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The Perks of Being a Wallflower

4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 · rating details · 268,286 ratings · 21,807 reviews

Charlie is a freshman. And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it. Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mixed tapes, fami...more

Paperback, 231 pages

Published February 2nd 2009 by Pocket Books (first published February 1st 1999)

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Apr 16, 2013 MizzSandie rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: annoying-characters, books-everyone-loves-but-me, bored-so-bored, dissappointed, hate-the-cover, overrated, own, why-the-hype, terrible-writing, had-high-expectations, hated-it, no-thank-you, what-a-waste-of-time, wish-i-could-unread, youre-doing-it-wrong

this is the story of Charlie, a 7 year old boy .... wait,

he's 15???

Well... You could have fooled me!
Let me give you a few examples as to why Charlie's age came as a bit of a surprise to me:

example 1): what 15 year old boy does not know of masturbation??

everyone knows that. its like general knowledge.

And we are not even talking about reasons for not practising it, we are only talking about KNOWING of it. I doubt there is many...

example 2): what 15 year old boy cries several times a DAY, often in public, for random things?
My bet?
Not m...more

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Jun 05, 2012 Reynje rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Reynje by: Shirley Marr

Shelves: books-that-linger, read-2012, shelf-of-ambivalence, young-adult, it-s-complicated, release-the-drama-llamas, contemp-or-realistic

If, like me, you ~~lurk on~~ frequent tumblr, you will have realised that there is only so far you can scroll before you hit something like this:

Stephen Chbosky’s epistolary novel has something of a cult following, and the quotes that litter the internet seem almost anthemic, given the passion with which they are re-blogged, quoted, slapped across artfully light-leaked photographs and “liked”.

A generation appears to have adopted The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and by extension it’s narrator Charl...more

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Dec 03, 2012 Sandra Howard rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, realistic-novels, stand-alone, young-adult

Wallflower (noun)

a shy or retiring person who remains unnoticed at social events, especially a woman without a dance partner

I decided to read this book not because there was going to be a movie coming out soon.
It one of the reasons but then again it wasn’t the main one.
I wanted to read it because the word “wallflower” caught my attention.

I was a wallflower.
I was not one of those kids people notice immediately.
I was one of those people who blends in very well that I was no longer noticeable.
I wa...more

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Feb 19, 2013 Megan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: high schoolers and beyond

Recommended to Megan by: Kelsey Fernandez

*UPDATE:* I went and saw the movie today and it was a very good movie. Stephen Chbosky directed the movie and it was very true to the book, I would say almost exact. So if you liked the book I would definitely recommend going to see the movie, you will enjoy it!

I have been struggling with how to rate this book since I finished it. I loved this book but then at the same time it was just okay. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I am finally secure with who I am… but in high school that...more *UPDATE:* I went and saw the movie today and it was a very good movie. Stephen Chbosky directed the movie and it was very true to the book, I would say almost exact. So if you liked the book I would definitely recommend going to see the movie, you will enjoy it!

I have been struggling with how to rate this book since I finished it. I loved this book but then at the same time it was just okay. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I am finally secure with who I am… but in high school that wasn’t true. If I would have read this book in high school I think I would be absolutely in love with it because of the fact, that probably, like most of us at one point in our teens, I felt like an outsider like Charlie. Without my closest friends around me I was a definite “wallflower,” the insecure, quite, nerd who would rather blend in then be seen.

As I’m thinking about it now I think that is what was hard about this book for me at points it reminded me of who I was in middle school and the beginning of high school and that is a person I would much rather leave in the past. Sam and Patrick were the friends that pulled Charlie off the wall just as my friends did. I could relate to a lot of what Charlie felt, which I think a lot of us can. I didn’t do drugs or drink in high school but I’m sure we all had friends who did or even just know the feelings that led him too.

“ We accept the love we think we deserve,”

When I first started the book and after the suicide of Michael and the death of his aunt being carefully tiptoed around I initially thought the book was going to be mainly about suicide. In a way I guess it was but not as much as I thought. These are the parts that really spoke to me and I connected to having seen the effects of depression and suicide. After reading about the mixed tape Charlie makes I went and downloaded all the songs and I love the song Asleep by the Smiths. I wish I had heard this song when I was dealing with everything in high school. I am glad that Stephen Chbosky introduced me to this song and the poem Charlie reads to his friends:

“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”

The Pros of this book: The letter writing was a unique format that felt very open and sincere. (Even though I still want to know who he was writing to and what that person thought as they received the letters.) The events in the book seemed real as if they happened in my own high school. The characters were fantastic even if I felt Charlie was being whinny at points, but hey it’s a letter that’s probably how it would sound.

