Review: the perks of being a wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

the perks of being a wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Series: None
Published: February 1, 1999
Publisher: MTV Books and Pocket Books
Pages: 216

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.
Since its publication, Stephen Chbosky’s haunting novel about the dilemma of passivity vs. passion has received critical acclaim, provoked discussion and debate, and grown into a cult sensation with over one million copies in print.
It 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, family dramas, and new friends. The world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, where all you need is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite.
Through Charlie, Chbosky has created a deeply affecting novel that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller coaster days known as growing up.

I often think this book receives the image of being about this:

But it’s secretly about this:

Because, believe it or not, this novel is about more than teen angst individualizing itself. It’s about teens trying to make themselves stand out, but end up standing with everyone else trying to stand out, and not succeeding at all.
 Someone recently asked me what this book was about, and I just sat there with this dumbstruck look on my face. It truly is hard to explain. Why? Because we are good at explaining complex things, not simple things. Simple things go without saying, so why would we ever need to explain them? Whereas we practice all the time how to talk about complicated subjects, such as religion, politics, and ethics. But what about those simple things? Such as, why are we so comfortable with our friends? Really, think about that for a moment. Think about that person you’ve known you entire life. To you, it’s rather straightforward, isn’t it? Try explaining that feeling they give you to everyone else. Hard, isn’t it? Chbosky does a rather fantastic job of it. We live for these moments with our friends:

Probably the most quoted sentence from this book. Obviously there’s a reason for that. The fact that people who haven’t even heard of the story can read that quote and love it, shows the universality of his book.

Charlie is a simple mind. His letters never say more than they need to, but say everything we need to hear. As a result, it’s extremely fast-paced, and wholly memorable. At it’s heart, this novel is a self-reflection, so only pick it up if you are prepared to dive into the deep and scary place that haunts everyone. Believe it or not, we are all broken. We may be ready to admit that our life is messed up, but we never want to talk about how it’s messing us up. 

This is a story about Charlie watching everyone around him break and repair; but what would be the perk of that if he never learned how to repair his broken pieces?

I’ll definitely never forget reading this book, and I want to thank Chbosky for writing it. To all the broken people out there, you’re not alone.

Love always,

Makayla