Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky

The Perks of Being a Wallflower
By Stephen Chbosky
Publication Date: February 1st, 1999 (MTV Books and Pocket Books)
Paperback, 213 pages
Genre: Contemporary; Realistic Fiction; YA
Source: an English teacher!

DESCRIPTION:

Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

This haunting novel about the dilemma of passivity vs. passion marks the stunning debut of a provocative new voice in contemporary fiction: The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

This is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We may not know where he lives. We may not know to whom he is writing. All we know is the world he shares. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course through uncharted territory. The world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends. The world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite.

Through Charlie, Stephen Chbosky has created a deeply affecting coming-of-age story, a powerful novel that wil spirit you back to though while and poignant roller coaster days known as growing up.

--from goodreads.com

REVIEW:

I like the one sentence summary imdb.com provides for The Perks of Being a Wallflower movie better than the actual book blurb, because the movie tagline seems to give you the gist of what The Perks of Being a Wallflower is about:

"An introverted freshman is taken under the wings of two seniors who welcome him to the real world."

Anyway, you don't have to do drugs or get wasted every weekend or be gay to relate to The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

To understand why the story is so relatable, you must first understand what a "wallflower" is, dear friend, which (according to the infamous urbandictionary.com) is "a type of loner" who is "a seemingly shy person who no one really knows, often some of the most interesting people if one actually talks to them." Wallflowers "know a lot about people, what they're truthfully like," and although being a wallflower isn't bad, the word is viewed negatively.

So, from that, I think we've all felt like (or have been/are wallflowers, such as myself) wallflowers even if we aren't one. It's about being an outsider, looking in. Observing. For example, in one part of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Charlie gets all of his friends the perfect Christmas present, and cares enough to make each personal, but no one gets him anything partially because nobody truly knows him. It's about not feeling connected to anyone. Feeling totally alone, which is completely relatable in most instances for all of us.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is written in a series of letters from the main character, Charlie, to some unnamed person, or perhaps even written to us. Each letter starts out "Dear Friend," and ends with "Love always, Charlie." Some entries are beautiful. Some horrible. Some humorous. If you don't account for the themes and life lessons within the story, you will take a lot less from it than others and like it a lot less to. Without thinking about the profound meanings of each letter, the whole story can seem mundane.

I adored Patrick, Charlie's gay friend. However, I found him more likable in the movie, probably because he was more flamboyant. Movie Patrick just gave more life to the meaning of Book Patrick.

(Speaking of the movie, it definitely wasn't as good as the book, and the vibe I got from it was different from the book's vibe, but it does the book a good amount of justice. It's worth seeing).

I'd like to leave you with the best quote of the book, which has a sort of cult-following:

"We accept the love we think we deserve."

--The Perks of Being a Wallflower

RATING: