“And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.”
― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Charlie is starting freshman year of high school, and has a little trouble adjusting. His best friend Michael has committed suicide, and he has no other friends. If you were to describe Charlie, you would use adjectives like special, sensitive, emotional, and nice. He's probably one of the nicest people on this green earth.
He's the true definition of a wallflower. The book is narrated through letters from Charlie to an unnamed person. He choses not to disclose his true identity to the person, because doesn't want to person to know who he is, and to never find out.
Charlie has internal struggles, he doesn't feel close to anyone in his family, except for his Aunt Helen, who passed away on his seventh birthday. Every year he has a hard time celebrating, because he believes he's the cause of why she's gone.
“So, I guess we are who we are for alot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. 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.”
Even though Charlie is a shy wallflower, he befriends Patrick and Sam. Charlie has feelings for Sam, but he feel's that he has no chance in being with Sam.
“There's nothing like deep breaths after laughing that hard. Nothing in the world like a sore stomach for the right reasons.”
Then there's Bill. Bill is probably one of my FAVORITE characters, because I think he truly understands Charlie. Bill is Charlie's English teacher, and he recommends some of the best books to Charlie. But while he's recommending and lending Charlie this books, I think he's teaching him. He encourage Charlie to write essays, which is helping Charlie express himself better to the anonymous receiver of his letters.
Follow Charlie's story as he gains new experiences through-out his high school year. You'll see him grow, and understand more. Most people have had that period in their lives where they feel like they just don't fit in, and that's what makes this story good. A view through a wallflower's eyes.
I promise you'll grow attached to Charlie as you learn about his troubling past, and his beautiful personality.
“He's a wallflower. You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand.”
-Tanisha (:
*Some of the books mentioned in The Perks of Being a Wallflower: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie, Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger and A Separate Peace by John Knowles.
