Dear friend,

(I'm sorry! I am aware of my disastrous lack of blogging lately, but I do have excuses for being away for so long. Many of them. But I won't bore you with them when we've got books to discuss!)

"I wanted to laugh. Or maybe get mad. Or maybe shrug at how strange everyone was, especially me."

 "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky was a book that changed my life. This may sound dramatic, and I admit I really can be it at times. But, this book sincerely changed my life. I want to say that I discovered this novel by the end of my first year or the start of my second year in college. But, I can't promise accuracy as I'm horrible with anything that has numbers in it.

Anyways: it is not a recent read per se. But, an important one to talk about.

Now, although I read this book a couple of years ago, I still go back to it every once in a while and I always love it just as much (and maybe even more) than the first time I fell in love with it. In fact, my own copy is struggling to keep any of its pages' corners without a mark. Chbosky's words make my heart flutter, ache and feel at ease at the same time.

So, my first experience was absolutely incredible. It's not like this is some incredible adventure that blows you away, or a book that contains a plot so rich and original that you're left dumbfounded in a corner wondering how people can be so genius. 

This is a simple book. With a very simple story. Written with such a beautiful simplicity that you can't help but love every single letter of it. 

Charlie is a sweet cinammon bun that everyone wants to cherish forever and take care of. Patrick is the friend we all wish we could have: loyal, outspoken and unashamedly himself. And, Sam is the girl next door we all wish we were (or were with). 

I was swept away by Charlie's straightforward, simple and honest narration of the story. Chbosky's ability to portray so distinctly every single character and event through the filter of Charlie's mind is absolutely astounding, let alone his wonderful mastery of the plot's rhythm. 

Chbosky is poetic in a way that not many other authors I have read can be. His images are simple but extremely touching and NEEDED at the same time. Some of my favourite quotes are:

"It's like he would take a photograph of Sam, and the photograph would be beautiful. And he would think that the reason the photograph was beautiful was because of how he took it. If I took it, I would know that the only reason it's beautiful is because of Sam."  

  or 

"When I was done reading the poem, everyone was quiet. A very sad quiet. But the amazing thing was that it wasn't a bad sad at all. It was just something that made everyone look around at each other and know that they were there."

The book tackles very controversial or complicated subjects to touch on a young adult's novel, but it does so in such an innocent manner that you can't help but praise its efforts to shed light on issues like trauma, depression, body dismorphia or homophobia. 

Therefore, just like it helped my in very dark times in my life. I hope that by talking about this book (yes, do read the book because the movie is just not the same -as any filmic adaptation of any other art piece), it can at least help one person who's feeling lost, sad, alone or all of the above.

I don't want to give too much away, but I think this book most definitely taught me something incredibly important: "it's okay to feel things. And be who you are about them."

Hope you have a wonderful day!

My copy of "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" is the 2009 Simon and Schuster edition.