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

The Perks of Being a Wallflower 5/5

“You can’t just sit there and put everybody’s lives ahead of yours”

“But even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there.”

“And even if somebody has it much worse, it doesn’t change the fact that you have what you have.”

This story is heavy. It contains a lot of heavy topics, like sexual content, abuse, assault, and drug use. But it’s an important story. It’s one that someone might be living right now. Maybe that weird, quiet kid in school just really needs a friend. Maybe they have a hard time “participating” in life for whatever reason.

This is a story about trauma, and grief, and friendship, true friendship. It’s a story about being present in life, even when it’s hard. It’s a story about making room for yourself in your own life. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is not an easy read. But I would recommend everyone who can to read it. Maybe it will make you realize that there’s something you’re not being present for, or that you’re not making enough room for yourself in your own life. Or maybe it will inspire you to forge your own path, no matter where you come from. And realize that your worries and problems are real problems, even if “others have it worse”. Make time for yourself. And be present for life, the good and the bad.

Content Warnings

boninaamaior's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

This is literally one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read and it changed my life forever. Definitely one of the best coming of age books ever written

Content Warnings

booksoversecondbreakfast's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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

I almost DNFed this book. It's a book for high schoolers about high schoolers, and since I'm nearing my thirties, it didn't seem like this book was for me. The writing felt too simplistic and not deep enough. It felt too childish. But I gave it a bit more of a chance when I realized more about what he was going through. I learned of the experiences and pain that contributed to Charlie's simplistic view of his day-to-day teenage life. And then book began to make so much more sense, and I began to see its beauty. I saw my own story and pains reflected in Charlie's and could see the experiences I shared decades ago as a teen reflected in Charlie's. This book captures the effects of Charlie's source of pain so well - better than I've ever experienced in a book, and I was feel so grateful to get to read such a beautiful story capturing and empathizing with that pain. I read this book in the form of an audiobook, and this will definitely be a book I'll be purchasing a physical copy of to read over and over in the future.

And to any young person reading this, who relates to the pain experienced in this story, I just wanted to pile on and remind you that there really is light at the end of the tunnel. What used to haunt you will lose its ability to hold you down. And you will be okay.

Content Warnings

missmarguerita's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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

5.0

Content Warnings

mbhcad's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-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

3.0

There’s a dissonance in the way Charlie is described by others as a writer and storyteller and the way he writes that bothers me. It sort of disrupts the relatability by making it much clearer that Chbosky is an adult man who doesn’t really know how a 15 year old would write, so what ends up happening at times is that Charlie has thoughts and feelings that most readers around his age also have, but he’s much worse at articulating them than they are going to be. It’s frustrating. He thinks like he’s 15, but writes like he’s 13. Some of the ways in which women and feminism are approached is so 90s it’s painful, but I can’t fault the novel for that, really. Overall an enjoyable read that absolutely would’ve done some terrible things to teenage me, just rocky in some places. I quite liked it!

Content Warnings

ylle's review against another edition

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reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes

5.0

I knew this was going to be a 5 star read from the first page or so. The book being written as letters really ads something. I loved all the music being mentioned and all the great quotable things being said.

Throughout the story we get to know the 15-year-old boy Charlie. And up to the last few pages or so, it feels like that’s all there is. A teenager doing the typical teenager stuff. Learning the complexity of relationships, both romantic and platonic. Getting high and getting drunk. You get glimpses of something not being right, not quite normal. Mentions of doctors and “episodes” happening again.

It’s in those last pages that everything really falls into place, the penny drops so to speak. Suddenly the book goes from a “light-hearted” coming of age novel, to a very deep and real story about sexual assault at an early age. And how the mind really processes that.

Finishing the book, felt similar to finishing a really good thriller movie. Everything suddenly falls into place and it all makes sense. I feel the urge to reread it all, with this new information. When I didn’t think it could get any better, it gave such a plot twist I really couldn’t have foreseen. It’s safe to say I won’t forget this book in the near future.

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