The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

 This novel is written as a series of letters from "Charlie"(we never learn his real name) to an anonymous adult(we never learn whom the adult is, either). The poignant novel follows Charlie through fairly typical teenage awkwardness and some deeply personal revelations about Charlie and those around him. Charlie meets a group of friends that change the very way he perceives the world.

Random note: The Kindle version of this novel that I read actually had the movie version of the cover and, even if I like the movie, I deplore movie adaptation covers and have been known to pay more for an original cover. Therefore, I pictured the original cover so as not to have to look at the movie cover again. I know-I'm quirky.

This insomniac's opinion:

So, yesterday was a The Perks of Being a Wallflower day at my house. I saw that the movie was available in the Redbox as I was returning our Saturday night rentals. I couldn't resist and snapped it up(I love Emma Watson!). I have a rule about always reading the book first and knew that the book was already sitting on my Kindle, ready for me to read. So,after putting my children to sleep, I read the novel, finished around 11 pm and popped in the movie!

I adored this book. It takes place in 1991, so it was just a couple of years before I would have had my own freshman experience. I am a person who happens to be very sensitive to others, so it felt nearly as if Charlie was my twin. I loved the closeness of his group of friends and wished to meet them all(except Mary Elizabeth!). There were many moments that I just wanted to reach into the book and give Charlie a hug and assure him that, although high school can be rough for those who do not wish to fit the mold, college and life beyond is often kind to quirky people.

I wondered throughout the entire novel if we would find out the identity of Charlie and the person he is writing the letters to. But in the end, I was glad that we did not. It seemed as though Charlie was writing the letters to me, and I was deeply honored to get to read them.

Favorite quote of the book:

"We accept the love we think we deserve."

Worth staying up all night to read?

Yes, I loved this book so very much. It was a very quick read, as well.

Rating:

 4 stars

*If you are curious, I liked the movie, as well!*

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