The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Reader reviewed by Liz

This book is soooo incredible!! It's so hard to explain how great it was!! I love Charlie soo much and i wish i could be his friend this books is very sad. At a young age Charlie goes through something really terrible the loss of a dear friend, then when he enters high school he does not talk to anyone and has no friends but inside he is a really amazing person. He goes through many hardships, gains some great friends, goes through more hardships, but in the future you know things will be okay for him.

this book is amazingly written. steven chbosky is such a great writer, wish he wrote more great books just like this one i just love it so much i read it twice already and would read it again and again, it's that great. i even got a lot of my friends to read it. it's unfortunately very short, i really wish it didn't end so soon and that there were a sequel but there isn't. :( but oh well. recommend it to everyone!! it's great, well good for maybe 13 and above i read it when i was sixteen and it's just wow! great. please please, if you haven't read this book you have got to read it as soon as possible it's amazing you'll love it. The way it was written, in letters to some anonymous person, the characters, charlie's great personality, the story, everything is just amazing!!

Reader reviewed by Marissa

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is one of the most amazing books I have ever written. Charlie, as the main character calls himself, writes letters about his life to an anonymous person. His letters are extremely personal and revealing, so according to Charlie, all the names and actual events have been altered so the person he is writing to will not be able to identify him. Charlie experiences love, lust, drugs, and many other things that most of us have been in situations with (or will possibly in situations with) throughout our lives. Charlie develops a special relationship with a very unlikely person, which alters the way he thinks. He may be some what of a strange person, but continuing to read reveals that he isnt so strange. Charlie begins as a lonely naïve person, but by the end of the book, he has changed in many drastic ways. I strongly recommend reading this book. I do not find an interest in reading but this book pulls you in. The letters get more and more interesting as the book goes on, and Charlie begins to get more involved with other people besides the ones he is so familiar with in books. The book teaches you that there are unlikely people that you can become very close with, and discover things about those people that are completely unexpected. It stresses the saying you cant judge a book by its cover without actually really saying the phrase. Read the book, you wont regret it!

Reader reviewed by Kate

I really enjoyed this book. It was very unusual, definitely, but it far exceeded my expectations and now ranks on my top books list.

The format is something that I really liked-- the letters to an unnamed "friend" always kept me guessing who the recipient actually was. The situations in this book and the way they are written about-- wow, I can't even explain. The author did a fantastic job of capturing Charlie's voice-- he seemed real to me and made a definite impact on the way I perceived others. Great emotions, great story.

Loved it.

Reader reviewed by Alyse Hooten

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is the most stunning and poignant book i have ever read. What a thought-provoking peice of art! This is without-a-doubt my favorite book of all time. And yes, i have read the classics: the catcher in the rye, a separate peace, a room of one's own, the bell jar, lord of the flies, of mice and men, the odessey, a midsummer night's dream... THIS IS THE BEST! read it if you are in search of the real.

Reader reviewed by bria

First off let me say that this book made me cry. There aren't enough words to explain how much i liked this book. The main character is so juvinille, but wise. He goes through so much. And i left so bad when he made friends and then they all left. I also love Rocky horror picture show, so i couldn't stop smiling when he played rocky. Every teen going through troubled times should read this book because it helped me and i'm sure that it will help you too.

Reader reviewed by Mara

Wow , contrary to the other review all ready posted about this book, I thought it was excellent. I picked it because my teacher gave us a list of books to choose from and she told us a little bit about each one of them. Her description of the book made me want to read it and it turned out that it was definitly worth my time. The Perks of Being A Wallflower is a classic type novel about a boy in high school. His letters offer a unique perspective into hios world. The book starts off with Charlie nervous about his first day of high school. Through his experiences, you learn that he is just an average kids going through stuff a normal high schoolers go through. Through his eyes you see some of his most amazing experiences and his most terrifying. This leads you through the world of drugs, sex, first kisses, and those long drives when "in that moment, I swear we were infinite." Just overall great book!

Reader reviewed by ij

best book in the world. This book honestly changed my life. i would recomend this book to anybody. However i recomend this book to any misplaced kids or somebody that needs to find their place. his wonderfull writing changed my life forever. i have since read the book 23 times

Reader reviewed by Rachel Beth

This book is one of the most riveting books I have ever read. It will draw you in, but what is most important is you can sympathize with the main character. The best thing about this book is the main character is just like every single person reading it. Although some of his experiences you may not actually have had happen to you, you can definitely relate to his emotions and how he handles certain things. I loved every minute of it and wish there was a second book to this story.

Reader reviewed by Lauren

If you like books from the point of view of a highschool student, then this is the book for you. I really enjoyed it, and I wish others had too. Yes, many controversial issues were mentioned, but in my opinion I think it was phenomenal. If I recall correctly, Charlie was very innocent and naive. He tells about his first experiences with masturbation, sex, and drugs. If you can't handle a lot at once, this probably wouldn't be a good book for you.

Reader reviewed by erica

A friend recommended this book to me a few months back and I finally got around to reading it. Ugh! What a disappointment.

My biggest beef with this book lies in the fact that the author tries too hard to be profound and wide-reaching instead of letting it be a simple story about high school existence. Within the first 50 pages, "Charlie," the main character, confronts suicide, abortion, homosexuality, abuse, rape, drugs, alcohol, death and depression. One of these alone might have stood up, but all together it's just a little too much. (Think: "Rent")

What's worse is that sometimes these things are the focus of just one chapter and don't ever come up again. Suicide is mentioned then dropped. Abortion is mentioned and dropped. Rape is mentioned then dropped. It's as if Chbosky had a checklist while he was writing this to make sure every conceivable issue made an appearance. Had the author focused a bit, it could have been a much better book.

I will concede there were a few "perks." The book had some funny moments and there were times I found Charle relatable. However, in the end I didn't feel like the book took me anywhere. It could have ended 50 pages later or fifty pages sooner and I woudn't not have been able to tell the difference.

If you want a book from the perspective of a messed up teenager read "The Catcher in the Rye." Personally I feel even that book is over rated, but at least it's more honest than this one.