From the Bookshelf of ♥ Nothing Better Than Reading!! ♥ …

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Stephen Chbosky

Start date: August 1, 2013

Finish date: August 31, 2013

Discussion: Book/Genre of the Month

Find A Copy At

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 169 topics — 1,401 comments total

Book/Genre of the Month

* The System
By A , Crazy. · 2 posts · 468 views

last updated Nov 26, 2020 11:02AM

Your books in 2023
By Miriam · 3 posts · 19 views

last updated Jan 23, 2023 11:40PM

showing 10 of 27 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Nov 03, 2012 Jennifer C. rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, 2013-challenge, top-3-of-the-year

I was so pleasantly surprised by this book. I got it because I want to see the movie and I don't like to watch movies based on books without reading the book first. I love to compare. Anyway, this book was so beautiful. There are so many great quotes that just stuck in my mind. One of the more popular one is: "We accept the love we think we deserve." That's kind of the theme throughout the book.

I really loved Charlie. I know that a lot of people don't like his character because he seems much yo I was so pleasantly surprised by this book. I got it because I want to see the movie and I don't like to watch movies based on books without reading the book first. I love to compare. Anyway, this book was so beautiful. There are so many great quotes that just stuck in my mind. One of the more popular one is: "We accept the love we think we deserve." That's kind of the theme throughout the book.

I really loved Charlie. I know that a lot of people don't like his character because he seems much younger than 15, but he has reasons for being the way that he is and everyone is different. He has a hard time dealing with things and several times throughout the story he talks about his psychiatrist. People don't go to a psychiatrist for no reason. Sometimes people will see a therapist, which is not a medical doctor and cannot prescribe medicine. That is completely different from a psychiatrist. He also mentions that he is on medication and has several "episodes" throughout the story. I feel like I'm defending Charlie now, and I really don't want to do that. People will either love or hate him and I really really love him in an I just want to give him the biggest hug kind of way.

The book is written as a series of letters to an anonymous person from Charlie. I thought that this was kind of unique even though it was written in Charlie's voice and he is very smart, but not very eloquent. He has a hard time connecting with people. His friendship with Sam and Patrick is very special and I really loved the stories about them.

The book is set in Pittsburgh, which is where I live so I really enjoyed the tunnel references. Sam likes to stand in the back of her pick up truck while Patrick drives through the tunnel. The tunnel that they are referring to opens up with the best view of Pittsburgh and is especially beautiful at night. I've lived here all my life and it will never stop being beautiful.

I had such a range of emotions while reading this book. I mostly felt sad though. These quotes really hit me. Maybe because his feeling seem so honest and not forced or fake.

"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."

“I just want you to know that you’re very special… and the only reason I’m telling you is that I don’t know if anyone else ever has.”

“It's like he would take a photograph of Sam, and the photograph
would be beautiful. And he would think that the reason the
photograph was beautiful was because of how he took it. If I took
it, I would know that the only reason it's beautiful is because of
Sam.”

Oh, and I loved how his relationship with his sister evolved. At the beginning she really didn't want anything to do with him, but they shared some really big experiences and became very close. I loved that when she would get really mad at him and scream "I hate you!" he would just say "I love you" back. Like he wasn't going to just shout back that he hated her too, because he really didn't. I think people do that a lot when they fight. Something about someone telling you that they hate you just makes you want to scream it right back, when sometimes what you really mean is "I love you, but it hurts so much that you hate me so I'll just say it right back." Hopefully it won't happen soon, but the next time you are in a fight and someone tells you that they hate you, try telling them you love them while meaning it. Not in a snarky sarcastic way. It's close to impossible, even if it is true.

And then there's Sam. God, he loves her. So much. At the beginning, she told him that he is too young for her and he shouldn't think of her "in that way". So he just silently loves her. I think my favorite scene in the book is when they are at a party playing Truth or Dare and he is kind of dating Mary Elizabeth and Patrick dares Charlie to (view spoiler)

I could go on about this book forever. I really loved it. I know that it got some crazy mixed reviews, but I totally recommend it to everyone. This is not a book that you just fly through. It's not light reading. You just kind of absorb it and replay it in your head over and over. I really can't stop thinking about it.

...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Oct 12, 2012 Nena rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, ya-contemporary

I really loved this book!, at first i was a wee bit skeptical to read it since i heard that it was like letters to the reader and i thought it would be weird to read a book that way, but after i started reading it i just got sucked in,i love Charlie, Sam and Patric <3. I would really recommend this book to anyone!

2 likes · Like · see review

Sep 09, 2013 Robert rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2014

All I can say is that I wish I could have the friends Charlie had. But seeing the similarities between us I feel we'd have been ffriends. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 17, 2013 Hajarath Prasad Abburu rated it really liked it

The book beginned like anything but good. I was confused as to leave it or continue with it but as the pages turned by, it became closer and closer. Lovely yet a bit too formulaic ..!!!!!

Like · see review