The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Book review

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is about a teenage boy named Charlie who addresses a series of letters to an anonymous friend. Charlie is a sincere and sensitive character who suffers from episodes of depression. His best friend commits suicide before he starts high school and Charlie is left alone. Whilst starting over at high school he is drawn to a crowd of friends who support his individuality and love of the arts. His story contains pieces that any reader can relate to at least slightly whilst growing up. The novel touches on the themes of drugs, sex, alcohol, abuse, sexuality, family, making friends and loss but the lack of focus helps to make the story seem so realist, true and relatable.

I loved that Charlie didn’t exaggerate, he told things how they were and this is what makes them seem so real. It shows the blunt pain and effects these can have. We see him and his friends struggling with their teenage life as each friend is dealing with something different. In his new circle of friends we have Patrick who is rather funny, he’s also gay and struggles with a boy who won’t let the world know he’s gay (The book is set in 91’ where gays where not necessarily openly accepted). Patrick has to go through heartbreak and betrayal and we see him go off the edge and fall into alcohol abuse. There’s Sam who is extremely intelligent, she sees the world very differently. She’s confident and will speak up, She’s inspiring but at the same time can be cold to Charlie. Then we have Charlie who as I’ve already said is sincere and sensitive and a truly good person which makes him difficult to dislike and extremely relatable to the target audience of the book. Together the three best friends were brilliant, they made a great trio and the sadness you feel when they leave each other is huge!

Overall I thought this book was brilliant, an excellent read and extremely relatable even if you’re not going through high school but have experienced school life. I thought that the intertextuality used was great with references to different music and books of the early 90’s. Stephen Chbomsky’s writing style was excellent and the letters makes the book feel even more personal to the reader. 

10/10!!

(I also believe there is a film adaptation either out now or out later this month!)