Perks of Being a Wallflower

by Stephen Chbosky

Read the cult-favorite coming of age story that takes a sometimes heartbreaking, often hysterical, and always honest look at high school in all its glory. Now a major motion picture starring Logan Lerman and Emma Watson, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a funny, touching, and haunting modern classic.

The critically acclaimed debut novel from Stephen Chbosky, Perks follows observant "wallflower" Charlie as he charts a course through the strange world between adolescence and adulthood. First dates, family drama, and new friends. Sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Devastating loss, young love, and life on the fringes. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it, Charlie must learn to navigate those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.

A years-long #1 New York Times bestseller, an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults and Best Book for Reluctant Readers, and with millions of copies in print, this novel for teen readers (or "wallflowers" of more-advanced age) will make you laugh, cry, and perhaps feel nostalgic for those moments when you, too, tiptoed onto the dance floor of life.

• ISBN10: 0606183787
• ISBN13: 9780606183789
• Publish Date: 1 February 1999
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 1 July 2021
• Imprint: Turtleback Books
• Edition: Turtleback School & Library ed.
• Format: Hardcover (Library Binding)
• Language: English

Reviews

[nitzan_schwarz]

Originally posted on my blog. Re-reviewed on my new blog here. 

If you look at my original review, you'll see my initial rating was three stars. It wasn't because I thought the book deserved that rating; it was because I was afraid to give it less. Afraid of being the odd one out. I convinced myself I kind of liked it, to a point. Told myself I "both hated and loved it". I even wrote so in my review. I was lying.

Not consciously, but lying regardless. I didn't love this book. I didn't even like it. It went beyond simple disappointment; it was a profound discomfort. I didn't enjoy what I was reading. I felt like I shouldn't be reading it, and in the worst way possible.

Maybe I should've known this would happen when I chose to read the book just because the movie was coming, and my idol Emma Watson was starring in it. But I have found some gems because of movies before, so while the book never caught my interest (mostly because I couldn't glean the foggiest clue of what the book was about from the summary), I was optimistic. That oughta teach me. 

I couldn't connect with Charlie. His "voice" was so foreign to me, on many levels. He sounded to me like a ten year old in his writing--definitely not a 15-year-old. Then, from this ten year old, there would once in a while come some of the deepest things. It was jarring, even though I love meaningful shit like that. But the most awkward part was reading of this mental ten-year-old smoking, doing drugs, drinking and having sex-related experiences. It felt so completely wrong. Vile. I almost felt... violated, if I feel like being dramatic about it.  

If that's not enough, I couldn't relate to the way Charlie reacted to... just about everything. I felt like he probably has some form of autism, but I've read books with autistic protagonists before (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time andThe Rosie Project are a couple of astounding ones that come to mind), and I fully related, understood and loved those. Not here.

And on top of all that (yes, there is more!), I didn't like Charlie's relationships with those around him, even with Patrick whom I loved (Sam, not so much). And I simply hated the romance--or lack of it. Or lack of conclusion. I felt like since I went through all that ickiness, I should at least get something out of it.

But worst of all, this book didn't have a plot. It was just... all over the place, and the final revelation... it came out of nowhere! It was like *poof* and it's there. There was no hint or clue prior to it, nor a feeling like the book was heading anywhere near there. 

Honestly, I don't think I got the point of the book. Maybe I just missed something, because obviously people seesomething in it, but I didn't. And you know what? I'm okay with that. I'm okay with hating this book. I'm okay with being the odd one out. And I'm done pretending I'm not. 

Originally posted on my blog. Re-reviewed on my new blog here. 

[thepunktheory]

I think the book was written nicely, the style reminded me a little bit of "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher. But I have to say most parts of the book were quite predictable. Although the story was okay and the situations were described quite nicely, some parts seemed kind of stereotyped.

The world seems to be stoked about this book but I am not that excited. It was a decent book but to me it wasn't such a masterpiece. I'm sure some of you will love it but there are better books out there. I'm curious how the movie turned out.

This is a book for people who fancy coming of age stories, it's a quick read. It might not be overwhelming for me but maybe it is for you.

[KitsuneBae]

This review is also posted in Thoughts and Pens.

Before anything else, I’d like to inform you that the sole reason I’ve read this book is that it was sent to me by my sister as a surprise gift—it wasn’t my birthday though—and I don’t have the heart to ignore it knowing that she paid a significant amount for its shipping.
I don’t have any problem reading epistolary novels. In fact, Daddy Long Legs and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid are favorites of mine. But this book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, has made it into my list of most hated books for 2013. I don’t care if it has been made into a movie or Emma Watson was the star. It was dry and dismal… absolutely unconvincing about the coming-of-age thingy. You wanna know why? Read on, bloggy friends.

So we are introduced to the life of Charlie and how he came out of his shell when he befriended a senior named Patrick and eventually, the latter’s sister, Sam. And then Charlie saw the world of how it is being in high school with the wild parties, drug use, premarital sex, violence, and shallow relationships. In the middle of these experiences, Charlie is also keeping a dark secret of his childhood which has left him traumatized until his high school years.
So okay, I did understand what Stephen is trying to convey in this book. What I can’t understand is that why did he titled this one as the perks of being a wallflower? I’ve read the whole book and I’m sorry if I sound like a blabbering imbecile but I didn’t see what kind perks Charlie got after being a wallflower. The whole story just failed to connect to the title.

