Book 15/30.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
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.
I first read The Perks of Being a Wallflower in 2017 and rated it 4 stars. Flashforward to eight years later and I have now rated it 3 stars. I do not know why I rated it 4 stars all those years ago, but the reason I gave it one less star this time is because I found Charlie, the narrator, unbelievably immature for a 15 year old. On a related (or maybe separate 🤷♀️) note, why was he always crying??? It is not that I have an issue with his tears per se, but the author did not take the time to really show us what they are a symptom of/release from. Instead all we got was endless tears, and majority of the time they were for seemingly no reason.
There was also not much of a plot, the setting was absolutely nothing special, and the writing, owing to the narrator’s voice, could get quite detached. The book also contains serious issues like suicide, molestation, gender-based violence, homosexuality, drug use, mental health, first sexual experiences, rape, abortion, but I found that Stephen Chbosky only glossed over them and did not deal with any of them with the seriousness they deserve.
** A guide to ratings **
1 star – did not like it
2 stars – it was okay
3 stars – liked it
4 stars – really liked it
5 stars – it was amazing
Lwile the Leo 