Perks of Being A Wallflower (MUST READ)

Sam tapped her hand on the steering wheel. Patrick held his hand outside the car and made air waves. And I just sat between them. After the song finished, I said something.

"I feel infinite."

And Sam and Patrick looked at me like I said the greatest thing they ever heard. Because the song was that great and because we all really paid attention to it. Five minutes of a lifetime were truly spent, and we felt young in a good way. I have since bought the record, and I would tell you what it was, but truthfully, it's not the same unless you're driving to your first real party, and you're sitting in the middle seat of a pickup with two nice people when it starts to rain.

- Perks of Being A Wallflower

Read "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" if you haven't yet. Someone suggested it to me 2 years ago and I only got to read it now. I just finished part one of it. It is now my most favourite book together with Catcher In The Rye.

It is a series of letters written by a fifteen year old kid to someone just named as "Friend." It basically discusses stuff about discovery and his teenage years. I felt like crying during certain parts which were so real. (Namely the parts where they were just driving at night, quiet and listening to a great song while lights were everywhere. "And I swear we really were infinite.") So real that you can relate to them. You know, it's like, you're just too happy that somebody finally put into words how it feels. It captures the experience, the essence of and the emotions involved with growing up and finding your place in this world. Chbosky is very articulate, I must say.

And a bonus to bookworms, the main character's English teacher in the book always gives him a book to read and a couple of movies to watch. I guess you can get something out of that (but I'm thinking you might have read some of those books already).

Another great thing about it is that it's not just plain flat about a kid with psychological problems writing letters to someone who doesn't know him. Aside from it gets the reader involved, there is also actually a real plot. And the main character's psychological problem is more of a part of the focus of the plot than just a part of the person's personality. And I must say, the ending was a little heart breaking like some of the other parts in the book :( Just promise not to read the end or it'll spoil something big. (Actually, I never thought there was going to be something big in the end until I read it. Oh, and some of the lives in the story are pretty fucked up...)

I guess this book is along the lines of Lost In Translation's "Everybody wants to be found." Now I'm almost convinced that "being found" is part of what satisfies us and makes us more whole than we already are.

Again, comment or tag and I'll email you an ebook copy. (Just make sure you leave your e-mail address. Of course.) It's a fast one to read. And I swear you must read it. (Especially when you're still in the high school age bracket... but that's not really a requirement :D)

Let me describe the book with a quote from it: It's strange to describe reading a book as a really great experience, but that's kind of how it felt.

Here are a couple of quotes from the book that'd help you judge if you want to read it. I think they're worth the read (as is the whole book :D)

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"But I love him!" I had never seen my sister cry that much.
"No, you don't."
"I hate you!"
"No, you don't." My dad can be very calm sometimes.
"He's my whole world."
"Don't ever say that about anyone again. Not even me." That was my mom.

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We sat on the eighteenth green, which was pretty high on a hill, and we watched the sun disappear. By this point, Patrick had bought a bottle of red wine with his fake ID, and we passed it back and forth. Just talking.

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Patrick actually used to be popular before Sam bought him some good music.

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Craig looked handsome as well, but he wore a suit instead of a tux. That's not why they broke up.

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But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.

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There were other stories and other names. Second Base Stace, who had breasts in the fourth grade and let some of the boys feel them. Vincent, who took acid and tried to flush a sofa down the toilet. Sheila, who allegedly masturbated with a hot dog and had to go to the emergency room. The list went on and on.
By the end, all I could think was what these people must feel like when they go to their class reunions. I wonder if they're embarrassed, and I wonder if that's a small price to pay for being a legend.

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I almost didn't get an A in math, but then Mr. Carlo told me to stop asking "why?" all the time and just follow the formulas. So, I did. Now, I get perfect scores on all my tests. I just wish I knew what the formulas did. I honestly have no idea.

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And then Sunday is their graduation. It all feels very exciting. I wish it were happening to me.
I wonder what it will be like when I leave this place. The fact that I will have to have a roommate and buy shampoo. I thought how great it would be to go to my senior prom three years from now with Sam. I hope it's on a Friday. And I hope I will be a valedictorian at graduation. I wonder what my speech would be. And if Bill would help me with it if he didn't go to New York and write plays. Or maybe he would even if he was in New York writing plays. I think that would be especially nice of him.

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Anyway, Patrick started driving really fast, and just before we got to the tunnel, Sam stood up, and the wind turned her dress (NOTE: they came from a homecoming party) into ocean waves. When we hit the tunnel, all the sound got scooped up into a vacuum, and it was replaced by a song on the tape player. A beautiful song called "Landslide." When we got out of the tunnel, Sam screamed this really fun scream, and there it was. Downtown. Lights on buildings and everything that makes you wonder. Sam sat down and started laughing. Patrick started laughing. I started laughing.

And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.

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And the quotes end there.

Can you feel it? :D *me starts playing The Slides' Can You Feel It*