Book review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Recently I have read this book called The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. It is a truly beautiful and touching book, which is still very interesting to teenagers because of some of the serious adult themes being involved in the story of Young Charlie. 

It is a book about all sorts of stuff, all joined together they make up Charlie's mind and life. There are funny parts, there are embarrassing parts and there are sad parts, this book takes you through a real journey of emotions, all in the eyes of a lonely 15 year old. 

The whole book tackles a lot of teenage problems such as suicide, drinking, sex, sexuality, drugs, partying, love, family issues and so on. It is an amazing story of a young troubled boy, facing his issues along with his two older friends Sam and Patrick.

Here is a list of some of my favourite quotes from the book.

"So, I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them."

"I just want you to know that you’re very special… and the only reason I’m telling you is that I don’t know if anyone else ever has."

"We all deserve the love we think we deserve."

"I didn't feel like reading that night, so I went downstairs and watched a half-hour long commercial that advertised an exercise machine. They kept flashing a 1-800 number, so I called it. The woman who picked up the other end of the phone was named Michelle. And I told Michelle that I was a kid and did not need an exercise machine, but I hoped she was having a good night.

That's when Michelle hung up on me. And I didn't mind a bit."

"... And in that moment, I swear we were infinite."

I really do recommend this book to all the teens out there, because even though we might not want to, in a little way we all somehow relate to what the character went through in one point or another, whether it is loosing a friend, falling in love or going through changes. There is something in this book for everyone.

At a part of the book there is a very emotional poem, this is interpreted in so many ways. Some people say it is a suicide note from his friend Micheal, while others think it is something he has read somewhere. Here is is:

Once on a yellow piece of paper with green lines
he wrote a poem
and he called it "Chops"
because that was the name of his dog
and that's what it was all about
his teacher gave him an A
and a gold star
and his mother hung it on the kitchen door
and read it to his aunts.
that was the year Father Tracy
took all the kids to the zoo
and he let them sing on the bus
and his little sister was born
with tiny nails and no hair
and his mother and father kissed alot
and the girl around the corner sent him a
Valentine signed with a row of X's
and he had to ask his father what the X's meant
and his father always tucked him in bed at night
and was always there to do it.

Once on a piece of white paper with blue lines
he wrote a poem
he called it "Autumn"
because that was the name of the season
and that's what it was all about
and his teacher gave him an A
and asked him to write more clearly
and his mother never hung it on the kitchen door
because of the new paint
and the kids told him
that Father Tracy smoked cigars
and left butts on the pews
and sometime they would burn holes
that was the year his sister got glasses
with thick lenses and black frames
and the girl around the corner laughed
when he asked her to go see Santa Claus
and the kids told him why
his mother and father kissed alot
and his father never tucked him in bed at night
and his father got mad
when he cried for him to do it.

Once on a paper torn from his notebook
he wrote a poem
and he called it "Innocence: A Question"
because that was the question about his girl
and that's what it was all about
and his professor gave him an A
and a strange steady look
and his mother never hung it on the kitchen door
because he never showed her
that was the year Father Tracy died
and he forgot how the end
of the Apostle's Creed went
and he caught his sister
making out on the back porch
and his mother and father never kissed
or even talked
and the girl around the corner
wore too much make up
that made him cough when he kissed her
but he kissed her anyway
because it was the thing to do
and at 3 am he tucked himself into bed
his father snoring soundly.

That's why on the back of a brown paper bag
he tried another poem
and he called it "Absolutely Nothing"
because that's what it was really all about
and he gave himself an A
and a slash on each damned wrist
and he hung it on the bathroom door
because this time he didn't think
he could reach the kitchen---- 

Thank you,

Eliza

TFB