This
six-weeks I decided to read The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen
Chbosky. This book was copy written in 1999 as a fiction book and recently was
made into a movie. This book is about a shy high-school freshman named Charlie,
who stays to the sidelines and doesn’t have many friends. The closest friend he
had committed suicide. When he thought he had nobody, Patrick and Sam show up
and show him how great he really is. Charlie faces many challenges his freshman year, but with the
help of his new friends he learns how to appreciate life by enjoying the little
things. Charlie has a vast knowledge and a great taste in music, but he doesn’t
see that in himself. In the end everyone who is close to him helps him realize
how great he is, and how he needs to be able to care about himself and not just
worry about everybody else. After I read this, I decided that the theme was to
be yourself; whether that means being the jock, the cheerleader, the queen bee,
the nerd, the freak, or the “nobody”. It doesn’t matter what other people
thought about you, only what you see in yourself.
This story is told from the
first-person point-of-view. Charlie tells the story by writing letters to a
mystery person about everything that he experiences and feels. The plot is
focused on how Charlie can’t hide his love for Sam and how he misses his aunt
Helen; this causes Charlie to question his life many times in the story. The
intended audience is teens and young-adults, because the setting takes place in
high school and many of the conflicts in the story are relatable for this age
group. The genre is realistic fiction and teen drama. The book fits into this category
because even though it’s a fictional book, it has many believable themes and
conflicts in it. The author kept me interested by adding unexpected plot
twists. For example; right when Charlie’s life starts to get better, a setback
happens. The author’s style is to write about common experiences in everyone’s
life. This is effective for the author’s intended audience. The things he
writes about happen to everyone at least once, but each of us thinks that we
are the only one out there that thinks or feels that way. This book tells us differently
and encourages us not to think of ourselves as useless or helpless, but as
unique, original, and worthy.
This book affected me because it
talked about losing someone and about feeling lost. I have experienced both of
these things, so the book really connected with the way that I feel. At one
part I started to cry because Charlie was experiencing a great deal of pain and
the author described it in such a way that it was almost impossible for me not
to cry. This made me better understand why the author wrote this and why Charlie
felt such pain. This fits in with my own personal world view, because I believe
that everyone has a second identity and they can choose whether or not to show
it. The hidden part of us is where we express pain, sadness, and love. It did
not bring up memories of other books or authors that I have read, because I think
it’s a unique book and there is none like it that I have read. Every book I read
I think of differently, so it is very hard for me to relate it to another book.
I thought this book was as sad as it
was happy. It was a beautiful book that shows both love and life. I didn’t think
it had any flaws or “slow” parts, but that’s because for me, it was one of the
best books I’ve ever read. I strongly recommend this book because I think
anybody my age, both male and female, could find this an interesting and
relatable book. You may not like it as much as I did, but it’s definitely a
book to try.
Madeline Jones
11/6/13
RATING: **** 4/5
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