The Perks of Being a Wallflower: A Review

The Perks of Being a Wallflower has been on my to-be-read list for as long as I can remember. But, it kept getting pushed farther and farther to the bottom of my list, till I finally decided it was the perfect book to start my 2022.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower tells the story of Charlie and his journey through his freshman year of high school. On his journey, he learns valuable lessons about friendship, love, and trauma in a tell-all of a young man's life. The book is written by Stephen Chbosky, and in 2012, the book was turned into a film adaptation.

When I first started reading the book, I was a little nervous. I had been told by a few people that this book takes the wind out of your sails, and takes a bit to mentally recover from. Then I realized the book was in letter form and became even more skeptical.

Soon after I started I knew I had a new favorite, but tried to remain open. I quickly fell in love with the amazing storyline and followed along in the life of Charlie as he tried to make it through his freshman year of high school. This tells the story of trauma, difficulty, struggles, friends, and love.

The book made me feel like I was right along with each of the characters, following along with the story, I was right in the action for every awkward and fun interaction. The book was also filled with a lot of incredible quotes that had me bringing out my highlighter to make sure I remember. So many of them reached into my soul and truly made me feel seen. The book didn't take me out mentally the way I had anticipated, but rather made me look at my life with a new appreciation.

Overall, this book is absolutely phenomenal. 5/5 stars.