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

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

My copy of The Perks of being a wallflower was given to me by someone I was once very close to and with whom I had a very complicated relationship with. I’m not entirely sure why they gave it to me, but I feel like it was because the main character reminded her of me, or our situation. In any case, I found this novel incredibly moving in ways I don’t think I can properly process just yet. It’s a book I hope to read again and again for the rest of my life. A truly good book is one which feels as if it were written specifically for you, as if the writer understood you in some way and wrote it in order for you to better understand yourself. Maybe that sounds like crap but that’s how I feel about this book. I’m going to go cry and talk to someone I love now.

So, I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. But even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.
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