The Cons: Okay the main thing that really bothered me in this book was the essays he was writing for extra work. His teacher claims that he is becoming a better writer each time. The problem I have with that is wouldn’t his letter writing get better as well? I know it isn’t in a formal setting but I expected his writing overall to get better which it didn’t. I don’t know if it is just me but the writing in the book seemed below a freshman level but that could have to do with the fact that I think that Charlie suffered from some sort of autism.

Overall I’m going to give this book a solid 4 stars. The book was quite relatable but I didn’t expect the twist at the end even though it did make the rest of the book make more sense. I know have a playlist on my iPod labeled as “Charlie’s Playlist” and I’m in love with the song Asleep.

“And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.”

This was a powerful line that really spoke to me. I never thought as moments as “infinite” but it really is true. Those moments when you are truly happy or even on the flip side when the world is crashing down they seem infinite. I love this line. Some may hate it and think it cheesy but sometimes life needs to be cheesy and it needs to be infinite.
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Dec 01, 2011 Tatiana rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Lifetime movies fans

Recommended to Tatiana by: book club pick

Shelves: why-the-hype, ya, 2011, ala-ya-2000

There may be a book in the world that can address, just within very few pages, suicide, molestation, domestic abuse, homosexuality, drug use, mental issues, first sexual experiences, rape, abortion, etc., and not sound like a Lifetime movie, but The Perks of Being a Wallflower is not an example of that.

For me, the straw that broke the camel's back was when I realized that, to add to all of the above mentioned melodrama, the narrator was either emotionally or mentally handicapped. It appeared, C...more

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Dec 05, 2011 Annalisa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: language, drugs, sex, gay sex, rape, etc

Shelves: book-club, issue, voice, young-adult

3. 5 stars.

I almost didn't finish this book. The main character was so hard to figure out. He was supposed to be intelligent but he was so naive. I get being book smart but dumb streetwise, but it was basic social and life knowledge that he didn't get. One minute he seemed wise beyond his years and the next he acted like a child thrust into a teenage life.

There were also a couple of scenes that I didn't think were believable. I almost put the book down (view spoiler)...more

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Mar 29, 2013 Stephen M rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Bookshelf padding

Recommended to Stephen M by: ugh

Shelves: idiot-heart

The most interesting and relatable parts of this book—for me anyway—were the parts about his sickness, whatever that ended up being, exactly. It’s always interesting to me that a book which is ostensibly about a “wallflower”, an outsider, has sold over half a million copies and is considered to be one of the most popular YA novels out there. Either people who read are going to be the types who relate to Charlie anyway, or that we all feel like outsiders in our own skulls, viewing the world from...more The most interesting and relatable parts of this book—for me anyway—were the parts about his sickness, whatever that ended up being, exactly. It’s always interesting to me that a book which is ostensibly about a “wallflower”, an outsider, has sold over half a million copies and is considered to be one of the most popular YA novels out there. Either people who read are going to be the types who relate to Charlie anyway, or that we all feel like outsiders in our own skulls, viewing the world from an outsiders perspective, always wishing to be “included” on that which we observe around us. Either one of these are fairly plausible explanations for why books like this one become so popular despite featuring a “strange” main character—which the author reminds us of every three pages. And even though both of these explanations would be fine, I’d rather just get really cynical and rant about myself.

It’s interesting what you remember. . . or what you experience, and the profound influence these memories have on your opinions about books which purport to relate to those memories. I think that books like this try to have it both ways. It would be hard to write a story about a popular high school boy and have him be likable, because let’s face it, the majority of really popular kids in high school were pretty shitty human beings. And it would be even harder to write a story about a complete outcast solipsist who despises his classmates (although I’m looking for such a Gass-like YA novel and would love to read it). Thus, we get Charlie. A sweet, sensitive, people-pleasing boy with a few “issues” that keep him marginalized enough to be shoved into a few lockers, but charming and handsome enough to score friends among the seniors and get some action (from a few girls and a guy).

