The Perks of Being a Wallflower in -ˏˋ. the booklover group ˊˎ-

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.

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Aug 03, 2023 ·.·★Zozan★·.· rated it liked it

The reason I didn't give this book 4 stars was that I wouldn't recommend it to just anyone. I feel like this is a type of book that would hit different depending on where you are in life. For some it will resonate and make them reflect and for others they will find the flaws such as the writing or the characters don't have enough depth.

For me it took forever to finish reading it and I think that affected the whole story and my liking towards it.

I understand why people liked this book , it's a g ...more

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Jan 14, 2023 emma ୨୧ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: recommendation, heart-shattering

“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.”
if this isn't a perfect representation of my mind i don't know what is.
as a teenager, i feel so excepted by this book and these characters.
i have definitely not been through the trauma that charlie has, but GOD it's hard existing anyway. and this quote made me realise just how much other people relate to me, and that i'm not alone :)

“And in that moment, I swear we were “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.”
if this isn't a perfect representation of my mind i don't know what is.
as a teenager, i feel so excepted by this book and these characters.
i have definitely not been through the trauma that charlie has, but GOD it's hard existing anyway. and this quote made me realise just how much other people relate to me, and that i'm not alone :)

“And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.”
OH MY GOD.
i watched the film with a friend shortly after reading the book and i think it hit different in the film than the book, and i'm not sure why. but i REALLY RECOMMEND watching at least that scene because i think it rewired my brain LMAOO

“Once on a yellow piece of paper with green lines
he wrote a poem
And he called it "Chops"
because that was the name of his dog

And that's what it was all about
And his teacher gave him an A
and a gold star
And his mother hung it on the kitchen door
and read it to his aunts
That was the year Father Tracy
took all the kids to the zoo

And he let them sing on the bus
And his little sister was born
with tiny toenails and no hair
And his mother and father kissed a lot
And the girl around the corner sent him a
Valentine signed with a row of X's

and he had to ask his father what the X's meant
And his father always tucked him in bed at night
And was always there to do it

Once on a piece of white paper with blue lines
he wrote a poem
And he called it "Autumn"

because that was the name of the season
And that's what it was all about
And his teacher gave him an A
and asked him to write more clearly
And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door
because of its new paint

And the kids told him
that Father Tracy smoked cigars
And left butts on the pews
And sometimes they would burn holes
That was the year his sister got glasses
with thick lenses and black frames
And the girl around the corner laughed

when he asked her to go see Santa Claus
And the kids told him why
his mother and father kissed a lot
And his father never tucked him in bed at night
And his father got mad
when he cried for him to do it.

Once on a paper torn from his notebook
he wrote a poem
And he called it "Innocence: A Question"
because that was the question about his girl
And that's what it was all about
And his professor gave him an A

and a strange steady look
And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door
because he never showed her
That was the year that Father Tracy died
And he forgot how the end
of the Apostle's Creed went

And he caught his sister
making out on the back porch
And his mother and father never kissed
or even talked
And the girl around the corner
wore too much makeup
That made him cough when he kissed her

but he kissed her anyway
because that was the thing to do
And at three a.m. he tucked himself into bed
his father snoring soundly

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.”
crying my eyes out. that's all. that's all i have to say.

RECOMMEND. 5 STARS.
emma xx ...more

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Aug 09, 2023 angeline (taylor's version) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

Oh my goodness. This book. I saw the movie earlier this year and loved it and since I read I felt like I had to read the book. I saw so much of myself in Charlie, which made the book so special to me.

One thing though is I saw a lot of similarities with this book and "If he had been with me."

If you're thinking about reading this book, please do!! ...more

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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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