[The Perks of Being a Wallflower] [By: Chbosky, Stephen] [February, 2009]

Loved this one. Told through a series of letters that Charlie is penning to an unknown recipient, we get more than a glimpse into his life, and those of his friends and family, as he tries to navigate his way through high school and relationships. Charlie is a very sweet, sensitive soul, somewhat troubled, who is struggling to come out from his comfortable spot on the sidelines and "participate" more in the events around him.

It s good, A typical american coming of age story. The life and the glory days of ones life and how it all turns out to be.

So I was a high school sophomore in 1991. My experiences pale in comparison to Charlie's. I did enjoy this story, but it did feel as if I was watching a dated indie film, like Reality Bites. The ending was predictable to me. The book had covered almost every other possible traumatic teen experience. I was a little surprised no one ended up HIV positive, though.

I remember friends of mine telling me that I needed to read this book back in High School, that it was amazing. Now that I have read it, I can understand how a High School or Middle School kid might love this book. It has all those feelings and sensitive issues that young adults are battling at that time.
Now being that I am in my mid 20s, this book wasn't as enjoyable for me as I had hoped. My patience for the character's break downs was pretty thin by the end of the story, but when I thought back to when I was that age I could relate to it.
I guess I've finally grown up and need to move on to books more appropriate for my age.

Read the whole thing today. Hadn’t read this book before. Though most people I know have read it and several other books I’ve read have mentioned it.

One word, kind of generic to sum up my thoughts: WOW. Happy I finally picked it up. Thank you Chbosky.