2025 Reading Challenge discussion

Tell us what you thought of the book! You can leave your review here. Even if you read the book outside of the group, please feel free to let us know what you thought of it.

Please make sure to mark your spoilers by typing "[spoiler]" at the start and [/spoiler] at the end but replacing the []s with <>s.

I finished the book this morning and it's been sticking in the back of my head all day long!

Even though it was hard at first for me to get a grasp on Charlie and his 'ways', as I kept reading it became clearer and clearer that there was something that we needed to read between the lines... (view spoiler)[I had the idea that he might have some kind of autism, but I don't know much about the topic, and it turned out it was nothing I'd ever imagined! (hide spoiler)]

I really enjoyed the author's writing, it was genuine, lighthearted and naive. It kept me reading even when I was getting sleepy! I think it's a great achievement considering the main character didn't become a favourite of mine, and that made me think that I'd have it harder to get hooked on the book.

To be honest I didn't have a favourite, but still that didn't make the story dull or boring, casue it's special in its own way. I don't really know how to explain it but after reading this novel I now consider it a must-read, especially for teenagers who are coming of age or struggling with their own circumstances. I wish I'd read it earlier.

I don't usually read YA books, but this looked like an exception. There was plenty of material for all ages. The ups and downs are a reality of a teenager's life with the added twist of mystery and assumptions. Good recommendation for those who are his age although the topics explored may be offensive to some.

I gave it 3.75 stars, rounded up to 4. Here's the review I posted:

Charlie's delivery was a bit robotic, lacking emotion most of the time. His narrative was largely shallow, simply describing the facts of events that happened, rather than letting on to any emotions he felt throughout the novel. This narration style made it difficult to feel for him because he didn't seem to be feeling much at all.

The book also dealt with some heavy life topics but seemed to use Charlie's (view spoiler)[sexual abuse as merely a device to implement a plot twist. This element was hardly explored at all and certainly not in a healthy way that would allow him to move forward. He remembered that this happened to him, it was the last straw, he went to a mental health facility, and then two months later, he was out and doing well...with no real exploration of this incident. (hide spoiler)]

I did like the characters for the most part but wish they had been explored a little more in depth. We saw them only through Charlie's eyes and since his narration was so devoid of emotion, it was difficult to feel for them too deeply. I did like the story as a whole and enjoyed the issues that they did explore. It was entertaining enough while I read it, and I did want to come back to it, but because of Charlie's detachment from emotion, I really didn't feel as connected to this novel as I would have liked.

Here is my review. It's a little spoilery. I really enjoyed this on audio. The narrator really gave Charlie a good voice.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Great review, SarahKat. :D I totally agree with the part about (view spoiler)[it being important for the reader that Charlie never receives a diagnosis and how that means that anyone who has experienced/felt the things he feels can better relate to him. (hide spoiler)]

5 star read for me

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Ashleigh, lovely review! I'm glad you enjoyed it so much. :D

4 stars out of 5. Here's my spoiler-free review:

So, then, what are some of the perks of being a Wallflower? It's a burning question for our young people, both in 1993 and now. Charlie hopes to answer that question, but it will definitely be a struggle to get there.

My escapades through young adult literature continue, from modern marvels like the work of Angie Thomas, further back to The Spectacular Now and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian , and recently, another dive into one of the genre's granddaddies, The Catcher in the Rye . The Perks of Being a Wallflower distinguishes itself in many ways, some good, some not so good.

This is a rare example, especially nowadays, of an epistolary novel in a classical sense. That is, a novel written as a series of letters, rather than the current fashion of diary entries or report logs. Our soft-spoken and awkward protagonist Charlie writes several letters to a "friend," much in the fashion of Celie's letters to God in The Color Purple . The letters describe Charlie's first year of high school, often sombre, occasionally euphoric, sometimes poetic.

Charlie portrays himself as fairly passive and naive, as he goes through a number of new experiences and challenges. He meets two friends his age, waggish wiseacre Patrick, and his forthright and devastatingly lovely stepsister, Sam. Together, they introduce young Charlie to many experiences, including drinking, smoking, marijuana, LSD, and The Rocky Horror Show. Some of these are glossed over, especially because Charlie writes these letters to make sure they stay direct and evocative to his "friend." This is a departure from Sherman Alexie's approach in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, with its more diversionary and mixed-media approach.

The strength of this, though, is it maintains a consistent voice, even as Charlie and his friends change throughout the year. This is a delicate operation, since at the end, an event is revealed that shows how Charlie's coming-of-age is inevitably stunted. So, to be genuine, his text has to read like he's developing, but also like something keeps him weighed down. This generally works, but it does mean that a few elements of the story feel merely glanced over.

However, that also means no part of the story feels wasted. Even with the wealth of experience Charlie has, the book doesn't divert or ramble. A drawback, though, is that it does make the story feel more like a series of things happening to Charlie, rather than anything he feels engaged in.

The book is also not especially cultural, which may be a disappointment for modern readers. Along with more timeless things like Rocky Horror and Big Boy restaurants, there are a few 1993 touches, like mixtapes, zines, VHS recordings and so on. They put me in mind of the video game, Gone Home, which also felt very set-in-the-90s, but used that as a rich and textured milieu, in service of it's simple but emotional story. It never quite achieves this lofty aim in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The book tells me it's set in Pittsburgh, but honestly, it could be set anywhere.

Nonetheless, its influence on writing for teenagers in the 21st century is deeply apparent. Many books I've read feel like they owe a great debt to Charlie's letters. Chbosky combines the first-person, idiosyncratic narration that young adult writing thrives on, while also daring to approach risky themes that have been touched on before, but nowadays, struck head-on. Charlie joins the ranks of many great Wallflowers, and us Wallflowers can benefit richly from his example. But maybe don't smoke ten cigarettes a day, like he does.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Great review, John!

"A drawback, though, is that it does make the story feel more like a series of things happening to Charlie, rather than anything he feels engaged in."

That right there was my biggest issue with this novel. I had a difficult time feeling much for Charlie because the narration was so focused on the facts of what happened rather than the emotions/feelings/humanity of how those events affected him.

It didn't take long to get sucked into this book. The style of writing via letters only actually worked. Given that Charlie is writing these letters you never actually get a clear idea of what his issues are exactly. I think this actually helped to keep me from having preconceived ideas about how and why he was reacting to the situations he faced.