Hooray for the Hype: Perks of Being A Wallflower

Hoodwinked or Hooray
Perks of Being a Wallflower

Dear Friend,
I am going to disclaim this by saying I have learned to never believe the hype. 70% of the time when a movie or album is ultra hyped, it turns out to be crap.  Whenever the words “stunning” “heartfelt” or “groundbreaking” are in a review, it sets off the hype-meter in my head. And not in a good way.

And when it comes to books, I have been hoodwinked by the hype one too many times. I’m talking to you, girlie with that reptile tattoo.  

Thus, when the hype started around the MovieBook “Perks of Being a Wallflower,” I was skeptical.
 
1. It was hyped.

2. It was written by a man and men cannot write relationships. (take that "Women aren't funny" spouters!)

I will concede that men can write complex introspective thought pieces that center on one character; they can write adventures, mysteries, horrors and nice autobiographies. But men are shit at writing about relationships, family and, in general, the things that make the world go round. All things I LIKE to read about.

(but I digress)

3. It was a book written by a man about teens and for teens.  
I have to be honest; most of the time adults just don’t get it...
 
Thus, it was with a healthy dose of skepticism that I picked up this slim novel at Target. Yes, Target! Thank you, America, for not reading thus causing all of my local bookstores to go belly up. 

After the first sentence I was hooked. 

That first sentence (heck the whole book) captures the feeling of adolescence perfectly.   It sums up what every teen is looking for in a friend:  someone who will listen and understand and has some integrity.

Chbosky continues to write the entire novel with that sense of honesty, naivete and openness that is adolescence at its best. As I was reading, I was taken back to my high school years. I remember all of the emotions Charlie was feeling.  

Chbosky describes and captures perfectly those little momentous moments. How the things that are most memorable are not the “rager house” parties, but the talking all night about NOTHING at Bob's Big Boy (or for us, Denny’s).  Or going  out with someone just because  they asked and it was polite but not because you liked them. There is a genuine confusion to Charlie's questions that I truly remember experiencing. There are things that happen as teen that you don’t understand and have questions about but there is no one to give you answers. You find out that eventually life gives you the answers.


I would recommend this book for every teen to read. I know, based on some of the hype, that there was controversy about this book and it was banned from some schools because they felt the material was too adult for kids. But the thing is, this is what kids are dealing with today (and everyday). I know when I was in high school, there were drugs, alcohol, pregnancy and suicide and I challenge you find anyone from ANY generation that did not deal with the same things in high school.
Let these kids read this book and know they are not alone in these issues.

What is great is that Charlie is NOT a cool kid, but he is himself, or the version of himself that he is becoming but he still not quite sure of. That is the whole paradox of adolescence: you are constantly becoming yourself in an attempt to be yourself when you have no idea who you are.

Love Always,
Squirt

P.S. Hooray for the Hype: for bringing this gem to my attention.