The furthest that the author is willing to venture in making our main character “weird” is the dissociative fugue he enters towards the end. That’s why I found his sickness to be the most relatable; they seemed to be the most real parts of, a somewhat believable depiction of mental illness, featuring a damaged and messed-up kid. As opposed to the other tensions, which cute as they may be, are superficial, contrived, and cliché.

It’s all coming full circle now, though, because these criteria I’m laying out—real, realistic, believable, relatable—are entirely informed by my own experiences in high school and growing up and I bet there are a lot of people who do find Charlie’s character weird, strange, off the beaten path, etc. And that just shows the subjectivity of reading, or whatever.

I can still remember vividly, the blue plastic-covered bench where I would sit after school, waiting for my dad to come pick me up. I hardly spoke except in class when I felt like expressing an opinion, but as far as speaking to other people, about things unrelated to class, or things that didn’t have to do with music, I felt like I had nothing to say, nothing to contribute. If it didn’t have some concrete purpose in my life, I couldn’t force myself through the trivialities of small talk and making friends; it was excruciating. And anyway, one time sitting at this bench, some sports jock sits down next to me and starts asking me what I’m doing and where I’m going. I’m kind of terrified and ambivalent about what’s going on. I didn’t know what he wanted, thus I didn’t know why he was making conversation (god forbid someone was making conversation for the sake of conversation). Our little chit-chat went on for about three minutes, with only a look of confusion across my face and one-word answers in response to all his questions, then the guy finally spit it out. He wanted to make sure that I wouldn’t ever shoot up the school, and if I did, to know that he had nothing against me and that he was friendly, like look at him talking to me. I suddenly realized, as I walked away, and got into my dad’s car, how I must come across to other people in the school to warrant such a bizarre encounter. It hurt; I couldn’t believe that a person would ever think that I’d do something like that. And even if it was the encounter with one asshole, it really got to me. I realized how much of a recluse and a social outcast I must have appeared to everyone.

And but so anyway, ever since then, I will always feel distant from a great majority of the supposed “outcasts” and “losers” that are portrayed in popular literature and movies. People like Charlie just posture in the stereotyped identity of the sensitive, misunderstood outcast without ever really being it, truly; because to be the true outcast would mean to alienate a lot of the potential customers reading the book or watching the movie. The stories that really get in there and do the work to make an unlikable character which warrants social ostracism will be, in turn, ostracized from the popular media. A book like this will never really get to me when it features a main character who makes friends easily, makes girlfriends easily, and gets invited into his teacher’s house to be told that he’s the most special and intelligent students to ever attend his high school. It all reeks of bullshit and pandering if you ask me.(less)

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Apr 20, 2013 Basuhi Ravi rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: do-not-read-s, so-awful-i-couldn-t-complete

1.5 ( To be read as 1 ) stars.

I GIVE UP !

My high expectations wore off in the first few pages itself but I tried, really really tried to like it, owing to it's high ratings and the fact that it has been made into a movie.

With a completely preposterous plot, and a boring protagonist mewling every few pages.. I just cannot continue.

This is more of a "I can't believe I read this crap" rant with the sentences to gif ratio of 1....than a review.

READING THIS WAS:

I was halfway ( A big feat in itself...more

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Feb 26, 2013 Karolina rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, one-of-a-kind, loved-it, conteporary

February 25, 2013

Dear Charlie,

I am writing to you because I feel like you're the only one that would listen to me right now. From all the friends that I have made you are the one that's the most understanding. I guess what I'm trying to do is thank you for being there for me these last couple of days. I didn't expect to learn from you as much as I have. My mom always says that you can never really understand a person until you walk in their shoes, but I guess getting to know you and reading your...more

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Feb 24, 2013 Allie rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, coming-of-age, what-is-this-stoopid-crap

Drugs, abuse, child molestation, anything that would make people cry & be traumatizing for a teenager, it's all here in overdose, injected wherever possible into every character's life. How can the author be such a douche.

I felt emotionally manipulated by this inconsistently written, I'm-trying-to-be-deep-and-real-and-strike-emotional-chords crying fest.

So I Hulk-smashed it into the recycling bin.

God.

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Jun 06, 2008 Meredith rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: someone bored. it's an easy read.

