The Perks of Being a Wallflower (edició 1999)

I loved this book VERY much and was sad that it had to come to an end. A lot of interesting books were mentioned in the book. Some I've read, others I have not, but I will look at them on Amazon and see if they sound interesting.

I will add the movie version of Perks to my Netflix queue.

(3 years pass)

I didn't like any of the actors enough to even look them up on IMDB so I have no clue who any of those kids are, but the guy who played Charlie was boring, the girl who played Sam was annoying, the guy who played Patrick was the only one who was interesting at all. Even my beloved Paul Rudd was only kind of meh.

(3 more years pass)

Logan Lerman played Charlie and I still don't know who he is.
Emma Watson played Sam and of course now I've seen all the HP movies so I know she was Hermoine. lol I need to see her movies The Circle and Little Women.
Ezra Miller played Patrick and I still don't know him.

( )

This book is about a 15-years-old kid, Charlie, supposedly, schizophrenic and also a high school freshman, but he is on the sideline and he doesn't real socialize or do things, he just watches the others and the world moving and living more than he ever dreamed. But one day he just meets Patrick, a cool and funny guy, and his pseudo-step-sister, Sam, an unconventional beautiful and smart girl. Then, the story, which is told in letters written by Charlie himself, begins with the "Wallflower" trying to take part, as his English professor advises him.

Charlie did not win me, even though I don't really dislike him, because he's not just an awkward kid who likes to read the same books over twice, which is fine to me since I already have done it, but he's also too lame, always crying, even when there's no reason at all, and it was so annoying to know he was sad almost all the time. But then I remember he has a problem and maybe the whole instability and anxiety scene make a bit of sense. He's also strangely naïve, since he doesn't know a lot of things a 15-year-old boy would know, like masturbation. It's more than ok if he doesn't do it, but not knowing it is just unrealistic, even to a schizophrenic, I guess.

Well, the other characters were wonderful. It just felt right, even the whole thing with Mary Elizabeth, which is the first date of Charlie. I think it's because Charlie is a talented storyteller after all, even if he's not a normal kid, or the author is a skilled storyteller, whatever. As the book talks about the life of a teenager and about all the great first experiences, the bad and good ones, was easy for me to identify myself quickly. Yes, there are some teen drama, but come on teens have drama in theirs life, is not a lie or unrealistic at all, teens make everything a mess and for being honest it's not a big deal, it's so easy to mess up things, so we're not worse or better than anyone else.

One of my favourite parts was the whole thing with the mix tapes and the music in the motorway tunnel, the scene when Charlie talked about feeling infinite. It was also cool that Charlie writes as he thinks, because it felt like he was talking to me, and btw it was great that the letters would be for a person he didn't know but thought would understand him, 'cause the author was smart enough to don't say who the person is, so we can all think that we are that person, the person Charlie doesn't know, but thought would understand him. And I liked a lot when Sam offered a typewriter to Charlie, it was just sweet and thoughtful, and when she told him to stop being just nice and do what he really wanted to do and not apologize for it 'cause we deserve and may feel and that's ok, that scene was awesmazing!

Anyway, I didn't like this book that much, but I liked it. It talks about love (hetero and homo), family dramas, abortion, death and rape, music and literature, a lot of stuff. It's a pretty screwed up story, I guess. Well, the whole point is the book is more than readable, the characters are good enough; the story makes it easy to connect yourself into it, and there are a lot of quotable quotes, so that's it, enjoy the ride! ( )

This was one of the books that got me back into reading three years ago. It was also one of my first audio books.

I can say now that this is one of my favorite books of all time. ( )

This book is one that will stay with you long after you've finished it. It's moving and very beautifully written. One of my all time favourites. ( )

Charlie tiene 15 años y se ha quedado solo tras el suicidio de su mejor amigo. Vive con sus padres, su popular y guapa hermana y un hermano mayor que es una estrella del fútbol americano y que está a punto de comenzar la universidad. Su profesor de lengua está convencido de que Charlie posee una gran capacidad intelectual. Tras conocer a Sam y Patrick empieza a comprender lo que es ser un adolescente, y comienza un viaje hacia la madurez que le llevará a recorrer caminos nuevos e inesperados. Con ellos descubre nueva música, empieza a beber, fumar y coquetear con drogas, cambia de amigos… ¡Hasta que se convierte en un joven de verdad!