The Perks of Being a Wallflower: the most moving coming-of-age classic

This is a classic but I had never read it. I actually listened to it on audiobook which was well narrated and worked well. The American accent became somewhat annoying every now and again but as its set in America I guess this is to be expected. The story deals with alot of issues and is without doubt a coming of age story. The revelation of abuse at the end surprised me somewhat although I suppose I should have guessed at this as the protagonist speaks about having a therapist. I definitely think it should be a Year 10 plus book.

A book which defines introverts.

A good book.

A different style of book to what I've read before.

Not everyone managed to finish this book this month. Of those people who had finished most enjoyed, although some felt that Charlie was just a daft young boy who was simply going through various elements of growing up. We felt that he was quite a naive young man and also an unreliable narrator as he seems to not remember things that have happened to him. He also seems to remember things but then put a different spin on them which takes the reader a while to figure out. One thing that Charlie is absolutely great at is picking presents, he really does get them spot on even for people he's not around very much. He's not great when it comes to other people skills and we wondered if he might be somewhere on the autistic spectrum as he does some odd things that he doesn't understand the bad reaction to.

All the characters in the book seem to be slightly odd or unconventional, such as Charlie with his mental health issues, or Patrick hiding a whole side of his life from everyone. Some seem to have been so badly hurt by their lives they turn to doing odd things like Aunt Helen. There is a very dark side to this book but it seems to almost be skimmed over without going into too much depth, often the reader has to figure out things for themselves as they aren't always clear.

We did find Charlie to be a bit of a baby at times, even given his family history. He does seem to cry at the drop of hat, and this seems to irritate him as well as us as readers. We felt that we could be friends with him but might only tolerate him for short periods of time, or maybe within a larger group.

We discussed what being a wallflower means, the positives and the negatives to it. We thought that Charlie liked being a wallflower to a certain extent because it meant he could observe people and try to learn what to do in different situations. But the down side of this is that people may not notice you if you suddenly disappear, they would not miss you.

Overall we gave this book 6 out of 10.

This is a great book - I even have a poster of the front page in my living room! It is a little bit rude in places, so check with parents first.

My favourite book by far, I also enjoyed the film. this is fiction book which are the books I tend to enjoy the most. My favourite character is Sam who is Emma Watson in the film, but I do also like Charlie who is the overall main character. I would definitely recommend this book to someone else !!

Love this book, Id recommend to teens and young adults

because its a really good book

This is such a brilliant read, its so sad and heartbreaking as its about a topic which is very relevant to myself. I feel that the book is very realistic an I like that a lot!
This book is beautiful. It is a classic teenager read. I love how honest and deep Charlie is. He will get you thinking about the good things and what really matters in life.
I would really recommend this book to young adults as i feel it sends such a strong message, it has some brilliant quotes which have been spread across the internet as well as a truly important plot.

This probably would have resonated with me more if I'd read it when I was a teenager, but I still enjoyed it a lot and would recommend it to others.

7/10

Charlie is somebody in no-man's land: he is not a plodder but he's not popular. He is in love with Sam, but she is going out with somebody else. The plot begins with the suicide of a classmate which scares the staff of the school, in case it gives ideas to all the rest of the students body.

I would recommend it to teenagers who may feel identified with the plight and the situations described in the novel. This frame of writing letters to an unknown person because the main character has heard a classmate saying that he knows how to listen, does not really work for me. I don't know up to what point the experiences with drugs have been exaggerated or not. On the positive side, I liked how the abortion is not the cliché about a butcher killing the pregnant young lady, but a fast and clean modern abortion.