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szeckirjr 's review for:
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
by Stephen Chbosky
I've been meaning to read this book for the longest time; my parents bought me a copy when the movie was first released in 2012, but it has been sitting on my bookshelf at home since then. I am so sad it took me so long to read this, but I am so glad I finally did.
When it comes to this book, by looking at reviews and hearing about it from people that have read it, I feel like you either love it or hate it. For those who know me, you know [b:The Catcher in the Rye|5107|The Catcher in the Rye|J.D. Salinger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1398034300l/5107._SY75_.jpg|3036731] is one of my favorite books of all time, and this book reminded me a lot of it. The way it's a coming-of-age story told in a first person perspective played a big role in it, but all the different things they go through seem really similar, although very different overall. What I love about these kind of books is that they are sooo relatable. Definitely not about all the different experiences the characters themselves live through, but the story in general. It always feels good to read a book that makes you feel a part of something, and makes you feel understood - and that's what these books feel like to me.
However, I totally understand the point of view of the people that hated this book - the writing style is very unique (I definitely agree it seems like it was written by an 8 year old instead of a freshman in high school), the heavy topics it mentions are very superficially touched upon, and the characters were all very flawed. But if I'm gonna be completely honest, all those reasons made me love the book even more. For me, all the characters (especially Charlie) were so likeable and real, and not because of how amazing they are or anything like that, but because of how human and real they seemed. The style of writing through Charlie's head was got me into the story at first and I loved reading passages where his thoughts just run wild and he's talking about a bunch of different things at the same time.
The heavy topics it talks about (TW: suicide, death, rape, violence, abortion, drugs, homophobia, incest, child molestation, fights, etc etc) were touched with no depth, and I know lots of people complained about it, but for how the story was written (letters written by a sensible freshman high schooler) this makes total sense. It seemed like the goal of talking about all those things was not to actually make the story about them, but scattering them around the context of Charlie's lives as he lived them.
Overall, I loved this book and to be honest I can't wait to reread it already.
“We accept the love we think we deserve.”
“So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be.”
“There's nothing like deep breaths after laughing that hard. Nothing in the world like a sore stomach for the right reasons.”
“So, I guess we are who we are for alot 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.”
“I think that if I ever have kids, and they are upset, I won't tell them that people are starving in China or anything like that because it wouldn't change the fact that they were upset. And even if somebody else has it much worse, that doesn't really change the fact that you have what you have.”
“He's a wallflower. You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand.”
____________________________________________________________
“Once on a yellow piece of paper with green lines
he wrote a poem
And he called it "Chops"
because that was the name of his dog
And that's what it was all about
And his teacher gave him an A
and a gold star
And his mother hung it on the kitchen door
and read it to his aunts
That was the year Father Tracy
took all the kids to the zoo
And he let them sing on the bus
And his little sister was born
with tiny toenails and no hair
And his mother and father kissed a lot
And the girl around the corner sent him a
Valentine signed with a row of X's
and he had to ask his father what the X's meant
And his father always tucked him in bed at night
And was always there to do it
Once on a piece of white paper with blue lines
he wrote a poem
And he called it "Autumn"
because that was the name of the season
And that's what it was all about
And his teacher gave him an A
and asked him to write more clearly
And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door
because of its new paint
And the kids told him
that Father Tracy smoked cigars
And left butts on the pews
And sometimes they would burn holes
That was the year his sister got glasses
with thick lenses and black frames
And the girl around the corner laughed
when he asked her to go see Santa Claus
And the kids told him why
his mother and father kissed a lot
And his father never tucked him in bed at night
And his father got mad
when he cried for him to do it.
Once on a paper torn from his notebook
he wrote a poem
And he called it "Innocence: A Question"
because that was the question about his girl
And that's what it was all about
And his professor gave him an A
and a strange steady look
And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door
because he never showed her
That was the year that Father Tracy died
And he forgot how the end
of the Apostle's Creed went
And he caught his sister
making out on the back porch
And his mother and father never kissed
or even talked
And the girl around the corner
wore too much makeup
That made him cough when he kissed her
but he kissed her anyway
because that was the thing to do
And at three a.m. he tucked himself into bed
his father snoring soundly
That's why on the back of a brown paper bag
he tried another poem
And he called it "Absolutely Nothing"
Because that's what it was really all about
And he gave himself an A
and a slash on each damned wrist
And he hung it on the bathroom door
because this time he didn't think
he could reach the kitchen.”
