My intimate thoughts about The Perks of Being a Wallflower

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I had every intention of typing up a professional review (well somewhat professional review) for this book, like I do with everything else I read.  But 20 pages in I knew this wasn't like anything else I've read before.  I had that feeling inside that I was reading something of epic proportions.  There was no way I could critique this piece of literature.  No way.  But I didn't want to go on without mentioning this book on my blog either.  I want to share with my followers probably one of the best books I have ever read.  And I mean that with every ounce of my being.  Yes, that sounds extreme - but this book is extreme.  It's bittersweet beauty took me by surprise and I want every one else to have the opportunity to have the same experience as I did.

The writing in this novel is unlike anything I've ever read before.  You know when you read a line and you have to go back and re-read it 2 or 3 more times?  Not because you didn't understand it, but because you're so taken back by it's beauty that you want to keep experiencing the depth of it's words and aren't quite ready to move on.  I did this over & over through out this book.  A few lines that really grabbed my attention were:

"So this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be."

"And in that moment, I swear we were infinite."

"We accept the love we think we deserve."

"I put my head under my pillow and let the quiet put things where they are supposed to be."

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If that doesn't grab you and make you want to read this book, then I'm not sure what will!  The story is both real and heart breaking.  Poetic and in your face.  I knew from the beginning that I was falling in love with Charlie.  Not the kind of love that you swoon over.  The love that you feel for an individual who has a lost soul, that you want to help find it's way.  A love that has no boundaries and can fill any empty space.  Charlie surprised me with his words of wisdom, he took my breath away by his innocence, and he mesmerized me by his strength.  He really was infinite.

This story isn't filled with magic and fairy tale romances.  It doesn't even have the "happily ever after" ending.  What it does deliver is the ability to make you think about your purpose in this world.  Why do we get up each day?  What makes us keep going?  How important are the faces we see time and time again?  I urge you to grab this book and lose yourself within it's pages. My emotions ran wild with it and I felt some intense pain, yet the pain was somewhat beautiful.  This is a book I'll always hold high up on my shelf.  Though it was published over 10 years ago, I wonder what my life would have been like if I had picked up sooner.  It's that profound, people.

* Thank you Yani from The Secret Life of an Avid Reader for gifting me with this book. I'm not sure I would have picked it up, if you had not sent it to me.  This is probably the most meaningful book gift I've ever received, so thank you. XOXO