I hated it. I was 15 at the time and was the same age as the main character but didn't relate to him at all.
In 2020, I decided to re-read this book because I feel like I could relate to the main character more at age 20 and a half then I did at 15. It made me think back to my school days and my childhood trauma and this book made me so sad. To say I had traumatic teen years would be an understatement and this book just brought everything back to me.
New rating: 2.75 stars
No puedes quedarte ahí sentado y poner las vidas de todos los demás por delante de la tuya y pensar que eso cuenta como amor
Las cosas cambian los amigos se van y la vida no para para nadie
No tenemos el poder de elegir de dónde venimos pero podemos elegir a dónde vamos
Aceptamos el amor que creemos merecer
Wow omg I can't stop crying like real cry's. This is my very first book that made me cry so much and happy and sad cry's. This book was so amazing. Everyone needs to read this book.
I read this book a long time ago. My freshman year roommate and I watched the movie and then I read this book on my laptop. That was in my first year, fast forward five years and here I am re-reading this. A lot of things have changed in that time and I was reminded of how the relationship with a book changes with time. My last read focused on Charlie forming new relationships and finding his tribe, his people and that joy was my takeaway, my desire as a freshman. Now, as all familiar faces part ways at the end of college, I was invested and curious to see how Charlie deals with the distance and having his friends move away from him. The second reading carried a darker tone, a more sober feeling. This wasn't on my 2019 list but I surely was a happy accident. Didn't know I needed to read this again but hey, I am glad I did. :)
I really liked the book because it was easy to read. Plus, in the end, the story with Aunt Helen, was quite surprising to me. I really didn‘t expect that. The rest of the book was cool because you could see how Charlie changes throughout the book, how he gets himself some friends and falls in love and makes mistakes and just lives. And you can be a „filter“ for that book, like Charlie would say, because you can somehow relate to it.
This book left me feeling less than infinite. I did not like this book. In fact, I could rant about it for an hour, but I want to keep this short, (and attempt not to rant). (Spoilers, I end up ranting. Also minor spoilers for the book, not anything that will ruin it if you still want to read it. But if you're really spoiler sensitive don't read this.)
First I'll talk about the writing and plot, which was painfully slow and dreadfully boring. I can't give an accurate description of the plot, because nothing really happened. This book is written in the form of letters to Charlie's anonymous friend. Who has a tendency to rant about things that serve no purpose to the story and are never brought up again, like a random scientific experiment he found out about involving rats running through a maze to get food or drugs while being electrocuted. He explains that the rats would withstand a higher voltage for the drugs as opposed to the food. The point of this? I can't you, because it was never brought up again.
Or this quote from page 85: “When I was little I called them ‘Candy Grandma' and ‘Cookies Grandma.' I also used to call pizza crust ‘pizza bones.' I don't know why I'm telling you this.” Neither do I Charlie. It's doesn't contribute to the story, and it's not funny either. The first thing you learn in any writing class is “Omit needless words.”
The characters (most of them are in high school by the way) regularly smoke, drink and use drugs. It was like the author included this to be “dark” and “edgy”. But it comes across as unrealistic and cringy. Not to mention all the characters are thinner than the paper they were printed on. Including the gay character, who is only there to tick off the diversity box and add drama to the “plot”.
You think all that is bad? I haven't even mentioned all the sexual and physical assault towards women in this. It's horrendous, 90% of the women have been abused in some way. I'm not saying that we can't have stories that include abuse and rape, because it's necessary to talk about that because it affects many people worldwide. But, NINETY FUCKING PERCENT???
Now if you've read this and are shaking your head at me cause “it couldn't possibly be 90% of the female characters” I've made this handy dandy little chart:
Women Confirmed to Have Been Abused-
Charlie's Sister- Slapped by boyfriend.
Charlie's Mother-Abused by her father.
Aunt Helen (Charlie's Mother's Side)-Abused by her father, and molested by a family friend.
Unnamed Girl At a House Party-Raped by a boy in Charlie's room.
Aunt Rebecca (Charlie's Father's Side)-Abused by step-father, and romantic partners.
Unconfirmed- (Not explicitly stated but suggested.)
Charlie's Grandmother (Father's Side)-Likely abused by second husband.
Sam-Possibly Sexually Assaulted based on this quote: Sam: “You can always say no (to sex).”
Charlie: “Does that work?” Sam: “Sometimes.”
Now there was another girl in this story who I can't remember the name of (like I said, paper thin and forgettable.) The girl who dated Charlie at one point and was really annoying. Which brings our totals to 87% (7 out of 8) of women in this story were probably abused, and 62% (5 out of 8) who were definitely abused. Which is double the average of women who report being abused by a romantic partner at some point in their lives. (Accourding to Statistics NCADV, https://ncadv.org/statistics who say it's about 33% or 1 in 3)
Also, this book made me do MATH to find out the statistics of HOW MANY WOMEN ARE ABUSED IN THE STORY. So fuck this book.
So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be.
It might have made sad sense.
It's just that sometimes people use thought to not participate in life.
Charlie, we accept the love we think we deserve.
Not everyone has a sob story, Charlie, and even if they do, it's no excuse.
And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.
I don't know if you've ever felt like that. That you wanted to sleep for a thousand years. Or just not exist. Or just not be aware that you do exist. Or something like that. I think wanting that is very morbid, but I want it when I get like this. That's why I'm trying not to think. I just want it all to stop spinning.
I guess what I'm saying is that this all feels very familiar. But it's not mine to be familiar about.
I don't know how much longer I can keep going without a friend. I used to be able to do it very easily, but that was before I knew what having a friend was like. It's much easier not to know things sometimes.
Not because she's a bad person or shallow or mean. But because things change. And friends leave. And life doesn't stop for anybody.
I want to make him stop hurting, but I can't. So, I just follow him around whenever he wants to show me his world.
“I would die for you. But I won't live for you.”
I was very grateful to have heard it again. Because I guess we all forget sometimes. And I think everyone is special in their own way. I really do.
There's something about that tunnel that leads to downtown. It's glorious at night. Just glorious. You start on one side of the mountain, and it's dark, and the radio is loud. As you enter the tunnel, the wind gets sucked away, and you squint from the lights overhead. When you adjust to the lights, you can see the other side in the distance just as the sound of the radio fades to nothing because the waves just can't reach. Then, you're in the middle of the tunnel, and everything becomes a calm dream. As you see the opening get closer, you just can't get there fast enough. And finally, just when you think you'll never get there, you see the opening right in front of you. And the radio comes back even louder than you remember it. And the wind is waiting. And you fly out of the tunnel onto the bridge. And there it is. The city. A million lights and buildings and everything seems as exciting as the first time you saw it. It really is a grand entrance.
I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.