Charlie is a freshman. And while he’s not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it.
Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mix-tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite.
But Charlie can’t stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.
Charlie was a great main character. I don’t read many books that are narrated from a male perspective and so I was a little wary at first but I actually really enjoyed reading it. It’s a refreshing change after reading solely from a female view. It was clear right from the start that Charlie wasn’t normal. He only had one friend, who we find out committed suicide before the novel started. The novel is based around Charlie meeting two people, Sam and Patrick, who introduce him to their world.
We see Charlie’s character develop throughout the novel from a boy who is kind of lost, in to one who has discovered himself.
All of the character’s seemed to have a purpose. There were quite a lot of them but they were easy to remember and all fitted in well.
Sam and Patrick were characters that I felt moved the story along a great deal. Although they weren’t exactly angels I loved how they treated Charlie when they could have just ignored him.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is all about coming of age and that time in our lives when we find ourselves. The language used really shows us the way Charlie’s mind works and is written in such a way that the reader can believe that Charlie himself wrote it, instead of an author in his place. It really could be autobiographical!
It was a novel I thoroughly enjoyed and I’m looking forward to how the plot and characters are portrayed in the movie adaption (out in the UK in January 2013).
4 Comments
Rebekah Campbell
11 January, 2013 at 2:53 pmLove your review 🙂
It’s one of those books everyone seems to love but I’m glad you liked it too. Definitely have to give it a try!
Emma
11 January, 2013 at 8:15 pmThis is recently a film, isn’t it! I really like the sound of the film and the books sounds really good! I have to say I haven’t read many books that male narrated, sometimes they don’t agree with me! I like to feel connected to a character, and male POVs doesn’t really work! But I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Lovely review, Lucy! 🙂
Sugar and Snark
12 January, 2013 at 4:47 pmLove the review! The film was AMAZING!
Beverley
13 January, 2013 at 2:42 pmI NEED to read this book, like REALLY! I’m so glad you loved this one, Lucy and isn’t it amazing when your opinion of a book takes a dramatic turn. 3 stars to FIVE stars is quite an accomplishment! And yay for a male POV, I adore perspectives from guys 😉
Great review, Lucy <3