“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.” ― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a quick read which does not fail to disappoint. Charlie, the ‘Wallflower’ writes a series of letter to a stranger starting from the night before he became a freshman. As the readers, we are given an insight into Charlie’s thoughts as he struggles to deal with the start of high school, suicide of a friend and death… Charlies life is a bit of a mess and he is definitely the Wallflower of the story, who is shy and is completely confused about his future life. However despite this, Charlie destroys the once bad connotation of a Wallflower and makes it quite a positive and lovely thing. This book is a coming of age story where YA reader (and older readers) can relate to despite some of the extreme events which take place in the book. Perks was written in 1999, and as a teenage and someone who watches a lot of movies and ready lots of contemporary YA, nothing much has changed about the cultures and behaviour in schools. Stephen Chbosky’s writing style was great throughout, never being boring or dull.. Rather certain elements of the novel were poetic and so creatively written. He characterises Charlie as a young teen which is both sheltered and overexposed to the world and its struggles. Chbosky cleverly reflects and demonstrates Charlie’s deteriorating mental health by using his constant sadness wherever he goes as a motif and a reflection of his mental state. This book was definitely a favourite which can easily be read in a few hours. It is an emotional read and gives the readers absolutely no time to catch their breath or recover until Charlie manages to get into another mess… I recommend this book to all readers and it was a great read. However abuse, homosexuality, suicide are just a few of the themes explored in the book. Thats why I would suggest it to more mature readers, 15yrs and over who are comfortable with reading about these issues. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky AUD $ 19.99 (approx.) The Young Book Critic
1 Comment
ally
10/10/2019 09:44:42 am
i love this book and this review!! perfectly sums up the novel and the pressing (and very current) issues which it talks about going on in our world today... im glad you posted- please make your reviews more regular :)
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