The Perks of Being a Wallflower

"Sam and Patrick looked at me. And I looked at them. And I think they knew. Not anything specific really. They just knew. And I think that's all you can ever ask from a friend."

I finished this book up yesterday, and it was really so very good. I will be the first to tell you I don't read very many books without magic in them. I am huge fantasy reader, but I do love all genres. A couple of my most prized books are regular old stories. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is kind of like Catcher in The Rye. I know this will shock you and I love Catcher in The Rye but I enjoyed this book a lot more. Charlie is sometimes hard to understand, and for a while I thought he might actually be Autistic or something. He struggles with his family he is so closed off from them. You never once doubt his love for them, but he doesn't know how to show it at all. He is peculiar at times but he is really emotional in a normal way. He is broken in so many ways he is struggling mentally, and he knows something is wrong. He just can't seem to break down the walls and figure out what exactly it is. He befriends two older kids, and he is lacking in social skill, but you can feel how hard he tries to connect with people. He just wants to be a good friend, a good son, and a good brother. Sometimes I think that he is the normal one, and everyone else is just faking the normalcy. He is extremely intelligent, but he doesn't really comprehend just how smart he is. He cries when he wants to cry then the next thing you know he can pound a jerk into the pavement. He has an open mind and a huge heart. He just wants to please everyone, but he doesn't really care about himself. He has some dark secrets that he doesn't even understand, and he loves a girl so much he only cares about her happiness. When things crumble in her relationship he doesn't swoop in to sweep her off her feet. He is more concerned that she is upset, and wants to make her pain go away. He is an excellent gift giver, and he even talks about giving his mom a gift on his birthday since she was there to. Charlie is such a real character, and his letters are heartbreaking at times. The entire story is told in letter form it could be creepy, but it just made me sad. Charlie is the main focus of the story Patrick and Sam are developed just enough to not overshadow Charlie. You never forget that your reading the book to better understand Charlie's struggle. This is a true coming of age story so many people have told me great things about this book. I think I might even read it again its so good, and I already miss Charlie. Charlie goes through so much in one year he deals with drugs, sex, violence, and falling in love. He helps his sister with abuse and a painful decision. He helps his friend deal with being gay and in love. He goes on an emotional roller coaster, and does it all while reading all sorts of books his teacher assigns only for him. Charlie is wise beyond his years, but he is still so young. I someday hope I can be as compassionate and understanding as Charlie.