The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The first book I read in the new year was The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky.

Jason and I went over to Steph and Sasha’s for brunch, and we both ended up pulling books off a shelf and devouring them. We all spent the afternoon in various states of repose, and I finished the book in time for dinner.

My only criticism is that although the book is written in a wholly believable voice, and has wonderful insight, I can’t ignore the fact that the teens in the book are not realistic. They’re what we all wish we were like in high school, with poignant scenes we all would love to have experienced. Oooh, also there was the usual dosing of regular teen novel angst: a pregnancy, homosexuality, and molestation. I think it’s a young adult book, based on the age of the main characters, and said angst topics.

My reaction was emotional, built up from about page 20 on (of 244 pages), and there is a whole lot of good story in the book. I guess it crescendo’d before it was able to finish in a satisfying manner, but that’s asking a whole lot out of a book. Two hung-over, sleepy-New-Years-Day thumbs up.