Less of a Wallflower...

I recently picked up a copy of The Perks of Being a Wallflower.  It had been on my list of "Oh, I should really read that sometime" books for a while, and with the movie coming out soon, I figured that now as as good a time as any to read it.  I'm a firm believer in reading the book before watching the movie or tv adaptation, so this was the only viable course of action.

I had based my expectations almost entirely on the title (I know, cliches about books and covers and whatnot), and I figured that I'd relate really well to the story.  I've always been shy and awkward (at least until I discovered the internet) and a book about being a wallflower seemed like it would be right up my alley.  I mean who would understand the feeling of standing off in the shadows hoping/fearing that someone would notice you better than someone who had been doing that all of her life?

I ended up being pretty disappointed by the book, probably largely due to the fact that it was very different from what I imagined.  I understood Charlie's feeling of being different and never quite fitting in.  I definitely got the aspect of seeing and observing things that pass by other people; I'm a "noticer" too.  I even understood the feeling of being infinite.  Everything else about the book was so different from my high school experience, though, that I just never felt the connection that I was expecting to.

In all honesty, a lot of it was the drugs and alcohol.  My friends and I never took part in any of that, and it was so omnipresent in the book that I just didn't get it.  The closest we ever came was taking goofy pictures of each other pretending to chug bottles of wine. Kiddie wine.  We were the straightest arrows you'll ever find walking the halls of a high school.  We had fun.  We loved it.  We also remember all of it because we were sober.

I'm not saying that the story wasn't powerful. Charlie's journey was moving.  The writing format was unique.  I'm glad I read the book.  I just thought I'd feel more connected with Charlie.  I guess that's the danger of going into things with expectations.  I usually force myself to avoid thinking things are going to be great before experiencing them precisely for that reason.  Sometimes they turn out differently than you thought they would and you end up disappointed for no reason.

I will say that I absolutely loved the music Charlie talked about in the books.  I've already added a bunch of those songs to my iPod.  I'm more of a classic rock girl, but I fell in love with The Smiths' song "Asleep" the first time I played it.  It just goes to show that you can always get something great out of anything if you just take a moment to look for it.