Resounding accuracy of the voice of a boy teetering on the brink of adulthood, goodreads? Um yeah, maybe if all kids teetering on the brink of adulthood made you question if they were autistic and spent the majority of their free time reading the classics and going to therapy. Don't get me wrong. This book is good. You want to find out what the deal is with the main character for the entire book and at the end, you eventually get a pretty damn good idea. But for the love, this is not the Catcher...more

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Dec 26, 2012 Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: on-my-kindle, for-book-club, addicting-as-crack, bromance, favorites, young-adult, substance-abuse, realistic-fiction, romance

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

So, I've read this twice now. The first time I read it, I think I was about 14 years old and I believe I originally gave it three stars. But after waiting a few years and reading it again, discussing it with my book group at school, and seeing the movie (which I loved), my appreciation for it has grown immensely. And I think there's a lot of things I missed out on or didn't sympathize with as much when I read it as a younger teenager. Thus, I'm bumping my rating up to 4.5...more

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Dec 04, 2007 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

As much as people say it, this really is one of my favorite books of all time. MTV promoted it, it got a lot of press, so many people shun it and say it is overrated. I disagree.

I didn't read this book until last year, when I turned 21. My boyfriend owned it, it seemed like a quick read, and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

Main character Charlie is loveable from the first sentence out of his mouth. There are endless quoteable quotes in this book that had me folding the page over so I...more

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May 24, 2012 Maree rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Maree by: Reynje and Shirley

Shelves: ya-contemp, march-may-quarterly-ya-reading-chal, 2012-read

“And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.”

Just thought we’d get the cliches out of the way first. Actually, I'm lying - this review is probably going to be full of cheesy cliches.

Am I the only person (still technically a teenager) in the world who does not ‘get’ this book? Please tell me I’m not the only person in the world who had a fun time in high school and was actually really happy with my parents and my friends?

That brings me to my main problem with this book: I just don’t get it....more

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Feb 03, 2013 Kinga rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If I have one regret about my reading life it’s that I didn’t read this book in 2000.

I was a teenager. I just moved to the US all by myself and was about to attend American High School for a year. My life was a mess and I wanted to start anew. Nothing prepared for what I was about to experience and I did all the wrong things and went the wrong way about the whole thing. If I had only read this book back then maybe I would've gotten my priorities right.

Also it is written in such a simple languag...more If I have one regret about my reading life it’s that I didn’t read this book in 2000.

I was a teenager. I just moved to the US all by myself and was about to attend American High School for a year. My life was a mess and I wanted to start anew. Nothing prepared for what I was about to experience and I did all the wrong things and went the wrong way about the whole thing. If I had only read this book back then maybe I would've gotten my priorities right.

Also it is written in such a simple language that my teenage self wouldn’t struggle with it. It would give me the courage to explore more. As it was, I started reading in English with some big complicated book that made me dizzy and I eventually abandoned it.

It was 2000! This book was huge then, I believe. I went to a bookshop and asked someone there to recommend me a book. I explained I came to the US, just started American High School, that I felt very lonely and that books made me happy. Why the idiot working there didn’t just give me ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’, I will never know but I hope he got sacked eventually. Mind you, I wasn’t somewhere along the Bible belt, where he might've been worried of causing scandal by giving me this book. It was New Hampshire! Live free or die!

Of course, reading it now, in 2012, when I’m a seemingly well-adjusted adult living in London and not afraid of tackling even the most complex books in English, was not exactly a mind-blowing experience. I still felt the power and allure it would've had for me if I read it at a right time but could also see it for what it was – bit of a naïve coming of age story written in a language that was too simple if it was supposed to belong to Charlie - the English class prodigy. There was a lot of: “I was sad. I cried. I was happy. I cried. And then I just cried for no reason.”

But you know what, there is one lesson in it that you should remember. Friends are important. And the friends you make when you’re young are usually the friends you keep for life. So choose wise.
And also here is a note for half of the people on the internets: Charlie was NOT autistic. I know people tend to call ‘autistic’ anything they consider weird but Charlie was the opposite of autistic. Autism is not characterized by higher than normal appreciation of literature or being oversensitive to people’s feelings and super-perceptive when it comes to emotions. People, autism is more or less the opposite of that. If you need to give Charlie a label, make it PTSD and stop embarrassing yourselves.
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Jan 03, 2008 Stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: everyone

This book is beautiful. It is a classic teenager read. I have probably read this book a million times and it never gets old. I love how honest and deep Charlie is. He will get you thinking about the good things and what really matters in life. I am inspired whenever I read this book and I hope you can get as much out of it as I do each and every time.
This is was my book report for school. Hope it helps!

