The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Realistic Fiction
By Stephen Chbosky
Reviewed by Aubrey Burke
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
“I walked over to the hill where we used to go and sl
ed. There were a lot of little kids there. I watched them flying. Doing jumps and having races. And I thought that all those little kids are going to grow up someday. And all of those little kids are going to do the things that we do. And they will all kiss someone someday. But for now, sledding is enough. I think it would be great if sledding were always enough, but it isn't.”, so writes Charlie in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. This is written by Stephen Chbosky, and it just so happens to be his first novel. It’s a realistic fiction novel about a teen boy who goes by the name Charlie. The style of this book is most definitely narrative and it sucks you in at the first page. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is an Amazon.com #1 Young Adult Bestseller, and my new favorite book. It’s positively all the hype it’s cracked up to be.
Charlie is a boy, in his early teens. This is his freshman year of high school, which Charlie soon discovers has its difficulties, especially mixed in with family problems and the loss of someone very close, exposure to drugs, and all those pressured things young people go through. To top it all off, Charlie’s a wallflower, a non-participator, a young boy who needs a shoulder to cry on and a hand to hold. Between making new friends, and remembering the past, Charlie, writing letters to you, describes in detail the hardships he faces. He describes to you the friends he picks up along his ‘journey’ and all the crazy things they do and even the way some of them make him feel. Just the way friendships are supposed to be, Charlie, Patrick, and Sam share a quirky, fun, and full of life relationship. After meeting these friends, Charlie begins to grow close to Patrick and Sam, as they share infinite moments where they feel so alive, together, and untouchable. All the names in his letters, even his, have been changed because all he wants you to do is to listen and understand. The Perks of Being a Wallflower has that message in a bottle kind of feel, you don’t really know who it is, but you’re connected in a special kind of way. Through every page I turned, I began feeling infinite right along with Charlie. The best thing about this book is that it’s so realistic that you actually start to believe it, almost like your reading a memoir. Hands down, I would HIGHLY recommend this book to any young adult or adult who likes a little reality mixed with their fiction and a little perk in their life.
Stephen Chbosky provided me, as well as many other readers, a glimpse of Charlie, and how he began to feel infinite, and finally started participating, and doing what he wanted to do. He gave me a taste of reality I never knew existed until now. Lastly, Chbosky really gave me something I could sink my teeth into. Everyone can relate to Charlie some way or another, or at least gain a small understanding of what he’s gone through in the small period of just a year. For a first novel, Stephen Chbosky deserves two-thumbs up for such an alluring read. So pick up The Perks of Being a Wallflower, turn to the first page, and begin to feel infinite.
