Book Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

I finally finished reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower! I remember buying this book days before the movie adaptation hit the theaters. Unfortunately, I failed to catch the movie. I only got to watch the first half of it in cable TV. And for some odd reason, the book just sat on my bookshelf, waiting to be picked up. I tried reading the first few chapters, but I ended up putting it down. Twice. But because I wanted to get this out of my to-read list, I decided to finish reading it.


The way this book was narrated is actually quite unique. Charlie, a shy and naïve teenager, is sending letters to his anonymous friend, narrating his day-to-day experiences. His letters are so poignant that it’s sometimes painful to read. But some of his letters are amusingly cute and full of innocence.

Although I could very much relate to Charlie, because just like him, I also love books and I got used to living almost my entire life as a wallflower, it was a bit difficult for me to digest the book. I was thinking that it was probably because the plot is very heavy compared with the other YA books that I have read before. But as the plot thickened even more, that was when I finally realized and understood the beauty of Charlie’s story.

What I appreciated the most about this book is its honesty. There are very few books that actually tackled sensitive issues concerning our youth today. Subjects like drugs, homesexuality, child abuse, teenage pregnancy and abortion, suicide and rape are actually considered touchy topics in the literally world, much more in the Young Adult field! But The Perks of Being a Wallflower dealt with all of these issues truthfully. Yes, it’s a bit disturbing, but reading the book is actually an eye-opener.

The ending was so intense. I only understood why Charlie was behaving that way when the twist was revealed on the last few pages of the book. I wasn’t prepared for it. My heart silently broke into pieces as I was reading the reason why Charlie was as troubled as he is. I bought this book expecting it to be light and fun, but I was wrong. I don’t regret reading it, though. Because in all honesty, I have never read a YA book as powerful and as thought-provoking as The Perks of Being a Wallflower!