And there were the characters that were as boring as our old chopping board. Charlie was the most annoying of all. He seemed detached, clueless, naïve…a sort of person who was born yesterday. His teacher was all praises for him… being smart and all that. I can’t just get it because Charlie wasn’t smart at all… he likes reading and yet, it’s as if he’s not learning from all the books that he read with the way he’s acting. For goodness sake, he’s 15 years old but Stephen depicts him like an eight year old kid. He is even confused on how to handle his relationship with Mary Elizabeth like he completely had no idea on why he was in that kind of situation at all. Whatever. It turned out later that he’s a troubled kid after suffering from an abuse when he was a child. But that’s exactly my point, how can he act so naïve when he had experienced firsthand the ugliness of human nature? I would really love to dissect Charlie’s character in this review but I think that would give too many spoilers.

Aside from the wild parties, etc. that I’ve mentioned in the second paragraph, TPBW also included rape and gay relationships creating an enchilada of human ugliness. While I do appreciate those things being the subject of some books, I can’t bring myself to like this book for that. Clueless Stephen went throwing all those ingredients without thoroughly blending it with the whole story. It made the book one-sided. It did not delve into why or how the other teenagers got into that kind of mess. To put it simply, it was superficial and a mockery to those people who experienced being in those situations. Stephen definitely poked his nose into a subject matter that he clearly does not understand. Otherwise, he would have written this book with great cautiousness.
Stephen’s manner of writing TPBW was also mediocre which failed to transport me into the hellish world of teenage chaos. It was even very monotonous using the same words over and over again which is somewhat unbelievable if you think of Charlie being “a wide reader.” It lacked the right emotion and the X-factor to keep the readers aching for more.

As much as I would like waste my time to write a novella review for this book, I don’t think I could go on. TPBW has already used up a significant amount of my time with me reading it. There’s no way I’d spend that much for writing a review for this joke of a book. Enough is enough. Would I recommend this book? Sure, if you think being extremely annoyed is the perfect way to spend a glorious day.

[anastasia]

http://somanybookssolittletimebookgroup.wordpress.com/2012/12/22/the-perks-of-being-a-wallflower-by-stephen-chbosky/

[Rinn]

Also posted on my blog, Rinn Reads.

I had real trouble deciding on a rating for this book - I've been debating over how many stars to award it since I finished it last night, and finally settled on three, which is a solid rating. I enjoyed it, but not as much as I enjoyed other books that I have awarded four stars, hence the lower rating.

I'd read so many glowing reviews of this book that I think I was expecting great things. And whilst it is a sweet, and in some cases haunting, coming-of-age story, it wasn't fantastic. Don't get me wrong, I definitely enjoyed it and read it in a couple of hours spread over a few days - but I just don't see how it has quite the extent of praise that it has earned.

Before starting the book, I didn't realise that it was written as a series of letters. And whilst this is a way for us to really see how Charlie is feeling as he pours his heart and soul into writing them, it makes the other characters fall a little flat. Sam especially - Charlie was in love with her, but I didn't understand why because I felt I barely knew her. Most of what was written about Sam was Charlie commenting on how he felt about her, not what she was like as a person. Patrick was a little more developed in that Charlie wrote about time he spent with Patrick in a way that revealed more sides of his character. So although the letter format has some upsides: it is a very personal account of Charlie's first year in high school; it also makes character development, apart from Charlie, very difficult.

The book was also very simply written. But I suppose that was just how Charlie is supposed to write - he is only fifteen after all. As for his personality, it was really nice to read a Young Adult book where the main character is so pure. Not pure as in won't drink, take drugs, have sex etc, but as in a genuinely kind and good-natured person. He spends so little time thinking about himself, and most of it worrying over others. He is unstable and very over-emotional, which is something rarely portrayed in male protagonists. It is for this reason that I am interested to see how Charlie will be portrayed in the film - I just can't imagine Charlie, the emotional wreck, on screen. I feel like they will tone it down a bit, which is a shame because it's such an important part of the book. Many readers will be able to identify with Charlie's position - not a popular guy, nor a social outcast - and it most likely for this reason the book has gained such a cult following.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys contemporary Young Adult novels, or if you like books set in high school. Although many characters fall a bit flat, Charlie is a stand-out protagonist and we definitely need more people like him in the world; people who think more about how others are feeling than themselves. With a bit of a twist at the end, it is a lovely account of high school without feeling the need to portray too many outrageous parties, consumption of drugs and alcohol, and sex.

[Amanda]

It's always difficult to review a book when so many people love it and you...don't. Because so many people have praised this book, I went into reading fully expecting to be blown away. I was not. In fact, the first time I attempted to read The Perks of Being a Wallflower, I made it about 100 pages in, and then gave up. That was last year. With the book being made into a movie, I decided that it was time to try again. Sadly, the second time was not really any better than the first other than I actually finished the book this time.

First, I don't deal with ambiguity or vagueness very well. So, contemporary books that have no main driving plot line other than one year of high school don't sit well with me. I like books that have one central problem that the main character seeks to solve or address throughout the course of the book. Though I suppose you could argue that fitting in or surviving high school was the central problem, it was not enough for me. I did not feel the drive to move forward with the book. It was too easy to put down.

Second, I found it very difficult to relate to Charlie. His world and mine are so completely different that it was a struggle to understand his motives. Don't get me wrong. I've had my own issues with fitting in and finding myself and participating in life, so I relate to that overall arc. But I battled with those issues from the perspective of someone who has social anxiety. Charlie may be socially awkward and clumsy, but he's not socially anxious. This is an important distinction for me to make because awkwardness and clumsiness are not the same as anxious. Furthermore, Charlie struck me as someone who was very naive. I wasn't a very worldly teenager, either, but again, I just couldn't relate to Charlie.

The part that frustrated me the most was how the issues teens face were addressed. Were many issues addressed? Yes, definitely. Is it good to address these? YES. But I felt that these issues were only briefly skimmed over. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is the perfect book for opening dialogue with teenagers. But as an adult reader who wanted an exploration of these issues (and who has no teenagers in her life to open up dialogue with), the issues only skimmed the surface of what could have been covered. Why does teen pregnancy--for example--only get one, maybe two, letters? There was so much left unsaid. I expected more. I wanted more.

That said, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is not a bad book. It just wasn't the book for me. The writing is good. For the right reader, it will be engaging and funny and amazing. I was not that reader. It's also possible that all the hype worked against me. I expected something life changing. I didn't get that.

[Stephanie]

This is another book that I liked (not loved) but also hated. Perhaps this wasn't the best book to read after finishing Chabon's book (with great language and characters) since a lot of this fell into a very simplistic realm. It read fast, so that is good, but many of the interactions/relationships felt rather stereotypical high school binaries. Charlie's attraction to Sam, Sam dating an older guy and not noticing Charlie, Patrick secretly dating the football jock Brad. It just wasn't surprising.

I also felt that Charlie's realization of being molested by his Aunt Helen came too late in the book, and kind of at a convenient time? I'm also no sure if I buy this detached naivety that Charlie presents in his letters.

That's not to say I hate this book. I did like his friendship with Bill, and with Patrick and Sam. I also felt that at the end when Sam is telling Charlie to do what he wants and to be honest with people was interesting and a refreshing reaction to their situation.

Overall: Meh. I look forward to seeing the movie, which is why I read this in the first place, but it was just... okay.

[ellieroth]

Este libro es increíble. Ame cada una de sus páginas.

[clementine]

Okay, so, as always, I enjoyed this book much more the second time around. I think I was 14 the first time I read it, and I just couldn't identify with it as much as I do now that I'm almost 18 and am in Sam and Patrick's position.

I can see why all the Tumblr girls love Perks. It's insanely quotable. I'm not just talking about "And in that moment, I swear we were infinite" or "We accept the love we think we deserve" or even the quote about how people having it worse doesn't change your situation. It is just generally a quotable book, and Charlie's thoughts often resonate.

There are certainly issues with the book. One of the most-criticized aspects of it is that it feels a bit like an after-school special, with drugs, sexual abuse/assault, abortion, homosexuality, and many other topical issues packed into it. I think it's true that these issues might be concentrated within a small group of characters, but I never felt like it was completely unbelievable or false. I think it's true that Chbosky was trying to do something with this book, and I think it's worth considering that this book is now 13 years old and the issues were probably much edgier then, as they hadn't been broached as often in mainstream YA literature. And it's also worth noting that abortion STILL has not become a common topic in YA, and certainly not in the casual way in which it's presented in Perks, even a decade and a half later.

The other main problem is Charlie. It's hard not to love him, because he's generally a sweet guy who tries to do the right thing, and a lot of his thoughts and struggles are really relatable. But, yes, at times he is too juvenile to be believable. When he talks about how a sentence had "a swear" at age 16, especially when he's hanging around the "bad kids" and doing drugs? Come on! I do like him overall and find him a sympathetic narrator, but some of it just doesn't ring true.

Reading Perks gives me this strange kind of nostalgia. It feels very real, despite the breadth of the issues presented being a bit unbelievable. All of the characters could really exist, and Charlie's anxiety and struggles getting through high school are things I can relate with. I think Perks is such a successful book because of how quotable it is and how relatable many of the characters' problems are. I don't think it's the perfect book that Tumblr as a whole makes it out to be, but I think it has a lot of merit and will continue to be enjoyed by young adults for years to come.

[boghunden]

This was sooo boring. It was just random thoughts from a 16 y/o boy. Not even funny thoughts. I'm happy I'm done with this book.
I was really looking forward to go see the movie, now I'm not even sure if I want to go see it..

Edit Feb 22 2012: Changed the rating to 1 star. By far the most boring book I've read.