Book Review: The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Release Date: 14th August 2012

Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Format: eBook
Pages: 136
Rating: 4.5/5.0

This book was read as part of the 2013 OTS, 2013 ODY and 2013 EBC

Summary from Amazon:

"The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a story about what it’s like to travel that strange course through the uncharted territory of high school. The world of first dates, family dramas, and new friends. Of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Of those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up."

Review:

For the past year or so, it's become a bit of a thing for me to go out of my way to read the book before watching the movie or tv series. So when I heard that The Perks of being a Wallflower was being turned into a movie, I added the novel onto my reading list. Finally I've gotten around to reading the book, and I found that I quite enjoyed it.

The story is told through a series of letters Charlie writes to an unidentified person. I loved this style as they allowed Charlie to really open up to us, and we learn more than we might otherwise have learnt. I like how the letters also reflect how Charlie changes throughout the year and his growth - in the beginning, is letters are jumbled and a clear line of thought is hard to come by. When something pops into his head, he just writes it down, no matter how inappropriate it might be. But as time goes on, Charlie's letters mature; they become more cohesive and coherent, and I think this reflects how Charlie grows and matures as the book progresses. 

Plus, this book deals with some pretty heavy issues, including teen pregnancy, abusive relationships, sexual identity, drug use, and suicide. Props to the author for tackling the issues that were affecting teens during his time, and still continue to affect teens today. Also, props for being able to do so in such a short novel - the version I have only has 136 pages. For such a short book, it really is able to deal with a look of issues, which are all brought together by a solid plot and great characters. Overall, it's a sad read, but one that I thoroughly enjoyed.