A review by eveybrittin
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

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.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings