The Perks of being a Wallflower

I read this novel a while back. I meant to blog about it right away, I really did. Unfortunately, I never got around to it. Anyway I really enjoyed it! I read it when I was home and my sister kept asking me why I was being such a tool and reading. At first I was saying that I had to for school but when she asked me the next time she saw me reading my answer had changed to, “because I can’t put it down.” Well, that didn’t go over well with her. She was never the ‘do homework at home’ kind of girl.

So I actually plan on re-reading this book over the summer. It will be the first time I ever re-read anything, not to mention an entire novel. I won’t re-read it simply for enjoyment but rather because I have heard several times now that people who re-read it pick up on so much more than they did the first time around. I felt as though I picked up on a lot, more than usual, so I look forward to re-reading it and seeing if I catch anything new.

Back to my sister for a second, she asked me when I was about halfway through with the novel what it was about. I had no idea what to tell her. The best I could do was say something along the lines of a boy in high school writing to someone about his life. She said I was stupid and I said well, I have a feeling that I can give you a better answer when I finish it. This made no sense to her and I’m pretty sure it made even less sense to me. However, I was right. I didn’t really understand anything about Charlie until you discover what his Aunt Helen had done to him. It is a terrible thing. I always fell as though this is why he has such a strong connection to Sam. Sure she is beautiful, but I think since she went through something similar, he related to her in a way that he didn’t even realize yet.

As a female reader, I found what happened to Charlie’s sister very tragic. It also made the novel more real than it already was. I feel terrible that she had no one to turn to and that she had to resort to abortion. I cannot imagine the loneliness she must have felt at that time.

His relationship with Patrick confused me. To me, there is a thick line between a friendship, and what he did with Patrick in the car after what happened between him and Brad.

Overall this was a great novel. It reminded me of The Catcher in the Rye, except better.