The Perks of Being a Wallfower

Every now and then a book comes a long that kicks you right in the feelings. Well, I won't just limit this to books, though this is what this particular blog is about, but all art forms. All have these "tour de force" works that enter their realm. These are the works that change not only how you feel, but who you are. From the time you start till the time you finish you are a different person, much like listening to any song by Machine Gun Kelly (just kidding...or am I?). It may not be a way you can put in to words (again, like MGK), but there is something fundamentally different about you.

Stephen Chbosky's novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, is that work. It is a young adult fiction novel that revolves around a boy named Charlie who is writing letters to an unknown "friend" about his freshman year of high school. It's a coming of age story that takes issues such as homosexuality, drugs, drinking, sex, and abuse head on. The entire novel is structured around Charlie's letters as he talks about his friends and his life in a brutally honest way. What is most surprising about this novel is that it made its debut in 1999 but remained a cult book for all these years. It was recently made into a film which is more of an enhancement on the novel then a separate entity unto itself.

This is a novel that every high school student must read. Although published in the '90s, I would say that it is more relevant today than ever. The topics Charlie chooses to write to his friend on are saturated with honesty and love. It's almost unbelievable how much love one freshman boy could have for people (yes, I know he's a fictional character, but still) despite their obvious flaws. He spends much of his time with two friends in particular, Patrick and Sam, a brother and sister duo that bring a very interesting and unique life perspective to Charlie's quiet world. They are the outcasts and the misfits of high school and are perfectly content with that social status. Patrick even, at one point, begs the question, "What is the difference between us and the popular kids? Is it the clothes we wear?"

I loved every moment of this book and found myself wishing the story wouldn't end when I was nearing the closing pages. I wanted to know more about Charlie's life and what went on in his mind. The innocence in which he writes is painfully beautiful and simple. In many ways it drew me back to a book I had read earlier by James Franco, Palo Alto, which dealt with adolescent kids exploring and destroying their lives. Not to say that Charlie was ever destroying his life, but the style is succinct and blunt. Something you would expect from a freshman in high school.

Relevant to anyone who has ever ventured into a high school, this book hits right at home. By standing on the edge of life and choosing to perceive rather than participate, Charlie opens a world to readers that can only be seen through the eyes of a wallflower.

-- Zach