The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Ok team, this week I'm going to attempt to write about a book instead of music. Here we go:

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
There's a chance that some of you may have heard of The Perks of Being a Wallflower and already written it off. I mean the publishers of this book are 'MTV Books' which in itself is kind of gross and you may have seen the many thousands of oh-so-edgy quotes and gifs on Tumblr backed by pictures of snow/flowers/arms and God knows what else. But before you write this off as hipster nonsense; hear me out because it's actually kind of amazing.

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.This haunting novel about the dilemma of passivity vs. passion marks the stunning debut of a provocative voice in contemporary fiction: The Perks of Being a Wallflower. This is the story of what it’s like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We may not know where he lives. We may not know to whom he is writing. All we know is the world he shares. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course 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. Through Charlie, Stephen Chbosky has created a deeply affecting coming-of-age story, a powerful novel that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller coaster days known as growing up. (From http://www.goodreads.com/)

There are several pretty solid reasons why I liked this book and I think you, anonymous reader, may like it for the same reasons so hear me out:

-Charlie is a bit peculiar and awkward that his interactions with other people are either endearingly cute or hilariously uncomfortable. He's odd, and I like that because it makes me feel normal in comparison.

-This book was written in the 90's so it's gloriously free of cell phones and Facebook and the kids actually go outside. Ahh, the good old days.

- While Charlie is a bit of a spaz he has amazing taste in music and books (there goes my attempt at not writing about music). Charlie makes mix tapes featuring The Smiths, Fleetwood Mac, Suzanne Vega and Procol Harum. And reads books such as To Kill a Mockingbird, On The Road and The Fountainhead.

-This September the movie of TPOBAW is coming out and it's directed by Stephen Chbosky himself. Which fascinates me because when I saw the casting I thought 'Emma Watson as Sam is just plain wrong!' then I realised the author did the casting so I've decided to shut up and accept that I don't know anything.

I know you may be thinking 'Laura, you just said that this book mentions The Smiths and Jack Kerouac and you're telling me it's not hipster nonsense?' And I will be the first to admit that this book does have a bit of a cult following but unlike Glee it's actually a quality book that's defiantly worth your time. And I promise that if you find Charlie so annoying you want to push him out of a moving car; then I will watch an hour of Glee to make up for it*.

*I lied, I'm not doing that.