“We are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if...more This book is beautiful. It is a classic teenager read. I have probably read this book a million times and it never gets old. I love how honest and deep Charlie is. He will get you thinking about the good things and what really matters in life. I am inspired whenever I read this book and I hope you can get as much out of it as I do each and every time.
This is was my book report for school. Hope it helps!

“We are who we are for a lot 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 wherever we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.” (pg.211) Every word spoken by Charlie has touched my heart. I love how honest and deep Charlie is. He will get you thinking about the good things and what really matters in life. I am inspired whenever I read this book.
Written by Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower would have to be one of the most insightful young adult novels I have read. It’s a collection of letters written by a boy who calls himself Charlie. He writes “to know that someone out there listens and understands and doesn’t try to sleep with people even if they could have. (He) need(s) to know that these people exist.” (pg.2)
This books talks about drugs, sex, sexuality, literature, films, music, and daily adolescent life. The main character, Charlie, a freshman in the early 1990’s, is just beginning high school like all of us. Following his meeting with Sam and Patrick, two seniors who become his best friends, Charlie begins to experience more of life. He was always more of the shy understanding type who would “use thought to not participate in life.” (pg.24)
"The world of first dates and mix tapes, family dramas and new friends, the world of sex, drugs and the rocky horror picture show, when all you need is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite…" (Back cover) When I read certain books, or certain lines I can get the chills. Not just “oh that I was so good I got the chills” but the true hair raising shiver with a small sweep of coldness, chills. That line does it for me. “And in that moment, I swear we were infinite." (pg.39) If these lines have no affect on you, I do not recommend reading this book. It’s for the thinkers as well as the participators. It’s for the ones who enjoy simplicity and want to widen and better their point of view. Don’t take me wrong though, everyone should read it, but at their own time.
This book has inspired me to try and do so much more. Charlie did and achieved so much in just his freshman year alone. I want to live a life like him. One that I can look back and be proud of, one that I can tell my kids about, of walking home from school and spending the best times with my friends. To you, right now in this classroom it may seem little and petty, but to Charlie and I, this is real. After reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower, I assure you that Charlie will be with you forever.(less)

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view all 6 comments

Sean Curraoin This is a truly great review of one of my favourite books ever
I normally read the more thriller/ mystery type of genre book but I heard they were maki...more
Dec 03, 2012 01:27pm

Carly Mmmmm ... can't help but think of my own teens, back in a time when a book like this would have been banned. We certainly wouldn't have been encourage...more
Dec 05, 2012 09:05am

Jun 02, 2012 Simona Bartolotta rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Avrei voluto alzare le spalle davanti alla stranezza di tutti... soprattutto alla mia."

Ciao Charlie,
sai, hai ragione tu. Riguardo alla stranezza delle persone, intendo. Ma anche riguardo a tutte le altre cose. Al modo in cui ci si sente tristi e curiosi guardando la gente, ai genitori che nelle foto sembrano sempre felici e ai figli che guardandoli pensano «anche io voglio essere felice così», all'ultimo libro che abbiamo letto che è sempre il nostro preferito. Alla bellezza del momento in cui...more

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Jan 18, 2012 Shirley Marr rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Reynje

Recommended to Shirley by: Tatiana

Shelves: usa-crossover

"And in that moment, I swear we were infinite." URGH! I hate that quote! It smacks of a forced whimsy and I bet you that nobody actually knows what it means because they don't want to be outed as a non-cool kid, so everyone pretends that it's deep instead of perhaps the matter of the truth - that it probably doesn't make any sense and therefore means squat all.

This quote just makes me think of this: The Infinite Cat Project. But that type of infinity is better because it a) involves cats and c)...more

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Jun 30, 2012 DC rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: recommended-to-me

June 30, 2012

Dear Charlie,

First of all, thank you for sending me your poignant letters. I'm honored you think of me as a person that didn't try to sleep with that person at that party even though I could have. I'm ecstatic you decided to allow me to read your thoughts. I'm glad you proved to be such a great letter-writer/story-teller. I am really quite happy about this.

