Review by ed_moore - The Perks of Being a Wallflower

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ed_moore 's review for:

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

3.75

emotional hopeful 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

“All the great writers always wear suits, all the time”

Dear Friend...

I feel like if I read ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ when I was fifteen this book would’ve altered my life. Unfortunately I am no longer fifteen (or arguably a lot more fortunately I wouldn’t want to go back) but still now it was a pleasant reading experience. The book is a series of letters recounting Charlie’s freshman year of high school and his experiences with friendship, sex, drugs and growing up from a neurotypical position, each letter opening “dear friend” and closing “love always, Charlie”.

The book grappled with many personal tragedies, but had a very gentle way of presenting them to the reader and took care with each of these topics, the narrative voice being a very empathetic one absolutely spearheading this. Charlie is such a fully written character, I was also highly amused by his persistence that each book he most recently read becomes his favourite. The ending explanation to Charlie's traumas I do admit I sort of missed but the final letter was so healing, as Charlie’s circulating letters are used as a shared platform for all those with personal sufferings to feel they can be seen, and in a way Chbosky does such with the book itself. The conclusion felt extremely healing.

Love always, Ed.

Content Warnings