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The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Stephen Chbosky

Start date: May 1, 2023

Finish date: May 31, 2023

Discussion: -ˏˋ. 2023 botm ˊˎ-

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-ˏˋ. 2023 botm ˊˎ-

october
By mak ⊹₊⋆ · 3 posts · 36 views

last updated Oct 02, 2023 06:47AM

september
By mak ⊹₊⋆ · 1 post · 30 views

last updated Sep 03, 2023 08:19AM

What Members Thought

Apr 24, 2023 sosi✮ (skywalker’s version) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

there aren’t words to describe how this book made me feel. this is the book of adolescence, of life. this is the book.

33 likes · Like · see review

May 10, 2023 mak ⊹₊⋆ rated it really liked it

Shelves: want-to-buy, classics, dark-academia-vibes, best, sad-girl-hour

⨯ . ⁺ ✦ ⊹ ꙳ ⁺ ‧ ⨯. ⁺ ✦ ⊹ . * ꙳ ✦ ⊹

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky Review

I’m not sure about this one. I liked the simple, flowy, unique writing style of Chbosky’s. It was nice, descriptive in some parts; but it also felt lazy and as if many could replicate it. It was easy to read though, and I enjoyed that considering the dark topics the book discusses.

This book talks a lot about a bunch of different triggering topics (TW/SPOILER) (view spoiler) ⨯ . ⁺ ✦ ⊹ ꙳ ⁺ ‧ ⨯. ⁺ ✦ ⊹ . * ꙳ ✦ ⊹

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky Review

I’m not sure about this one. I liked the simple, flowy, unique writing style of Chbosky’s. It was nice, descriptive in some parts; but it also felt lazy and as if many could replicate it. It was easy to read though, and I enjoyed that considering the dark topics the book discusses.

This book talks a lot about a bunch of different triggering topics (TW/SPOILER) (view spoiler), and honestly in that spoiler thing, I’m 99% sure that I forgot a lot. I liked the representation of different triggering topics and issues in the world, but at the same time I felt like Chbosky brought all of this shit up and completely dismissed it all. The main character, Charlie, goes through and/or witnesses all of this, and they mainly ignore an issue then bring up another one. Over and over and over again… How/Why did the author bring all of these topics up and continue to dismiss them as a temporary little pain for a few weeks? I’m not sure if I’m the only one to feel this way. (TW/SPOILER) (view spoiler)

I liked the characters. They definitely had their flaws though.

This book is about MC Charlie who has made it to his freshman year of high after a tough time in eighth grade. He befriends the kind seniors Sam and Patrick, and they help him throughout the year. Charlie try’s to heal after unfortunate events from the past.

3 or 3.5 stars? I liked the book, it made me cry; It has a lot of flaws, but in the end it was worth a read. Can’t wait to watch the movie!

⨯ . ⁺ ✦ ⊹ ꙳ ⁺ ‧ ⨯. ⁺ ✦ ⊹ . * ꙳ ✦ ⊹ ...more

12 likes · Like · see review

Nov 04, 2022 I'm Funny rated it really liked it

Shelves: re-read

WHY THE FUCK HAVEN'T I READ THIS BEFORE??????????????????????????????????????? ...more

9 likes · Like · see review

Feb 13, 2023 ౨ৎ added it

read this ages ago I think it’s a 4.5

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 28, 2023 Haya Sameer rated it it was ok

Shelves: read-in-2023

Some books are read because of the message they carry rather than their story. I believe The Perks of Being a Wallflower was supposed to be one of those books, yet failed terribly.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower has a narration and writing style very different from what I'm accustomed to reading, however, I decided to give it a chance anyways. I feel like a lot of people complain about the lack of depth in Charlie's character, and while I agree on some levels, I also feel like it is important t Some books are read because of the message they carry rather than their story. I believe The Perks of Being a Wallflower was supposed to be one of those books, yet failed terribly.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower has a narration and writing style very different from what I'm accustomed to reading, however, I decided to give it a chance anyways. I feel like a lot of people complain about the lack of depth in Charlie's character, and while I agree on some levels, I also feel like it is important to take the narration style into account.

In the book, Charlie is writing letters to someone. It's important to take this into perspective since it would realistically limit the amount of description in the book. However, what I cannot understand is why his writing style is so choppy and underwhelming given that he is a straight As student.

I also found it a little weird how downplayed the serious issues in this book are. To me, it felt like one of those early 2000s high school movies that try to address cliques and high school issues such as homosexuality, drug abuse, etc. except it was crammed with so many issues I didn't quite know where to look.

I think the only part of the book that was actually impactful to me were the chapters that covered his mother's and father's families, and I believe that's sort of the issue with this book.

It attempts to showcase so many different issues and topics that it ended up failing to address any of them. I don't think The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a badly written book that falls flat. I just think it isn't quite as revolutionary as everyone made it out to be. Or rather, it doesn't seem that revolutionary to someone my age from this generation.

I don't think this is a bad book, in fact, I think The Perks of Being a Wallflower could have left an impact on the right audience, in the right timeline. However, I do believe that this book isn't nearly as impactful to me now as it would have been say 5, 10 years ago. The reason for this is simply because there are various other books that cover similar topics in a much more detailed and better form, and the shortcomings of this novel make it very hard to regard it as a good read.

It's why this isn't exactly my favourite read and didn't have any impact on me emotionally or philosophically.

The characters were another issue in themselves. All of Charlie's friends were characters trying so hard to not be cliche that they ended being exactly that. I found 90% of the characters annoying, and the other 10% just felt like they needed a wake up call and needed to grow up.

The only characters I might have liked even remotely were Patrick and his brother. His grandfather also comes to mind. Most of the female characters vexed me because the whole 'every female is a victim' narrative was starting to get annoying. I especially didn't like Sam, or Aunt Helen (mind you I felt this way well before the end of the book).

All in all, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is the type of book you would read on the way to school one day, and then probably never think of again. That's it. It's neither good nor bad in my books, but it is quite boring and does nothing to address the very serious topics it portrays. ...more

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