Writing Perks of Being a Wallflower (anyone?)

[starphish]

Anyone here heard of "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky? I admit it has to be one of my all-time favorite novels. It's like a new version of "The Catcher in the Rye", but with music. Erm, that doesn't do the book justice, but anyways, it's quite good and a quick read.

If any of you have read it, I'd like to know what you thought, just because I get sick of hearing myself talk about it. ;_;

[Lady Asphyxia]

[font=Verdana][size=1]Do you know, I've been looking for this book for over a year, and I still haven't found it?[/size][/font]
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[font=Verdana][size=1]I first heard of it in a conversation that was in this forum, and then I read the prolgue [or part of it] at Amazon, and I've been looking for it since.[/size][/font]
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[font=Verdana][size=1]Is it good? What's the main plot? Who is the main character? [/size][/font]
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[font=Verdana][size=1]If it's good, then I'll probably get around to ordering it from the bookstore.[/size][/font]

[starphish]

[SIZE=1]Really? You can't find it? It's bound to be somewhere like Barnes & Noble...or Borders. To tell you the truth, I finally found mine at a local bookstore, so it's sure to be somewhere out there!

I can't speak for everyone, but I loved it to pieces. It's a collection of letters written by Charlie, this 15 year old boy, who is experiencing high school, his first real love, eccentric friends, drugs, smoking, and the Rocky Horror Picture show, among other things. It takes place in 1994-1995, so it's pretty contemporary.

Anyway, Charlie writes to the reader (whomever that may be) and just talks about his experiences. The thing that got me was his complete innocence and curiosity...reminded me of that child-like innocence everyone is always talking about. He's naive and quite often, I think he's depressed, but I could relate to him in some sense.

Characters include Charlie, Patrick (his friend, a senior), Partick's sister Sam (Charlie's crush, also a senior), Mary Elizabeth, Bill (Charlie's English teacher/friend), and a bunch of people I sadly cannot recall.

Anyway, I hope I didn't give anything away. It's a very quick read and you might find yourself laughing one minute, crying the next, cursing at Charlie or a character, then feeling happy with them. Losts of people critisize that Charlie is not a wallflower in the truest sense of the word, but oh well. I liked it and perhaps you will, too. =)[/SIZE]

[future girl]

I found the book at my school library. I know they say to not judge books by their covers but the only real reason the book interested me at first was because it was almost entirely green *lol*. In any case, I ended up reading it in a day and it was just amazing. It's a lot like The Catcher in the Rye in that it's a coming of age story and although really very simple to read it really impacts you in the oddest way.

What I really loved about it as straphish said was Charlie's wonderful amount of innocence. [spoiler]When he has that dream about Sam and he tells her about it because he felt it was wrong[/spoiler] I just found that incredibly endearing. I guess you can say he's the type of character you form an emotional attachement to, you really end up rooting for him in the end. And unlike the Catcher in the Rye you feel hopeful about Charlie, like he's gonna be ok.

I also was very pleased with the mentioning of the Smiths ^_^

[starphish]

[QUOTE=anatema]I found the book at my school library. I know they say to not judge books by their covers but the only real reason the book interested me at first was because it was almost entirely green *lol*. In any case, I ended up reading it in a day and it was just amazing. It's a lot like The Catcher in the Rye in that it's a coming of age story and although really very simple to read it really impacts you in the oddest way.

What I really loved about it as straphish said was Charlie's wonderful amount of innocence. [spoiler]When he has that dream about Sam and he tells her about it because he felt it was wrong[/spoiler] I just found that incredibly endearing. I guess you can say he's the type of character you form an emotional attachement to, you really end up rooting for him in the end. And unlike the Catcher in the Rye you feel hopeful about Charlie, like he's gonna be ok.

