“I think that if I ever have kids, and they are upset, I won't tell them that people are starving in China or anything like that because it wouldn't change the fact that they were upset. And even if somebody else has it much worse, that doesn't really change the fact that you have what you have.”
Author: Stephen Chbosky
Page count: 213
Genres: Epistolary Fiction, YA, Mental Health, LGBTQ, Coming-of-age
Content Warning: The book contains graphic descriptions of anxiety, depression, suicide/SI, homophobia, and sexual abuse.
Recommended Age: 15+
*Spoiler Alert: Gray text reveals minor spoilers,
while the black text stays spoiler-free.*
Dive in wisely!
Have you ever questioned whether the events in your childhood had any significant influence on who you are today?
Synopsis:
'The Perks Of Being A Wallflower' spans from Aug 1991 to Aug 1992 and centres on the lives of high school students in the United States. Charlie, our protagonist, is a timid, out-of-place wallflower who is always “observing life’’ but never “participating’’. He is set to enter the "uncharted territory" of high school while still grieving the loss of his best friend. He is understandably apprehensive about being bullied and feeling out of place in this new territory and begins writing letters to an anonymous recipient in an effort to achieve some sort of catharsis as he feels this recipient would listen to him and not judge him like others.
*very minor spoilers*
He comes across Sam and Patrick, two seniors at his high school, at their high school football game. Sam and her stepbrother Patrick introduce Charlie to the bright side of high school. Soon, he starts discovers the many "firsts" in one’s life. First crush, first love, first kiss, first heartbreak, or even if it’s the first time breaking your best friend’s heart that turns your world upside down. He has to manage all of that while battling anxiety and depression and making sure that he doesn't flunk. Fortunately, he has his family, friends, and his English teacher, Bill, in his life. Bill encourages Charlie to write essays on the books given to him and helps him realise his unrealised potential as a writer.
Soon, we realise that Charlie's issues with his mental health may stem from a horrific childhood incident. As a result, he is left with only fragments of memories of the incident.
Review:
🌱I have read countless books and yet this was the one that was the hardest to review, not because of its language. The language of the book is as lucid and straightforward as it can be. It’s the emotional rollercoaster I had to ride while reading this book.
🌱I guess none of us had an easy teenage life. One day, we were thrust into this brand-new environment, where we had to learn a bunch of different stuff (primarily on our own) while being mindful of the consequences of our decisions. Struggling with mental health while maintaining a perfect score in high school (uhh that brings back so many memories!!).
🌱This book covers a wide range of delicate and significant topics of discussion, topics that are typically frowned upon since we only have a limited viewpoint. It doesn't downplay or glorify these topics which are quite frankly pretty hard to find in books with mental health rep these days.
🌱A lot of times, people fail to see teenagers as human beings and instead see them as adolescents with raging hormones. The way a teen might act can have a whole lot of reasons. Why a teen might resort to drugs, alcohol, or questionable behaviour should not entirely be beyond our understanding.
🌱Charlie, as a teenager, knows so much yet so little. He is constantly overthinking and deciphering the subtexts of what people say. It's a challenging stage in one's life because we have little control over what happens to us or around us. The book also beautifully portrays how it feels when all you can do to support your best friend in a trying circumstance is to "just be there” for them. At one point in the book, Charlie says that he just doesn't want to "exist" since he believes that "dying" would be a selfish act.
🌱At the time when those issues were not openly discussed, Charlie sought professional help. This book serves as a reminder of a lot of things that we often forget, such as the fact that it is okay to seek professional help and that it is also okay to change your mental health professional if they are not the right one for you, or that you shouldn't feel guilty about seeking help. It reminded me to go easy on myself and also to be a little more empathetic.
I didn't expect to learn as much as I did from a book with only 213 pages. It is definitely going on my '100 Books To Read In A Lifetime' list!
Favourite Quotes
There are so many beautiful quotes in this book that, if I could, I would quote them all. Here are some of them that hit home :
“So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be.”
“There's nothing like deep breaths after laughing that hard. Nothing in the world like a sore stomach for the right reasons.”
“I am very interested and fascinated how everyone loves each other, but no one really likes each other.”
“It's just that I don't want to be somebody's crush. If somebody likes me, I want them to like the real me, not what they think I am. And I don't want them to carry it around inside. I want them to show me, so I can feel it too.”
“I just want you to know that you’re very special… and the only reason I’m telling you is that I don’t know if anyone else ever has.”
“Patrick said that the problem was that since everything has happened already, it makes it hard to break new ground. Nobody can be as big as the Beatles because the Beatles already gave it a "context." The reason they were so big is that they had no one to compare themselves with, so the sky was the limit.”
“I was suddenly very aware of the fact it was me standing up in that tunnel with the wind over my face. Not caring if I saw downtown. Not even thinking about it. Because I was standing in the tunnel. And I was really there. And that was enough to make me feel infinite.”
“It's strange because sometimes, I read a book, and I think I am the people in the book.”
“We accept the love we think we deserve.”
A very well written review🤌
One quote that hits home for me would be,
We are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there.
This review took me back to the first time I read it. Thank you.