To be honest, I did not understand what the title meant when I saw the book in Barnes and Noble but the moment I came to know that wallflower is a person who is shy, awkward and someone who is usually overlooked, my curiosity increased. Now what can be the perks of being such a person ? - actually none; such people often tend to be lonely with low confidence and insecurities but this book changes this opinion.
Charlie, the protagonist is a very shy and sensitive teenager who has problems because he is unpredictable, easily traumatized and can break into tears which is a little unusual for boys his age. But as we all know that all people have both pros and cons, his pros are - he is very intelligent, respectful, understanding, sincere, honest and places other people before him.
The book contains letters addressed to a friend whom we do not know - but it can be assumed to be anyone, even you or me. It starts with the death of his best friend Michael and we immediately get introduced to the sensitive side of Charlie where he breaks into tears in a counselling session and this is when he starts going to a counselor to talk about his feelings. Incidentally, he is still mourning over the demise of his favorite aunt, Helen, who stayed with his parents, brother, sister until recently. School year has started and he is in his first year of high school without any friends and is alone most of the time. His claims that his only friend in high school is his English teacher who is friendly and encouraging. But this changes when he gets introduced to Patrick, his classmate and Sam, with whom Charlie falls in love at the very first sight. They bond instantly and this is when Charlie's life changes in a good way. He starts getting party invites and despite being a wallflower his sincere and understanding nature appeals to all. He becomes a part of the senior group and starts hanging out with them, performs in theater with them : The Rocky Road Show, gets introduced to smoking, alcohol and "brownies". All the while, he grows more in love with Sam even though Sam treats him like a friend and goes out with other guys. If that's the scene with friends, at home, he gets busy watching out for his sister who starts dating good guys, sometimes -bad guys, helps her out during an abortion, becomes the peace maker in family reunions. Reading novels and writing becomes an integral part of his life too when his English teacher notices his potential and assigns him a new book to read and review every week. In addition, he also passes his licence test and begins driving - which means more independence. But he also has his share of bad days where he cries violently, sits depressed for hours, gets addicted to smoking and keeps visiting his aunt Helen's grave every now and then. The story thus takes us through his life until Sam and Patrick graduate and Charlie is still in his high school. But it ends with a shocking revelation - the reason why Charlie is disturbed, shy and I don't want to say anything more because I don't want to give away any spoilers. Please find out yourself.
Its been 5 hours since I completed the book but I can't get Charlie and his world out of my mind. As I mentioned earlier, Charlie is a selfless person and it shows in everything he does - running errands, buying gifts for friends and family, always listening to people , understanding their emotions and actually being there for them. He also stands up for his friends by fighting a group of senior friends to defending his friend, lands in detentions for them and helps them through breakups. But in spite of being there for everybody, there are many occasions where he has nobody to talk to even when he badly needs company - but he never complains nor does he expect which I think everyone ought to learn. He is a real giver and I haven't come across such a selfless and kind character in any book I've ever read. He also has a strong control on his mind and easily gets out of bad habits when he chooses to. Kudos to Charlie.
Reading the book has been an experience. Over the last 3 days, I have become a friend of Charlie and he took me through the most crucial part of his life - his coming of age story. Knowing that people like Charlie still exist is comforting and I am very pleased to have gotten to know him. Anyone who has read the book can "really" understand and know his family and friends . This shows how well written the book is. Its not a 500 pager but just a 200 pager with life and soul poured into the pages of the book.
I recommend everyone to read this book as it wallows over emotions and touches your heart like never before. If you are not a book person, you can watch the movie which got released with the same title in 2012.
(Now, in Charlie's style):
Love Always,
Padmini
P.S: I wish I actually got all those letters from Charlie.
Charlie, the protagonist is a very shy and sensitive teenager who has problems because he is unpredictable, easily traumatized and can break into tears which is a little unusual for boys his age. But as we all know that all people have both pros and cons, his pros are - he is very intelligent, respectful, understanding, sincere, honest and places other people before him.
The book contains letters addressed to a friend whom we do not know - but it can be assumed to be anyone, even you or me. It starts with the death of his best friend Michael and we immediately get introduced to the sensitive side of Charlie where he breaks into tears in a counselling session and this is when he starts going to a counselor to talk about his feelings. Incidentally, he is still mourning over the demise of his favorite aunt, Helen, who stayed with his parents, brother, sister until recently. School year has started and he is in his first year of high school without any friends and is alone most of the time. His claims that his only friend in high school is his English teacher who is friendly and encouraging. But this changes when he gets introduced to Patrick, his classmate and Sam, with whom Charlie falls in love at the very first sight. They bond instantly and this is when Charlie's life changes in a good way. He starts getting party invites and despite being a wallflower his sincere and understanding nature appeals to all. He becomes a part of the senior group and starts hanging out with them, performs in theater with them : The Rocky Road Show, gets introduced to smoking, alcohol and "brownies". All the while, he grows more in love with Sam even though Sam treats him like a friend and goes out with other guys. If that's the scene with friends, at home, he gets busy watching out for his sister who starts dating good guys, sometimes -bad guys, helps her out during an abortion, becomes the peace maker in family reunions. Reading novels and writing becomes an integral part of his life too when his English teacher notices his potential and assigns him a new book to read and review every week. In addition, he also passes his licence test and begins driving - which means more independence. But he also has his share of bad days where he cries violently, sits depressed for hours, gets addicted to smoking and keeps visiting his aunt Helen's grave every now and then. The story thus takes us through his life until Sam and Patrick graduate and Charlie is still in his high school. But it ends with a shocking revelation - the reason why Charlie is disturbed, shy and I don't want to say anything more because I don't want to give away any spoilers. Please find out yourself.
Its been 5 hours since I completed the book but I can't get Charlie and his world out of my mind. As I mentioned earlier, Charlie is a selfless person and it shows in everything he does - running errands, buying gifts for friends and family, always listening to people , understanding their emotions and actually being there for them. He also stands up for his friends by fighting a group of senior friends to defending his friend, lands in detentions for them and helps them through breakups. But in spite of being there for everybody, there are many occasions where he has nobody to talk to even when he badly needs company - but he never complains nor does he expect which I think everyone ought to learn. He is a real giver and I haven't come across such a selfless and kind character in any book I've ever read. He also has a strong control on his mind and easily gets out of bad habits when he chooses to. Kudos to Charlie.
Reading the book has been an experience. Over the last 3 days, I have become a friend of Charlie and he took me through the most crucial part of his life - his coming of age story. Knowing that people like Charlie still exist is comforting and I am very pleased to have gotten to know him. Anyone who has read the book can "really" understand and know his family and friends . This shows how well written the book is. Its not a 500 pager but just a 200 pager with life and soul poured into the pages of the book.
I recommend everyone to read this book as it wallows over emotions and touches your heart like never before. If you are not a book person, you can watch the movie which got released with the same title in 2012.
(Now, in Charlie's style):
Love Always,
Padmini
P.S: I wish I actually got all those letters from Charlie.
Lovely review! Thank you for introducing Charlie, will surely read this one :)
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