I also was very pleased with the mentioning of the Smiths ^_^[/QUOTE]

[SIZE=1]That's so freaky, because that's why I chose the book, too! It was bright green and I was like "hey, whoa there, kids! What's up with the brightness?" lol. And I agree (basically, with everything you said). I came away from "Catcher" with love, but I agree that at the end, you're not sure how you feel towards Holden. But I'm a big fan of Salinger. I think Chbosky wrote a newer version of a classic, but gave it his own special touch. When I read "Perks", Nirvana came to mind all the time, which is weird, but that proves that I can relate to the novel on a different level, which is good (I think). And that emotional attachment...that's what gets my love. Sometimes you read books that just seem to be "there". It does nothing to you emotionally and I just can't handle that. Call me emotional if you will, but a book that tugs on my mind and heart deserves my love. And "Perks" does just that. =)

I'm glad to hear someone else likes it! And yeah, the music in the novel is grand. Do you think people generations from now will find it appealing? It's a matter of opinion, but I hope they do. It's grand.[/SIZE]

[future girl]

Hm, I think, like the Catcher in the Rye, everyone comes or will come to an age when they understand the book completely. It's like that for a lot of coming of age tales, not everyone gets the same thing out of them and some ppl just don't get anything at all. I can't imagine everyone twenty years from now scoffing and saying the book is unrelatable because to some extent everyone goes through what Charlie went through, maybe not to the same degree or with the same situations, but the feeling of it all is there. I remember reading the part [spoiler]when he's in the back of the truck and that perfect song comes on and he says "I feel infinite."[/spoiler] It was like something so amazing, that feeling. I think at our age everyone gets that feeling at some moment and that Chbosky touched on it was perfect for me.

[coconuts1977]

I absolutely love this book. I especially liked the imagery used when they drove through the tunnel and the kid was sticking his head out. I thought it got pretty depressing at some points, but it was a nice read. The main similarity I can find between Catcher and Wallflower is that both have protagonists that don't know where they are going. I related to both of them, and loved both novels.

I especially liked the character Patrick in Wallflower. (It's been awhile, he was [spoiler]the gay one right?[/spoiler])

[Cahoots34]

I love this book to the point of worship. I don't, however, really see how it's particularly similar to [U]The Catcher in the Rye[/U]. 'Coming of age' stories aren't exactly rare; is [U]Catcher[/U] simply the most classic? Frankly, I think Chbosky's 'interpretation', if you will, was far more poignant than Salinger's, in that it was slightly more coherent and featured a character who was not so much rabidly unambitious and jaded (as Holden is), but a boy who is to all intents and purposes a relatively normal teenager wandering on the fringes of his personal society. The latter, I think, is a bit easier to identify with than the former, but I'll admit I could have formed that opinion mainly because I hate [U]Catcher[/U] with a passion.

[starphish]

[quote name='Cahoots34]I love this book to the point of worship. I don't, however, really see how it's particularly similar to [U]The Catcher in the Rye[/U]. 'Coming of age' stories aren't exactly rare; is [U]Catcher[/U] simply the most classic? Frankly, I think Chbosky's 'interpretation', if you will, was far more poignant than Salinger's, in that it was slightly more coherent and featured a character who was not so much rabidly unambitious and jaded (as Holden is), but a boy who is to all intents and purposes a relatively normal teenager wandering on the fringes of his personal society. The latter, I think, is a bit easier to identify with than the former, but I'll admit I could have formed that opinion mainly because I hate [U]Catcher[/U'] with a passion.[/quote]

I'm not sure if [U]Catcher[/U] is the "classic", but it broke out of the bounds of 1945 (that's right, right?) That's one reason why I like it, even though (like you said) it is very jaded and Holden isn't as endearing as Charlie. Still, I love both novels...
You're right about Patrick, Coconuts.

[oshi]

I found this book at my school's library, too, and most of all it just made me want to write. That's what good stories do to me. I want to see if I can top them. But this one's style escapes me. I can barely put it into words. It's just too good. The whole tone is so oppressive and melancholy; you can't get away from this book after you've read it, but I didn't really want to.

My favorite character was Patrick. [spoiler]Everything that happened to him always made me so sad. I hated that jock (even though I get it, I get it.).[/spoiler]