Book VS Movie: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Charlie is a freshman.

And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it.

Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mix 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. But he can't stay on the sideline forever. 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.



BOOK

There is really so much to say about this book, but then there’s nothing new to be said I think.

I went into Perks thinking it would be amazing and I have to admit that it did leave something with me. I don’t think it was the Holy Grail but it was good.

Perks deals with a lot of topics that are definitely still relevant today. I think this just shows how little society has actually progressed from still not being able to admit you’re gay without backlash. That’s just one of the topics. Others include drugs, friendship, abuse, rape, violence, alcohol, fitting in, growing in life... If I could sum Perks up in one sentence about what it covers I would say it covers life.

There’s so much here that I do feel like it is all a little underdeveloped. Some topics are only brushed and sometimes I wonder if they were brushed upon simply to say “hey, look I covered this in my book!” because those topics didn’t hold much impact. The other thing about covering so many topics is that so many of the characters in this book had problems. This was another thing. I do know that everybody has problems, but I don’t think there was one person who didn’t have some stereotype problem they were trying to keep a secret.

The writing in this book is excellent. Charlie’s voice is consistent and I surprisingly didn’t find myself bored with the format. I did however get annoyed that we never actually found out who was receiving the letters and how that person didn’t know it was Charlie because he detailed all his friend’s personal details and it would have been damn easy to pin point him.

One thing I did find extremely annoying and unrealistic was Charlie’s constant crying. We don’t really know until mid-way that he definitely has a mental problem, but by then he’s bawled his eyes a hundred times and comes across as childish. Another thing I didn’t like about Charlie is his immaturity. It’s funny how when you grow up in a household where everybody has a problem that you don’t grow up.

Despite all this, I deeply enjoyed Perks of Being A Wallflower. It is a good “serious topic” book for teens, touching on the subjects but not too in depth to alienate its readers.

Rating: 4 stars

Source: Gifted

Format: Paperback

Stand Alone

MOVIE 

I definitely had no idea what to expect from the movie. I knew that it had been directed by the author, so I did expect it to have a lot of resemblances and it did!

The first critique I have is Emma Watson. I know I’m about to be murdered for this, but as much as I love her I don’t think she was right for the role. Mainly it had to do with her accent. It was terrible. I’m sorry, and I love her, but it was and it distracted me for a lot of the movie. However she is amazing and I do hope that she grows in other films.

The thief of the movie is Ezra Millar though. I’ve never seen his work before but I do know he’s in We Need To Talk About Kevin and here he shines. He was brilliant and I have no doubt that he will do many fantastic things. I’ve loved Logan Lerman since I first saw him in the Percy Jackson film and while I was worried as to what he would be like, I know understand that he’s a fantastic actor.

One thing that I’m obviously an idiot for not picking up on is the molestation that is explored throughout the book. After seeing the film I had to actually re-read some scenes because I was completely blindsided by this revelation.

Rating: 4 stars

Movie or Books: Book
Notes: Both were fantastic and are great compliments to one another