Perks of Being a Wallflower

One of my favorite books is The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. The book documents a teenage boys [who goes by name of Charlie] through various letters he writes to an anonymous person. Charlie’s letters discuss teenage issues, such as sexuality, drug use, fitting in and standard high school awkwardness and confusion. The Perks of Being a Wallflower also explains meanings behind certain books, music and films that relate to Charlie’s life. Some of my other favorite books are mentioned in The Perks of Being a Wildflower, including  To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Films/TV shows like M*A*S*H and It’s a Wonderful Life are also mentioned. The main reason I love the book because Charlie’s narrative expresses the thought process many teenage students go through. The fact that the story takes place in Pittsburgh doesn’t hurt either! I wanted to include some of my favorite quotes from this amazing book!

“He’s my whole world.”
“Don’t ever say that about anyone again. Not even me.”

“And when she started becoming a ‘young lady,’ and no one was allowed to look at her because she thought she was fat. And how she really wasn’t fat. And how she was actually very pretty. And how different her face looked when she realized boys thought she was pretty. And how different her face looked the first time she really liked a boy who was not on a poster on her wall. And how her face looked when she realized she was in love with that boy.”

“I just wish that God or my parents or Sam or my sister or someone would just tell me what’s wrong with me. Just tell me how to be different in a way that makes sense.“

“And I thought that all those little kids are going to grow up someday. And all of those little kids are going to do the things that we do. And they will all kiss someone someday. But for now, sledding is enough. I think it would be great if sledding were always enough, but it isn’t.”

“I think it was the first time in my life I ever felt like I looked ‘good.’ Do you know what I mean? That nice feeling when you look in the mirror, and your hair’s right for the first time in your life?“

“I used to listen to it all the time when I was little and thinking about grown-up things. I would go to my bedroom window and stare at my reflection in the glass and the trees behind it and just listen to the song for hours. I decided then that when I met someone I thought was as beautiful as the song, I should give it to that person. And I didn’t mean beautiful on the outside. I meant beautiful in all ways.”

“I am very interested and fascinated how everyone loves each other, but no one really likes each other.”

“If you listen to the song “Asleep,” and you think about those pretty weather days that make you remember things, and you think about the prettiest eyes you’ve known, and you cry, and the person holds you back, then I think you will see the photograph.”

“Things change. And friends leave. And life doesn’t stop for anybody.”

“When I was driving home, I thought about the word ‘special.’ And I thought the last person who said that about me was my aunt Helen. I was very grateful to have heard it again. Because I guess we all forget sometimes. And I think everyone is special in their own way. I really do.”

“So, I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we’ll never know most of them. But even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.”

“I think that if I ever have kids, and they are upset, I won’t tell them that people are starving in China or anything like that because it wouldn’t change the fact that they were upset. And even if somebody else has it much worse, that doesn’t really change the fact that you have what you have.“

“Maybe it’s good to put things in perspective, but sometimes, I think that the only perspective is to really be there. Like Sam sad. Because it’s okay to feel things. And be who you are about them.”

“Please believe that things are good with me, and even when they’re not, they will be soon enough.” READ THIS BOOK (you can do it on Google here). I promise you won’t be disappointed. Happy Tuesday!