It was nice receiving letters from you, even though they're dated long ago. I know that I got them for only a couple of months (...more June 30, 2012

Dear Charlie,

First of all, thank you for sending me your poignant letters. I'm honored you think of me as a person that didn't try to sleep with that person at that party even though I could have. I'm ecstatic you decided to allow me to read your thoughts. I'm glad you proved to be such a great letter-writer/story-teller. I am really quite happy about this.

It was nice receiving letters from you, even though they're dated long ago. I know that I got them for only a couple of months (in a span of one year), but it felt like you've been talking to me since you were very young. (Remember that memory you called the first one you ever remembered?) I sometimes felt like the things you were pouring out in your letters were a little too personal, but you let me into your head, into your heart, into your soul.

With only your words, I saw you "participate", I saw you have friends, I saw you fall in love, I saw you grow. I may not have ever seen you or the persons you know personally, but I could almost taste your fries from that fastfood chain, I could almost hear Mary Elizabeth's chatter, I could almost see Patrick's smile, I could almost feel the winter cold of your world there. Your friends and family were as real to me as if I saw them every single day of my life.

Now... While I was glad you were very honest in your letters, I have to admit that your highs and lows were brutal and enlightening to me, as they were to you. Your first kiss (remember her tears?), your first "girlfriend" (e.e. cummings will always remind me of her), your first experiments with different substances (I was a little appalled, a little sad, a little curiously happy for you), your first drive (oh, the silly sophomores), your first mix tape (thank you very much for introducing me to a number of memorable songs!), your first time watching the last episode of M*A*S*H (I promise to keep that incident secret, too). You had your issues, but you seemed more interested in those of others. I felt more than a little sad when you were being too nice to some people... But boy was I rather depressed when you had to be all alone! I wish I could've always been there, instead of reading of your exploits on a date after you've had them.

I'll sincerely cherish your words, your thoughts, your ideas. Thank you very much for the pop culture references - you surely made me add more books and more songs and more "films" to my to-check-out list!

I'm a little sad that I haven't gotten any more letters from you after that last one, but I understand. I'm sure you're doing well, and rest assured: I'll always be here to hear you out when you need it.

Thank you for being so wonderfully Charlie-esque. Thank you for letting me feel infinite.

Love always,
Your friend(less)

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Feb 16, 2011 Isamlq rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"And in that moment, I swear we were infinite."

The Perks of Being a Wallflower doesn’t tackle anything new… drugs, music, sexuality etc have all been dealt with in other books, this book just sets itself apart for me because the protagonist while being absolutely honest is also absolutely naïve. I have no real reason to like him. Other than his being… absolutely honest. BUT it is was also this honesty that had me doubting his authenticity.

The book is written in letter form to an un-named frien...more

like 21 likes · see review

Sep 29, 2007 Paige rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: teenagers

It is possible that the author of this book sat down and thought to himself, "Alright, I have this kid - now let me try to put him through every adolescent situation that a suburban white teen faces." Wasn't this book promoted by MTV? It certainly does have a commercial flakiness - especially with the plot converting well into an afternoon TV special. If it's not sex, it's the drinking or the drugs or the insecurities. Perhaps reading this book is not recommended for those who have already exper...more

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Mar 22, 2013 Kat (Le Pauvre Cœur) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: i-dont-really-know-what-to-think, movie-was-better, not-worth-the-hype

Stopped on page 20. Couldn't stand the writing, the main character, or the story.

description

Update; 3-16-13

I just watched the movie and....I kind of, um...loved it.

description

I'm gonna be picking this up again because the movie was so good.

