"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" is quite possibly the best book I've ever had the pleasure of reading. I read very often sometimes two books at a time. Most of the books I read are mysteries or, more recently, tells the life story of one main character. These are my favorites. I compare this book to "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold and "She's Come Undone" by Wally Lamb. This book is similar to these in the fact that it tells the story of one main character throughout the novel. However, the intriguing differences with this book are that it is written in letter format, each being a few pages long, and also that the main character is a boy. I've never read a novel about the maturing of youths where the youth in question is a boy. I thought this made the book that much more interesting. For once I got to see the male perspective of growing up from the character Charlie. .
The ending of the book I thought while it was very good it lacked closure. I believe that every book has more to tell. I become very connected with the characters who I am reading about so I want to know how their lives turn out. Charlie's character ended the novel as being in recovery from a tragic event in his life that took its toll on him mentally. He was also beginning his sophomore year of high school and he was with Sam and Patrick. The last paragraph of the book is as follows "So, if this does end up being my last letter, please believe that things are good with me, and even when they"re not, they will be soon enough." While I think this is a phenomenal ending I still want to know more.
The novel is most definitely base on the workings of the heart. Charlie just wants to be accepted and to have friends. He treats his friends perhaps better than he wishes to be treated. Charlie definitely finds live to be a precious thing and wants to make sure that himself and the people around him make it through okay. Charlie is ultra-sensitive to people's feelings.
