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“This moment will just be another story someday.” ― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

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“She wasn't bitter. She was sad, though. But it was a hopeful kind of sad. The kind of sad that just takes time. ”

Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

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Wallflowers and other kids.

A few months ago, I heard that they were making the novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I had heard of the book before, but had never read it, so one day I decided to, in my college's bookstore. I must have read it in two or three hours. And after I finished it, I was an emotional wreck. There was a heaviness in my chest that I couldn't get rid of and tears that threatened to roll down my face and this indescribable pain. The kind of pain that you get when you read or hear something that strips away everything you've built up to protect yourself and leaves you raw and red.

It wasn't the first time that something like this had happened.

I watched the movie at a screening earlier this week, no more than 100 feet or so away from where I had originally read it. And it was great. I sang along to nearly every song in the background, laughed at the witty quips on screen, and made comments. And I was fine, until about five minutes later, when I was driving down the interstate after 10pm.

Perks made me think about things that come up every once in a while. To start, why do some books affect us so deeply when others fail to make us blink? Primarily, I think it's because in all of those stories that make us feel, there is something that we can identify with. There is a character, or a scene, or a quote that just speaks to us and it let's you know that you're not alone. That someone understands, even if they have not and never will encounter you. This conclusion that I came to scares me, for good reason.

For as long as I remember, the books that really spoke to me were the ones that were about 'kids with issues'. The ones like Dirty Liar byBrian James,Define Normal by Julie Anne Peters, You Don't Know Me by David Klass, and so on. I'd cry because to some level I felt like these fictional people, though in comparison, my life was much better. I hadn't been sexually abused, physically abused, or had to sacrifice in the face of extreme poverty. But I had pain of my own, emotional pain that was not necessarily dealt with in the best of ways. I even had a spell of depression once, and reoccurring periods of apathy. No one knew about this, I didn't actually care for people to know about it.

Now, whenever I read books like this it makes me think about things that have happened in the past and evaluate whether I have improved or dealt with my personal problems. It also makes me wonder how my life would have been had certain events not happened to help me change. Would I be like Charlie or Benji at the beginning of the novel?

So this has been just a very long and rambly post. Books make you feel sometimes, and when they do, it's a good idea to reflect on why. Even when the reasons aren't that positive. Also, I'm tired of hearing those same two quotes being thrown around. You know the two.

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THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER

I first picked up this book after watching the movie trailer and seeing many references and quotes such as "we accept the love with think we deserve". I was expecting it to be a high school version of 500 days of summer or something along the same lines as it's a hipster cult classic, however what I got was very different. A lot of what is shown in the film trailer doesn't happen that way in the book or doesn't happen at all, and there is a lot more emphasis on his family than I was expecting.

The book it's self was a lot more grim than I was expecting, it was never depressing but it tackled a lot of serious issues which I was not expecting it to do. Charlie is a socially awkward 15 year old who's just started high school. At the opening of the book it is relieved that Charlie's childhood best friend has committed suicide and left him isolated and this is the story of how he moves on and begins to bond with people again; whilst in the mean time discovering about adult relationships and feelings. It is never stated whether it has learning difficulties or if certain things that have happened to him have changed the way he sees things but his perspective is very naive and moving as he questions the things happening around him. He provided the perfect voice for the story and at points it just hits you with emotion as it is the perfect depiction of how we change from children to adults and the awkwardness is exactly what happens in this time. It's one of those books which shows you that you are not alone and these things are normal, proving you with a voice you can relate and sympathize with.

At times it did feel as if there were too many issues in this book for them all to be featured fully but it did also reflect the wide variety of issues teenagers face that are hidden behind closed doors. It never feels unbelievable which is the shocking thing as you realize just how prominent these issues are in society.

There isn't strictly a plot to this book, meaning that there is no discrete beginning, middle, climax and end, it's just Charlie describing a year of his life in the form of letters to the reader (or unknown character.)

Overall, I would say this book was surprising but still enjoyable. It wasn't what I was looking for but now I want to look for more like it. I would describe it as a contemporary perspective of teenage life and issues, the problems we face when growing up and trying to adjust to new experiences and relationships.

MY RATING IS