A review by egurgens
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I had trouble enjoying the format the book was written in. I get the idea, of Charlie sending letters to this unknown author as his way of coping. However, I am definitely not a fan of the first person point of view. Although the books syntax gets better as Charlie gets better at writing, it’s a little off putting to have to read a book where improper sentence structure is common. I loved the fact that the reader could see how Charlie was progressing and getting better at his English class just by the way he writes, but it was still a little annoying. I wish that the letters were only part of the story, instead of the story being told entirely through letters. 
The book is also incredibly slow. I understand that the reader is experiencing and learning just as Charlie is, but the amount of mundane detail that has no impact on the plot is excessive. I enjoyed getting to know and love the characters as Charlie did, but I think it could have been a little bit faster. 
I’m terms of the plot or meaning of the story, this book is tragic. Death, grief, depression, molesting, rape, just so much shit happens to this poor kid. As tragic as the book is, I feel that’s it’s fairly representative of what an actual kid his age may go through. Yeah, sure, not everyone goes through as much as Charlie did, but almost everyone does to some level. So I enjoyed the book for its realism and lessons, but disliked the format and pace. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings