Summary: Perks follows observant “wallflower” Charlie as he charts a course through the strange world between adolescence and adulthood. First dates, family drama, and new friends. Sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Devastating loss, young love, and life on the fringes. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it, Charlie must learn to navigate those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.
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Rating: ★★½
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General Thoughts: I have so many mixed thoughts about this book. On the one hand, I enjoyed it and I liked Charlie, but I also have beef with it, especially about how unrealistic it was.
Plot: The plot was an extreme mess. I guess it was supposed to be snapshots of time with Charlie's letters, but not much got resolved. There were so many important issues brought up and then gone again in three pages. Highlight to view spoilers: Charlie's sister got pregnant so they both just went to get an abortion and then they both forgot about it in three pages. Also, Charlie took LSD and there were no consequences afterwards, like with withdrawal? I'm a freshman in highschool myself and the events in this book were just extremely unrealistic and unlikely. Everyone knows that having senior friends is the worst decision you can have, especially if they're shady af. But the thing that most ticked me off was Charlie getting straight As even though he was never stressed, never did his work, and goofed around so much and got high all the time??? And the ending chapter was unnecessary and frustrating. Chbosky could have easily ended the book at the previous chapter, especially since this is a standalone.
Writing: I actually did like the writing, and Charlie's voice was unique and enjoyable. He's so brutally honest about things without realizing it. The formatting as a letter to an unknown friend was cool.
Characters and Romance: I liked Charlie but he kept making really stupid decisions. I also liked Patrick but his arc was barely resolved. I honestly couldn't stand most anybody else. The romance was also weird, since there was that big age gap, and the characters never had any chemistry, in my opinion.
Diversity: The diversity was meh with this one. It was published in the previous century, so I wasn't really expecting it to be super diverse. Everyone was white, but Patrick was gay. He dealt with a lot of homophobia and there was the trope of him dating a guy who would bully him in front of others. So, meh.
Do I Recommend?: I guess if you're one for reading classics, you shouldn't miss this one. But it's not really one for everyone. Pick it up if you want but it's not a priority read.
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