the perks of being a wallflower

Dear friend,

I have just finished reading Stephen Chbosky's the perks of being a wallflower, and I have to say it was an amazing book. I took me just under nine hours and sixteen minutes to read, given that over the period of the day I did not read straight without breaks and stopped because I didn't want it to be over too quickly, or was forced to do other things. Incidentally, I ended up finishing the book much quicker than I have any other book, regardless of the fact that it is only two hundred-thirteen pages long.

The book is told through the point of view of Charlie, but from the passages of letters that he writes to an unknown individual. We never find out the readers gender, age, name, or any details at all other than that they are not the kind of person who would sleep with someone at a party just because they could. All we know is that he starts all of his letters with the 'Dear friend,' and ends them with 'Love always, Charlie' It is quite easy to forget that these letters are written to some unknown individual and not to the reader themselves. I felt this way all throughout the book, and frankly I couldn't see someone who would sleep with someone just because they could at a party where people were drunk or sober who they weren't dating, actually reading this book. So perhaps it is written directly to the reader, to you, if you fit the qualifications.

I found myself very easily being able to relate to Charlie, as most other people should be able to, but before that I found myself enjoying to learn who he was before I let myself delve into becoming him. I found myself laughing when he was trying to be cute in his letter on page twenty-one, October,14 1991. Charlie succeeded in making me smile, as well as laughing. From that point on I was all in, not to say that I wasn't at the beginning. I just mean that after that I point I was willing to completely put myself on his side. I like to trust my characters and get to know them. I like to become attached to them and so I did. I liked him all the way up to that point, but when I actually laughed out loud I was ready to attach myself to this character.

I liked Charlie long before the part mentioned above, and was able to relate to him long before that. I found myself continuously thinking of how he reminded me of myself, and I know that I would willing have been his friend at the beginning of this book. I very quickly, as the book began to continue, realized that Charlie was way cooler than I ever was in High School. But despite that fact I could still see myself being friends with him, and wish I was.

I have always taken something from a book when I read it and this one is no exception., but at this very moment in time there are three things that I have taken from this book that prominently stuck with me:

1. I am guilty of using my thoughts to not participate in life.

2. If we accept the love that we think we deserve, then I need to think better of myself.
(I have come to realize that by the end of this book I very much do believe this)

3. I want to feel infinite.

I know that I have many more thoughts on this book that have stuck with me, but these three are the most prominent. I also know that I will have several more after I reread this book, because much like Charlie I like to read books twice. I have three other books that I have on my book list at the moment that I very much want to read. Two of them I will read before I revisit the perks of being a wallflower, and one that I will read afterwards.

If you haven't read Stephen Chbosky's best seller, I strongly insist that you do. It truly is a wonderful book and I wish that I had heard of it sooner and read it while I was still in High School, but I will take it's lessons with me throughout college. One day I will feel infinite, as I hope that one day you too will.

Love always,
Austin