The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Title: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Author: Stephen Chbosky

Date Finished: April 27, 2010

Personal Book Count: 20 out of 100

Rating: 3 out of 5

Genre/ Subject: Young Adult Fiction

Why did I pick this book?: I heard about it when it came out, but then recently someone who’s taste I respect reread it and raved about it.

Summary and Review: summary taken from goodreads.com-

“Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it, Charlie is navigating through the strange worlds of love, drugs, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", and dealing with the loss of a good friend and his favorite aunt.”

Wow. I have a lot to say about this book. At first I wasn’t sure how to rate it. I really had to think about it. This book was not what I expected, although it was interesting and kept me reading. For some reason I was expecting more of a happy, perky teen book. Nope. This one deals with sex, suicide, homosexuality, abuse and drugs (among other things) in a serious manner. I think it would be best suited for older teens or adults. The voice of the main character is very young, innocent sounding. About half way through, I realized that it reminded me of Pony Boy from The Outsiders. There is a lot of emphasis put on dating woes and teen trauma for shy boys and girls. It occurred to me more then once in the story he made his own messes “oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice, to deceive.” I thought the ending was nicely wrapped up, if a little unexpected. Or maybe that was just me. Maybe I was still underestimating the book. The other thing that got me thinking, on a lighter note, was the loss of the mixed tape. The ipod does this now, on a larger extreme maybe, but I feel like we have lost something. Remember the first time a boy gave you a mixed tape? I do. I guess overall, you have to read it and judge for yourself, and I would love to hear your 2 cents on this one.

Agree? Disagree? Recommendations? Any insights, suggestions, or comments on the book or format, or blog at all are most welcome. If you have read this and/ or review it yourself, please let me know. Can you think of any books like this? Give me a recommendation! =D