The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

by Stephen Chbosky

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up. Now a major motion picture starring Emma Watson and Logan Lerman. Stephen Chbosky's new film Wonder, starring Owen Wilson and Julia Roberts is out now. 

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...Read more

Reviewed by Amber (The Literary Phoenix) on

3 of 5 stars

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This book... is okay.

I know a lot of people love it to bits and pieces, and I want to love it because Emma Watson was in the film and I know that's a stupid reason, because that's my reason nonetheless. There are a lot of hard topics discussed in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, things we *don't* want to talk about, we don't want to hear about... the things we want to believe don't happen. They're important, and they're discussed well enough.

But... I just couldn't connect with Charlie. Or the other characters, not really. They feel so flat and predictable. I don't know. I think what happened to Charlie was terrible, and I am sorry for how unhappy all the various characters are as they struggle through high school... but mostly I was just bored. I feel like I should have been more entranced or furious about the story. I wasn't. The Perks of Being a Wallflower simply *was* for me.

There are beautifully written moments which I thoroughly appreciated, but I don't think I'd read it again.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 18 June, 2018: Finished reading
  • 18 June, 2018: Reviewed