Life goes on.: Perks of Being a Wallflower

What does it really mean by "being a wallflower?" That's what I thought at first too. I don't know what "being a wallflower" means. What I only know is what a wallflower is but being a wallflower? So I searched Google for its meaning and found this: A wallflower is someone who would prefer to be on the outside of things. Rather than in the action, they'd be a spectator from a safe distance. People at dances and parties who don't dance, and instead stand away from everyone else, are referred to as wall flowers. Plus this: a shy person who stands against a wall at a social gathering.

After I read its meaning, I thought to myself again, this sounds like me. Not to generalize me or anything but sometimes I feel like a wallflower too. I don't really like to socialize much. I just stand at one corner and observe and watch everyone else. Yup, that's me! Sounds more like a wallflower too.

Enough with the me being a wallflower, let's talk about this book by Stephen Chbosky entitled Perks of Being a Wallflower.

When I started reading it I noticed that it always begins with a date and a Dear Friend and ends with a Love Charlie. That's when I realized that it was actually a different kind of novel. Not the one with the chapter kind of novel. This book's like a compilation of the letters sent by Charlie to an unknown identity where Charlie tells his life. So if you're going to read it, expect yourself to be as someone who will read letters from a 15-year old boy named Charlie.

I love how the characters in the book were easily described like you can actually picture them while reading. Of course I was imagining Charlie as Logan and Sam as Emma, but the others I can picture how they actually look like. The characters were amazing. From Charlie to Sam to Patrick to Mary Elizabeth to Craig to Brad to Peter and the rest.

Basically the book tells us how high school life is to a freshman wallflower. In Charlie's life, he got to experience a lot of ups and downs among his family, friends, school and love life. He experienced what it was like to loose someone who is dear to your heart. He experienced what it feels like to be in a seems happy but not perfect family. He experienced what it feels like to be friends with a bunch of seniors while he's still a freshman. He experienced what it feels to have no friends at all. He experienced what it feels like to fall in love.

This book has a lot of scenes like smoking pots, smoking cigarettes, getting high, hitting each other and stuff like that, but they are not that much detailed which is really cool.

I found Charlie really smart and cute. When I read his letters, I feel like I want to hug him and congratulate him for surviving reality. He loves reading as to his English teacher Bill gives him book after book after book to read. And he was able finish and a write a reflection paper about it, always.

Charlie is also a fan of music. He creates mixtapes which I want to do some time too. :) I would like to listen to his awesome mixtapes soon on Youtube when I find the time. I just hope they have it there!

But behind all these, I found Charlie a bit weird. I don't know. There's just something about him that he always keep everything to himself and let it bury down in his thoughts which makes him hard to express what he really wants to express. You just have to read the book to understand what I really mean. :)

Oh yes the movie! The movie Perks of Being a Wallflower is set to hit the cinemas on September 20, 2012. I can't wait to see Logan Lerman and Emma Watson do a Percy Jackson and Hermione Granger tandem in this movie. I think they're perfect for the roles! Can't wait to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show!

See the trailer here!

By the way, I got to save some of the quotable quotes from this book:

I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be.
I think not knowing is what really bothers me.
Sometimes people use thought to not participate life.
We accept the love we think we deserve.
The problem with things is that everyone is always comparing everyone with everyone.
It was a movie smile in slow motion, and then everything was okay.
I wish I could have made her feel better, but sometimes, I guess you just can't.
People who try to control situations all the time are afraid that if they don't, nothing will work out the way they want.
I don't know where I went wrong.
Maybe I should have been honest then, but it didn't feel like the right time.
It's much easier not to know things sometimes.
Things change. Friends leave. And life doesn't stop for anybody.
It's just hard to see a friend hurt so much. Especially when you can't do anything except "be there."