The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Perks of Being a Wallflower 

Stephen Chbosky 

Fiction 

Number of pages read this week: 63/213 (finished book this week)

Summary 

The part of the book that I read this week starts off with Brad getting beaten up by his father. This happened because Patrick and Brad were found by Brad's father and he wasn't pleased. When Brad went to school it was like he was a completely different person. He started ignoring Patrick in school and outside of school. Patrick tried calling Brad but his father answered and immediately hung up. Obviously, this made Patrick extremely sad and one day Patrick went to take a quick smoke and found Patrick crying. A few days later Patrick gets into a fight with Brad, Brad's friends join in and start beating up Patrick. Charlie can fight well when he wants to, so he joins in and hits Brad's friends. He tells them that if they ever try to beat Patrick up again he will make Brad blind. Since fighting on school grounds was against the rules everyone involved in the fight had some serious punishments. However, there was a positive side to everything because Sam came and saw Charlie after his detention and talked to him. She did say he could be really stupid and that he should really consider apologizing to Mary Elizabeth. Later on Patrick and Charlie hang out, they both end up taking drugs and having too much alcohol. They once saw Brad out with another guy which made Patrick want to leave straight away. Charlie ends up apologizing to Mary Elizabeth, she forgives him and already has a new boyfriend called Peter. Nearly all of Charlie's friends will be graduating soon and are all getting ready for prom. This makes Charlie very sad. Sam and Craig end up breaking up since Sam finds out he cheated on her many times. Sam and Charlie hang out the night before Sam is supposed to be leaving for college. She kisses him again. Sam places her hand on Charlie's leg, it's strange because Charlie keeps feeling weird and having memories about Aunt Helen. He stays at Sam's that night and has a dream that Aunt Helen touched him the same way Sam did. The next morning he is very confused. The day that Sam and all of Charlie's other friends leave for college arrives. It is a very sad day for all of them, but hopefully they will see each other again. Charlie ends up going to hospital for 2 months because of the memories of Aunt Helen. Charlie realizes that everything he dreamt about her was true but he doesn't blame her for it. Both of Charlie's parents are appalled at what they found out had happened to Charlie. At the very end of the book Charlie says that if that is the last letter he ever writes that he wants everyone to know that things are good with him, and if not, they will be soon enough. 

Report 

          The last part of the book (ending) was very unfortunate at the beginning, but slowly there was one good event after the other. I didn't enjoy reading about how Patrick got beaten up and felt really bad for him. I also didn't like the fact that Brad started ignoring Patrick when he hadn't done anything to him in the first place. I'm glad that Sam decided to talk to Charlie and reason with him, I like that they became friends again after everything that they went through. Since Charlie happened to make friends with people in the older grades that were graduating that year, I believe it must have been hard for him in the end because all of them were leaving and he would have to make new friends all over again in the following year. As well as not liking reading about how Patrick got beaten up, I didn't like the memories that Charlie kept having of his Aunt Helen. I wondered why it took him so long to realize what had actually happened to him though. I enjoyed the end of this book and the whole reading experience I had gotten from the whole book. I learnt a lot of things and how it must feel to be in different people's shoes. The characters in the book were all so different and all had different stories. 

             The Perks of Being a Wallflower is one of my favorite books because anyone is able to relate to it in many ways. It tells a story which can potentially be true and it is told from a specific person's point of view, in this case Charlie, and I liked that style of writing very much. Overall this is a fantastic book and I would recommend it to anyone especially teenagers. 

Passage 

'"So, if this does end up being my last letter, please believe that things are good with me, and even if they're not, they will be soon enough.'" And I will believe the same about you. (Chbosky 213)

I chose this passage because there are many things that can be thought when reading this passage depending on the person reading it. I think that at the point that Charlie is right now he is feeling okay with the person he is, but not about his friends leaving. I think he is slightly worried about the future and what will happen to him or others and if anything will ever be the same again. I also felt sad when I read this because the book had actually come to an end and Charlie was basically saying "goodbye." He has developed so much in the book  from being a shy, anti-social person, to an outgoing person who sees much more than he ever did before. He has met so many great new people that he will never forget, and has made some unforgettable memories.