Charlie is a freshman. And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it. Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But Charlie can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor (Goodreads).
So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be.
Author: Stephen Chbosky
Genre: Young Adult, Fiction, Contemporary
Goodreads rating: 4.20
Pages: 232
Publication: February 1999 by MTV Books/Pocket Books
Source: Sabah State Library
Reading Format: Paperback
Standalone/Series: Standalone
Review type: Non-spoilery
review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Things change. And friends leave. Life doesn't stop for anybody.
Just so you know, I'm editing this blog post in 2020, which was 5 years since I read it. So, you'll see me talking this book from two perspectives: 15-year-old me who just started reading YA English books and 19-year-old me who has read plenty of YA books from 5 years of reading.
15 year old me: This book changed my life. This book will always hold a special place in my heart because this book was the first book that opened my eyes about something and this book get me into this fantastic book-maniac world. People around me rarely gets me and what I feel and this book gets me so much. I want to get lost in this book. I love the characters, especially Charlie. He takes the chances to live life to the fullest and I want to do just the same.
This book definitely changed my life, given that it was the first YA contemporary coming-of-age book I ever read. It made 15-year-old me feel understood and gave me hope to take what life had to offer. That was the first time a book ever had an effect on me and it was natural for me to hold on to this book for my dear life. The main reason that this book was very appealing to me (besides the hype around it and the fact that Emma Watson stars in the movie) was that Charlie was a very rootable main character.
I don’t know if you’ve ever felt like that. That you wanted to sleep for a thousand years. Or just not exist. Or just not be aware that you do exist. Or something like that. I think wanting that is very morbid, but I want it when I get like this. That’s why I’m trying not to think. I just want it all to stop spinning.
You could see this socially-awkward boy just looking at his peers living their lives while he was sitting on the sideline. Somehow, he seemed to reflect me. I just wanted him to have fun, be friends with those people who were kind to him and for him to be happy. And with the way that this book was written in letters, it felt like he wrote it just for me and he was like a friend.
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.
In my current perspective, this book is still brilliant for the time it was written and is still very meaningful for me. If it's published today and sets to compete with another YA book, it will not win. Despite the praise that it got for the LGBTQIA rep and the important issues contained in this book, they were not delved much into compared to the latest YA contemporaries. But I don't deny that this book might have been the start of what the YA contemporary books are today. And with my little thoughts about this book, if you think it's something you're interested in, do read it. Especially to all my fellow wallflowers. This book will definitely make you feel infinite.
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