The Perks of Being a Wallflower

This is really just a great book. I think it's a book everyone should read even if they're an adult despite it being considered “young adult” literature. Because I think everyone who has lived to the point of “young adulthood” can relate that period of their lives to Charlie's description of his.

I really like the way Charlie is just a very honest and straightforward character. I don't feel like anything is hidden and it's like looking into somebody's mind. It's lovely and I find it very unique. I guess I could kind of relate it to Holden Caulfield's stream of consciousness in The Catcher in the Rye, but Charlie is not Holden. He's kind of an opposite. While Holden sees everything that's wrong with the world and allows himself to feel crushed by it, Charlie sees these things and tries to cope with them the best he can. He cries a lot, but he never blames the world for his misfortune. And don't get me wrong: I like Holden and I agreed with many of his points. He and Charlie are just two different people who see and experience many of the same things, but take them different ways. I think that with help, both of them could learn to live happier lives in the future if they had a future. “So even 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.” Maybe Holden would benefit from meeting Charlie. I liked how Charlie read The Catcher and the Rye and I wish I could have read his essay on it.

“I think that if I ever have kids, and they are upset, I won't tell them that people are starving in China or anything like that because it wouldn't change the fact that they were upset. And even if somebody else has it much worse, that doesn't really change the fact that you have what you have. Good and bad.”