The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Ugh, this book was SO good! Let's just jump right in, shall we? This book was about a boy named Charlie who is in his freshman year of high school. We basically follow him throughout this year and see how he changes and the struggles he goes through. It's told completely through letters Charlie writes to his "friend" the reader. It was a nice touch that I really appreciated because it did make me feel closer to the characters and their struggles.

Yeah, that's pretty much what this book is about. I know that it's not the best synopsis ever but it really is a book about discovering who you are. I loved the idea of Charlie being a "wallflower" and the "perks" he gets of being able to watch others and learn from their mistakes.

Charlie, as a character, can get kind of annoying at times because he is so innocent and naive but you learn to appreciate him more because of that. I thought most of the other characters were pretty cool. Except for his sister! She annoyed me to no end! She was super dumb and her decisions were the worst possible things to do. Thankfully, she was the only one who really got under my skin.

I did have a few issues with this book. The main one was that it kind of portrayed all teenagers as wild and uncontrollable. It made it seem like once they hit high school, everyone experimented with sex and drugs and alcohol. They were all the stereotypical teens that no one really likes; making dumb decisions left and right. Characters do make mistakes when you'd think they know better. I also feel like it is worth mentioning there is some "explicit" content. Really, it's only touched upon in the beginning and it's no worse than an average sex ed class in high school.

This book was so unique and real. Yes, I was annoyed and thought some decisions were stupid but I feel like those were realistic decisions and mistakes that added to the authenticity of the book. I think that everyone, once they're in at least high school, should read this book and learn something from it. I loved it. 5 out of 5 stars.