Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

655 reviews

eveybrittin's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

At first I felt that Charlie was an unrealistic portrayal of a high schooler because I've never met someone who thought like him, and certainly nobody who approached social situations like he did. But I don't know everyone and the ending makes his behavior/thought processes make a little more sense. I do feel like the ending was rushed a bit compared to the rest of the book and it left me feeling kind of confused. This book definitely challenged my understanding of "normal"; drugs and sex were a way bigger part of this kid's life than I expected, and given Charlie's obvious mental health issues it upsets me that the other characters so ignorantly introduced him to substances that only made things worse. The author did a great job of creating realistic characters; I found that I could relate to each one in one way or another, or at least imagine them clearly in my head. I love a book that leads me feeling kind of thoughtful and dealigned at the end and the Perks of Being a Wallflower definitely accomplished that.

Content Warnings

lightthebeam's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book is a classic for a reason. The characters are endearing, I love the overarching premise of an outcast writing letters as the narrative pov. The cast felt complex their problems and dialogue all felt real. I read this in a few hours, it was a wonderful read. I love the way the characters talked to each other. The dialogue was an absolute strong point. I think my only complaints are it just felt like some points had an unnecessary amount of time devoted to them while other side plots didn’t end up being resolved. The ending felt very rushed to me. The epilogue helped a bit but in my mind that’s cheating.

Content Warnings