Reading Response #2

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Stephen Chbosky

Pages 16-46

The perks of Being a Wallflower is the best book I've read in a long time. It is written in letter format, and this has some benefits and drawbacks (but mostly benefits). When I began reading this book, I was a bit afraid of  it being written in the form of a series of letters; I thought it would disrupt the flow of the story. It's completely the opposite. A few days or more are skipped between in each letter, and in every letter something new and exciting happens in Charlie's life. The story is easy to follow, and sometimes I even forget 

that I am reading separate letters, and not just one continual story.

In the section of the book that I read on Friday, The meaning behind the title of the book was revealed. In the middle of a very important event in Charlie's life, a friend says that Charlie is a "wallflower". According to Charlie's friend, it means that he "see's things, keeps quiet about them, and understands". That is EXACTLY who Charlie's character is.

Charlie is constantly learning new things about life, and just as his friend said, "keeps quiet about them and understands".I feel close to Charlie in a way. I think i'm a bit of a wallflower myself. I feel like I can understand him. I'm very glad that I read this book!

I have a feeling that something bad is about to happen in the story. everything is just so perfect right now in Charlie's life. He has great friends, and life is really good, but I'm scared that it won't last. I found an interesting text to text connection, and it was within the book! Charlie is given the book Peter Pan to read. He says that he enjoyed it very much, but that it was unlike reading other books, for he didn't think about it while reading it, because it was fantasy. I think that the true reason for him not thinking about it, and kind of dismissing it as impossible was because it is the story of his own life. He is both Wendy and Peter Pan. The "Wendy" part of him is growing up, and the "Peter" part of him is not understanding why.

I can't wait to see what happens next!