I have heard about this book before Summit decided to make a film out of it. Searched far and wide but was unfortunate to find a copy since it’s really a popular one until a month ago when I visited Fully Booked and saw it sitting on their shelves. If you’re a bookworm like me, who could resist, right? But then, I got so caught up with my job that all I ever did was sleep and go to work so I could not find the time of day to read it until I got unemployed which was 2 weeks ago. So, to make my unemployment productive and to finally start reading again (after reading Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles), I grabbed this book out of my shelves and decided to read the life of Charlie and how he went from being such an innocent boy to an out-and-about young fella.

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Charlie. How do I begin to describe Charlie?

Charlie is just a boy. When I read the book, I could never imagine him to be a high school freshman. While flipping every page and getting to know him even more, I’ve always imagined him to be a 7 year old boy — IDK why when he smokes cigs and/or pots, eats hash brownies, go to parties and have sex. 

I am one to witness the growth of Charlie — how he was a naive young freshman boy who started to see and live the world in a senior’s perspective. He was clueless, that’s for sure. He did not know what lies ahead of him nor did he know how to kiss and the brownies that he ate contains drugs. But then when he met Sam and Patrick, his life started to change. He knew how to smoke — weed and cigs and also have sex. He has great taste in music and most of all, even though he was getting drunk and high all the time, he kept his grades up and finds time to read every book handed to him. 

I love Charlie. I love his innocence and his sensitivity. I love how he gets attached too easily and how every moment needs to be savored. I love his optimism and him being special in ways he did not see. I love how he was being a friend to Patrick and how he let Patrick did things to him that he wasn’t supposed to allow. I love how he loves his friends and family and how he cares for them a lot. I love how he was not seeking for attention nor wanting to be popular. I enjoy his curiosity and how he tries to explore the world as much as he can. Most of all, I love how he loves music and books and life.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower taught me to be out there — to take risks and not be afraid of getting hurt. It taught me how to be more like Charlie — to take a leap of faith and be a better friend to my friends. 

No wonder this book is hard to find. Everyone just wants to get a piece of Charlie.

(Source: thechamillionaire)