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A review by o0ruthie0o
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Stephen Chbosky´s The Perks of Being A Wallflower tells the story of 15-year-old Charlie, a terrified freshman going into a new school after a year out of school. Throughout the year he encounters sex, drugs, drinking and so much more, all while beside his two new best friends, Sam and Patrick, seniors at his school. Charlie grapples with finding his place in the world and his friend group. The entire book, a collection of letters all written to an anonymous receiver, gives the reader a glimpse of Chbosky’s take on teenage life in the ’90s.
I thought this novel left something to be desired. Right from the beginning, I found myself getting anxious and upset about Charlie. The way he acts and talks obviously tells the story of a boy who has some mental health and developmental issues and I didn’t understand why that was never fully addressed in the book. However, mental health is just one of the many important issues that come up and is never addressed any further. Some others include rape, substance abuse, abortion, and domestic abuse. I think if you take on these topics in a storyline it is your job, as the author, to give some kind of insight or resolution to them.
This doesn’t mean that it always has to be some kind of happy ending, but I also don’t think it’s a good idea to use things like abortion to portray sister-brother bonding and then never talk about it again or address the toll a clinical abortion can have on anyone especially a teenage girl. Scenarios similar to this are abundant in this novel and some issues almost feel romanticized. I understand the author's choice to not further elaborate on these heavy issues but as the reader, it felt insensitive and lazy.
All that being said, there were a handful of things I enjoyed while reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I thought the style of writing in the form of only letters was very interesting and fun to read. I also enjoyed the style in which Charlie was written, the way he analyzes things gives so much insight into who Charlie actually is as a character I really loved this stylistic choice.
Overall, I was disappointed in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I had heard so many good things about the story and was very excited only to be upset and underwhelmed.
I thought this novel left something to be desired. Right from the beginning, I found myself getting anxious and upset about Charlie. The way he acts and talks obviously tells the story of a boy who has some mental health and developmental issues and I didn’t understand why that was never fully addressed in the book. However, mental health is just one of the many important issues that come up and is never addressed any further. Some others include rape, substance abuse, abortion, and domestic abuse. I think if you take on these topics in a storyline it is your job, as the author, to give some kind of insight or resolution to them.
This doesn’t mean that it always has to be some kind of happy ending, but I also don’t think it’s a good idea to use things like abortion to portray sister-brother bonding and then never talk about it again or address the toll a clinical abortion can have on anyone especially a teenage girl. Scenarios similar to this are abundant in this novel and some issues almost feel romanticized. I understand the author's choice to not further elaborate on these heavy issues but as the reader, it felt insensitive and lazy.
All that being said, there were a handful of things I enjoyed while reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I thought the style of writing in the form of only letters was very interesting and fun to read. I also enjoyed the style in which Charlie was written, the way he analyzes things gives so much insight into who Charlie actually is as a character I really loved this stylistic choice.
Overall, I was disappointed in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I had heard so many good things about the story and was very excited only to be upset and underwhelmed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Bullying, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Rape, Suicide, and Outing
Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, and Emotional abuse