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Title/Author

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Stephen Chbosky

Average Review Rating Average Rating 7/10 (1 Review)
Book Details

Publisher : Pocket Books

Published : 2009

Copyright : Stephen Chbosky 1999

ISBN-10 : PB 1-84739-407-8
ISBN-13 : PB 978-1-84739-407-1

Publisher's Write-Up

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 attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But Charlie can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

Through Charlie, Stephen Chbosky has created a deeply affecting coming-of-age story, a powerful novel that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller coaster days known as growing up.

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Reader Reviews

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Review by Ben Macnair (290212) Rating (7/10)

Review by Ben Macnair
Rating 7/10
Stephen Chbosky’s novel The Perks of being a Wallflower is a book about growing up. About trying to fit in. About finding your own way. It is about standing out for the right reasons, and about fitting in where you are most comfortable. It is The Catcher in the Rye with less of a rebel streak. It is Huckleberry Finn without a river to escape down.

It looks at Charlie. An average freshman. He is neither a jock, nor a geek. He is neither unpopular or the life and soul of the party. He just is. It is the place that many people find themselves, but don’t admit to.

It looks at how he interacts with the other pupils at his school, particularly Sam, his perfect girl, and her boyfriend Patrick, his sister and her abortion, the first girl he dates, the doubts he has about himself and taking his part in a world where he does not know how to fit.

The book is a fast read, and is written in the form of a number of letters that Charlie writes to an unnamed character. It could be one of the characters in the book, or the reader, or it could have been written to be read by no-one else. The book is beautifully written, and has captured Charlie on the cusp of the moments when he feels Infinite, with his friends, the open road, the perfect song, and any number of perfect moments in front of him..
Ben Macnair (29th February 2012)

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