Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - As Vantagens de Ser Invisível

I first read this book in high school and remember loving it. I decided to grab it from the library again because I was in the mood for something pensive and kind of sad and wanted to see if it held up as an adult. Boy, does it. This book is fantastic. Though the impact is different from when I was Charlie's age, this book is still so influential and offers so much with both its content and style. Weirdly, reading this book makes me feel inspired to write and like when I do so it will be better for having read this. Not that you could tell from the quality of this review!

I think this is one of those books you should definitely read at least once as a teen. As an adult I was definitely reacting differently to some moments -

for the love of god, why would you give a kid who's obviously having mental/emotional difficulties LSD! Even as a high school senior, you should know that's a no no

- but Chbosky and Charlie still draw me in. This book really elicits emotional reactions, and is best enjoyed on a quiet evening by yourself so you can really take your time to read between the lines and feel.

It's kind of ridiculous how many content warnings I just applied to this book, but I also think that's one of the reasons this is an important read for teens. That this book is written in the form of letters helps lower the intensity of these subjects/make them easier for the reader to handle, but things still get pretty emotional.

Content Warnings

sunshineera's review against another edition

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dark hopeful sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

The book was underwhelming for me. This might be because I had watched the movie first but I felt like there was much left to desire at the end, maybe this was intentional but this book was a let down which is disappointing for such a hyped up book. There was also so much information for what in my opinion is a short book that felt unimportant in hindsight and didn't really add to to the story.

Content Warnings