Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky

What can I say about this book. It is flawless. It is one of those books that you can read from cover to cover, and then go back and read it all over again, and feel like it's the first time you've read it all over again. Stephen Chbosky did an awe-inspiring job, especially considering that it is his first novel. He makes the character of Charlie into this misunderstood teenager who's had a horrible past and is trying to hide it from his friends and family, without even noticing he's hiding it in the first place. From the book you understand exactly how Charlie feels, how depressed he is, how thoughtful he is and how lost he is. You can't help but fall in love with him and his quirky and awkward ways. He is a character that almost any teenager can relate to at some point in their lives, whether through his past, his depression, his love for Sam, his confusion at high school life, or just the way he acts.

Chbosky turns Sam into this discrete idea of perfection. She is beautiful, clever and a source of care and comfort to Charlie whenever he needs it, from her giving him his first kiss, to showing him what he needs to do to become happier in himself, she's exactly what he needs, whenever he needs it. That's why Charlie falls in love with her, not just because she's pretty and funny and kind, but because she's the only person that can help Charlie to become himself.

Every book needs a loveable rogue. In Perks, that is Patrick. He never does what he's meant to, he plays by his own rules and helps Charlie to experience life in ways he never even thought possible. When Patrick goes through his dark phase, he is externalising all the emotions Charlie is keeping in and bottling up, resulting in his inevitable breakdown and hospitalisation at the end of the novel. Chbosky represents this dramatic climax of the novel incredibly well, showing it from the perspective of a confused teenager who has no idea what's happened or what's going to happen.

I really empathised with Charlie throughout the book. This book has taught me an incredible amount about friendship, about love and about life. Chbosky writes in a way that means despite what you're going through or what you have been through, you understand what Charlie is feeling and why he feels like that. No book I've ever read can compare to Perks, it's left me feeling introspective and thoughtful, drained yet full of emotion, I feel infinite. I can sum everything up in one quote.

"I'm both happy and sad, and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be."