Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

194 reviews

jlebon's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

3.75

The classic coming of age story.

This was a good, enjoyable read and certainly worth the hype that surrounds this book. Whilst its role as a modern literary classic might be overstating the texts significance, it is certainly worthy of its cult-classic status and perfectly encapsulates the undercurrent of emotion associated with young adult fiction, whilst still prevailing with that poignant message of hope all teenagers deserve to read.

A key plaudit I have for the book is the realism of every character, with Chbosky not being confined in his writing to create a character solely around the common tropes associated with the genre - eg. the villain. Every character possesses their own flaws and yet each can be said to win the readers affection (at least some point in the novel) as Chbosky intelligently isolates the actions of an individual (be that good or bad) from who they are as a person (not being defined by the adjective used to describe their actions).

Aunt Helen is the most interesting character for me in this respect, given the revelation at the end of the novel that she sexually assaulted the protagonist, (her nephew) Charlie, when he was younger. Given the narrative voice, we're are able to see Charlie ultimately grapple with her actions (with herself being a victim as well) and yet still rationalise the reprehensibility of her actions. The passage, 'So, I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.’ beautifully captures this overwhelming moral conflict and allows the reader to further contextualise Charlie as a character.

On reflection, one problem I do have with the novel is the lack of development around the theme of suicide. Being integral to the start of the book, I would have liked there to have been greater exploration into the effect of losing a close friend under such tragic circumstances. In fairness there is an element of juxtaposition between the characters of Charlie and Susan as to how they handle the death of their close friend Michael, culminating in the protagonists confrontation of the latter. Nevertheless, I can't help but feel that the theme is used more as a device to deceive the reader over Charlie's true deep-rooted trauma (unearthed at the climax of the novel) rather than being given the equal and worthy explanation of how an event as scarring as that would impact an individual.

In terms of the writing generally, I appreciate the epistolary format that makes the book easily digestible, as well as the teenage narrative perspective that means the writing is less dense than that of adult fiction. The novel is certainly humorous in places, particularly in the frivolous tone sometimes taken towards more serious societal issues. As an example I found the offhanded comment of 'Fritz's girlfriend was talking to him about women's rights, and he kept saying, "I know, baby."' very funny. However, the book also has a real profound nature in places. Don't get me wrong, this is not in the hyper-cynical way of adult fiction but the idea of Charlie as this 'wallflower', perceptive to everything and everyone, is captured very well.

Do I think this book has had the world-shaking effect on me like with other people? Probably not. Nevertheless, did I find myself engaged with the story and will the message of the book stick with me? I'd like to think so.

An enjoyable read!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, and Car accident

elisabethshanahan's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Mental illness, and Alcohol

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

jjjjo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring relaxing sad slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship

nospar's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

One of my favourite books, a gritty telling of how hard high school can be, how difficult it is to fit in and how our trauma can effect us in ways we didn't realize. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

sea_sea's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

This book was almost 5 stars for me, but not quite because it was pretty triggering sometimes. I would definitely recommend it, but would also recommend to definitely look through the tws. I think this book is really special in a way, that probably everyone will see themselves in the book somehow. It articulates thoughts and feelings very well and gives you stuff to think about. This book dives into so many heavy topics, it’s a really good but also difficult read! 
I think the book really showcases how messy, beautiful, confusing and hard it is to be a teenager.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, and Alcohol

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Homophobia, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Abortion, and Outing

Minor: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Outing, and Dysphoria

burntcereal's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Suicide, Vomit, and Alcohol

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Sexual assault

gwarren's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

The perks of being a wallflower is one of those books that's stayed with me since the first time I read it. Having re-read countless times in my teens, I can see now, as a mid-to-late-twenties person, why it resonated with me so much (and still does). Charlie is someone who I connect with on a very emotional level, both with how he looks at like and his mental health issues, Sam with her emotional baggage but wisdom beyond her years, and Patrick, who's lightheartedness and love of humour fills the pages with much needed lightness. As the years roll on and I get older, I will keep coming back to this story. And I will continue to recommend it to my students, my family and my friends throughout my life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Car accident, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, and Abortion

woodlandbookdragon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

I was not expecting this to be told in the form of letters to someone else. Some how it works and I found myself in this book. It is amazing what the mind can completely erase and what simple things can trigger those memories. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Homophobia, and Mental illness

awitchwhoreads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

This book reminded me of when I felt infinite, and I will never forget that <3

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, and Pedophilia

heydayzee's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, and Alcohol

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Homophobia, and Abortion