After Finishing

3.5 Stars

I honestly don't know what to think of this book. I started reading it a long time ago and stopped because I didn't like the story or the writing. Then the movie came out, and I watched it, and I fell in love with it. So I decided to give the book another...more

like 13 likes · see review

Jan 14, 2013 Miss rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Glass

Shelves: glbt, mental-illness, realistic-fiction, teen, letters

Do you remember the ´90s?
Nirvana. Metallica. Red Hot Chili Peppers. U2.& R.E.M.
Thake That, New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys & Spice Girls.
Famoust TV-shows: Friends, Step by Step, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air...
Windows 95 was The Best!
We used to listen to the radio all day long just to record our favorite song of all time on a TAPE. Boom boxes and walkmans were such a great thing. We recorded stuff on VCRs and rented VHS tapes, not DVDs.
We were getting up early on a Saturday to wa...more

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Sep 08, 2011 K.D. Oliveros rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to K.D. by: ☼~Marian~☼

Shelves: ya

The Perks of Being a Wallflower: A. Free live sex shows but you are not allowed to tell anyone. B. Free LSD mixed in a brownie. C. Free to make out with girls who take fancy on you because you seem to be harmless. D. Free books because you are autistic hence you can finish a challenging book to read like Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead” in 12 days and your English teacher wants to challenge you by giving you more and more books to read. E. All of the above. F. None of the above.

I read this novel...more

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Dec 19, 2012 Beatrice Masalunga rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone

Shelves: favorite-books, owned

This book tells about every teenagers life. For sure a lot of people could relate in this novel especially when they remembered the first time they entered Highschool. You meet new people with different personalities. Everything in Highschool is part of growing up and we learn to make our own choices in the future. A story that involves family, love , and friendship.

Charlie is a wallflower.Freshman student. He's sensitive, emotional and weird. His Aunt's death had affected him, and he is strug...more

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Jul 24, 2012 Maria rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, 2012-favorites, contemporary

I highly recommend The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

*****

I didn't expect to get (magically) swept away. I really didn't. I was expecting a whining, dramatic fifteen-year-old Charlie. But all i encountered was openness and sweet, sweet honesty. Oh, Charlie. You owned me from page one. :)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a lot of things. It dealt with drugs, sex, abuse, bullying. You might find that negatively intimidating but Chbosky's writing softened the blows that might have stung because of s...more

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Jul 06, 2009 Kim rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: the-kids-are-all-right

There are certain nuggets… certain lines or sentiments that I stockpile when I read.. I find them on pieces of paper towels or on the back of notebooks, I’ve stopped writing them on my arms since it grosses my husband out…. but they are still there, those little lines of self therapy that I rely on to further my mental wellness and to avoid those damn co-pays.

So, I’m reading yet another YA book about a teen with issues that seem so prevalent these days, I mean, really, what teen doesn’t have is...more

like 58 likes · see review

Apr 19, 2013 Jesse rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own

So happy I decided to re-read this. I missed charlie and the gang.

like 12 likes · see review

May 06, 2012 stumbelina rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The two things I enjoyed about this book ---

1. This cheese fest of a quote and probably the most quoted lines by teeny boppers and adult teeny-bopper-child-stars who have read the book:

"When we got out of the tunnel, Sam screamed this really funny scream, and there it was. Downtown. Lights on buildings and everything makes you wonder. Sam sat down and started laughing. Patrick started laughing. I started laughing.
And in that moment, i swear we were infinite."

Deep, right? ...Gosh, I can remember...more

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Aug 30, 2011 Chiara Pagliochini rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: narrativa-contemporanea, letteratura-americana

Un ragazzo in guanti di vetro

Non so da dove mi venga quest’espressione. Temo che non esista, e non sono neanche troppo fiera di averla inventata. Però mi sembrava una definizione sintetica di ciò che penso di questo romanzo.
Non è un genere di lettura che mi è abituale. La cosa più simile che mi viene in mente è Speak, di Laurie Halse Anderson, che non mi era affatto dispiaciuto, anche se non so quale sia l’opinione degli “esperti del settore” a riguardo. Dunque, posto che non so nulla di quest...more

like 16 likes · see review

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Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Movie or book?	8	27	25 minutes ago
Has anyone read all the books mentioned in this book?	8	37	29 minutes ago
The poem. What did it mean to Charlie?	34	1656	12 hours, 41 min ago
Charlie's sexual abuse	172	7607	May 17, 2013 11:07am
infinite, Mary Elizabeth and alice	4	35	May 16, 2013 05:52pm
Did Charlie's sister...SPOILER	9	430	May 14, 2013 08:10pm

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About Stephen Chbosky

Stephen Chbosky grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated from the University of Southern California's Filmic Writing Program. His first film, The Four Corners of Nowhere, premiered at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival and went on to win Best Narrative Feature honors at the Chicago Underground Film Festival.

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