LiterariLeigh

Sometimes I feel like I really lucked out on a book. It was in the right place at the right time and it fell into my hands and I read it and I loved it. I've been hearing good things about Stephen Chbosky's  The Perks of Being a Wallflower for years. A couple of months ago I watched the movie and found it enjoyable. Now I am completely enamored with the book.

Entering the 10th grade is hard enough, but add to that a friend who committed suicide a few months ago, changing relationships with friends, and sensitive emotional responses. That's Charlie. On the outskirts of school life, Charlie approaches a couple of friendly seniors at a football game in an effort to not just watch life, but participate in it. Patrick and Sam introduce him to their friends and The Rocky Horror Picture Show (among other things) and Charlie starts to fall into place, discovering the pleasures and difficulties of being part a close knit group. Additionally, he's trying to figure out how to relate to his parents and older siblings as he himself is growing up in both body and mind; and how to handle the feelings, the highs and lows, that sometimes threaten to overwhelm him. There are so many things about Charlie that I could relate to, and that I think would appeal to many teens and adults. Note: Chbosky does not shy away from topics like sexuality, drugs, and depression - if I gave it a movie rating it would be a PG13 (which is the rating of the film version).

“So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be.”