____________________________________________________________
When it comes to this book, by looking at reviews and hearing about it from people that have read it, I feel like you either love it or hate it. For those who know me, you know [b:The Catcher in the Rye|5107|The Catcher in the Rye|J.D. Salinger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1398034300l/5107._SY75_.jpg|3036731] is one of my favorite books of all time, and this book reminded me a lot of it. The way it's a coming-of-age story told in a first person perspective played a big role in it, but all the different things they go through seem really similar, although very different overall. What I love about these kind of books is that they are sooo relatable. Definitely not about all the different experiences the characters themselves live through, but the story in general. It always feels good to read a book that makes you feel a part of something, and makes you feel understood - and that's what these books feel like to me.
However, I totally understand the point of view of the people that hated this book - the writing style is very unique (I definitely agree it seems like it was written by an 8 year old instead of a freshman in high school), the heavy topics it mentions are very superficially touched upon, and the characters were all very flawed. But if I'm gonna be completely honest, all those reasons made me love the book even more. For me, all the characters (especially Charlie) were so likeable and real, and not because of how amazing they are or anything like that, but because of how human and real they seemed. The style of writing through Charlie's head was got me into the story at first and I loved reading passages where his thoughts just run wild and he's talking about a bunch of different things at the same time.
The heavy topics it talks about (TW: suicide, death, rape, violence, abortion, drugs, homophobia, incest, child molestation, fights, etc etc) were touched with no depth, and I know lots of people complained about it, but for how the story was written (letters written by a sensible freshman high schooler) this makes total sense. It seemed like the goal of talking about all those things was not to actually make the story about them, but scattering them around the context of Charlie's lives as he lived them.
Overall, I loved this book and to be honest I can't wait to reread it already.
“We accept the love we think we deserve.”
“So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be.”
“There's nothing like deep breaths after laughing that hard. Nothing in the world like a sore stomach for the right reasons.”
“So, I guess we are who we are for alot 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.”
“I think that if I ever have kids, and they are upset, I won't tell them that people are starving in China or anything like that because it wouldn't change the fact that they were upset. And even if somebody else has it much worse, that doesn't really change the fact that you have what you have.”
“He's a wallflower. You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand.”
____________________________________________________________
“Once on a yellow piece of paper with green lines
he wrote a poem
And he called it "Chops"
because that was the name of his dog
And that's what it was all about
And his teacher gave him an A
and a gold star
And his mother hung it on the kitchen door
and read it to his aunts
That was the year Father Tracy
took all the kids to the zoo
And he let them sing on the bus
And his little sister was born
with tiny toenails and no hair
And his mother and father kissed a lot
And the girl around the corner sent him a
Valentine signed with a row of X's
and he had to ask his father what the X's meant
And his father always tucked him in bed at night
And was always there to do it
Once on a piece of white paper with blue lines
he wrote a poem
And he called it "Autumn"
because that was the name of the season
And that's what it was all about
And his teacher gave him an A
and asked him to write more clearly
And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door
because of its new paint
And the kids told him
that Father Tracy smoked cigars
And left butts on the pews
And sometimes they would burn holes
That was the year his sister got glasses
with thick lenses and black frames
And the girl around the corner laughed
when he asked her to go see Santa Claus
And the kids told him why
his mother and father kissed a lot
And his father never tucked him in bed at night
And his father got mad
when he cried for him to do it.
Once on a paper torn from his notebook
he wrote a poem
And he called it "Innocence: A Question"
because that was the question about his girl
And that's what it was all about
And his professor gave him an A
and a strange steady look
And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door
because he never showed her
That was the year that Father Tracy died
And he forgot how the end
of the Apostle's Creed went
And he caught his sister
making out on the back porch
And his mother and father never kissed
or even talked
And the girl around the corner
wore too much makeup
That made him cough when he kissed her
but he kissed her anyway
because that was the thing to do
And at three a.m. he tucked himself into bed
his father snoring soundly
That's why on the back of a brown paper bag
he tried another poem
And he called it "Absolutely Nothing"
Because that's what it was really all about
And he gave himself an A
and a slash on each damned wrist
And he hung it on the bathroom door
because this time he didn't think
he could reach the kitchen.”
____________________________________________________________