The Perks of Being a Wallflower
by Stephen Chbosky
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Book Summary Information
Author: Stephen ChboskyEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1999-02-01
ISBN: 0671027344
Number of pages: 224
Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: MTV
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Book Reviews of The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Book Review: Not Age Appropriate
Summary: 3 Stars
I don't think teenagers should be encouraged to read this. Experimenting with drugs. Gay lifestyles. Underage sex. Dealing with death badly. Giving in to peer pressure. Basically everything you don't want a teenager to get confused about. This book is a sympathic view to teenagers making bad decisions and acting badly.
But it's well written and interesting. So I give it 3 stars. It has a certain realism that many adults could relate to. It steers into directions that would never happen in real life too. Like older teenagers accepting younger teenagers into their cliches. That almost never happens. Teenagers tend to be very status conscious at this age. And boys don't cry. He would be hounded relentessly for displaying these weaknesses. Reality is much more poignant for teenagers.
Summary of The Perks of Being a Wallflower
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.
This haunting novel about the dilemma of passivity vs. passion marks the stunning debut of a provocative new voice in contemporary fiction: The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
This is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We may not know where he lives. We may not know to whom he is writing. All we know is the world he shares. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course 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.
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.
What is most notable about this funny, touching, memorable first novel from Stephen Chbosky is the resounding accuracy with which the author captures the voice of a boy teetering on the brink of adulthood. Charlie is a freshman. And while's he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. He's a wallflower--shy and introspective, and intelligent beyond his years, if not very savvy in the social arts. We learn about Charlie through the letters he writes to someone of undisclosed name, age, and gender, a stylistic technique that adds to the heart-wrenching earnestness saturating this teen's story. Charlie encounters the same struggles that many kids face in high school--how to make friends, the intensity of a crush, family tensions, a first relationship, exploring sexuality, experimenting with drugs--but he must also deal with his best friend's recent suicide. Charlie's letters take on the intimate feel of a journal as he shares his day-to-day thoughts and feelings:
I walk around the school hallways and look at the people. I look at the teachers and wonder why they're here. If they like their jobs. Or us. And I wonder how smart they were when they were fifteen. Not in a mean way. In a curious way. It's like looking at all the students and wondering who's had their heart broken that day, and how they are able to cope with having three quizzes and a book report due on top of that. Or wondering who did the heart breaking. And wondering why.With the help of a teacher who recognizes his wisdom and intuition, and his two friends, seniors Samantha and Patrick, Charlie mostly manages to avoid the depression he feels creeping up like kudzu. When it all becomes too much, after a shocking realization about his beloved late Aunt Helen, Charlie retreats from reality for awhile. But he makes it back in due time, ready to face his sophomore year and all that it may bring. Charlie, sincerely searching for that feeling of "being infinite," is a kindred spirit to the generation that's been slapped with the label X. --Brangien Davis
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