Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
My Goodreads rating – 5 out of 5 stars

NOTE – Whilst this review is spoiler free, I have explained that this book could possibly be triggering for some things. These trigger warnings may be considered as spoilers, but I feel that it’s important to declare them.

Please note that this book may be triggering for depression, sexual abuse and suicide.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a coming of age story about a “wallflower” named Charlie. He is a freshman in high school and is trying to move away from the side lines and “participate”, and by doing so he learns about love, friendship, drugs and sex. It’s ultimately a beautiful and brutally honest story of adolescence.

Having recently watched the film adaptation (which you can buy here), which was directed by Chbosky, I decided to re-read the book. This was my third time reading the book, and I loved it as much as I did the first time.

I love all of the characters in this book, especially Charlie and Parick. Charlie I can really relate to; he finds comfort in reading, much like I find comfort in this book. And Patrick is so witty, and is such a good friend to Charlie. But what really makes me love all of the characters is that they’re all flawed, making them seem so real. I love Chbosky’s writing, too. It flows beautifully, and the story is told perfectly through Charlie’s letters. I also love how relateable this book is, despite it being published in 1999, and being set in the early 90’s.

I recently read a brilliant review of the book, which I’ll link here, where I think the book was summed up perfectly:

“Although the book is, at times, very upsetting, it is ultimately uplifting and life-affirming”

This is without a doubt one of my favourite books of all time, and I can’t recommend it enough

Have you read The Perks of Being a Wallflower? What did you think about it? If not, what’s your favourite coming of age story? Let me know in the comments 🙂