Book Review: The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

I've just finished reading the much talked about 'The Perks Of Being A Wallflower'. I wasn't really sure what to expect from this, all I knew was the Emma Watson was in the film version and that everyone is obsessed with the quote "And in that moment, I swear we were infinite".

I can't really say it lived up to its expectations. It wasn't a bad book by any means, just it wasn't a real page turner for me. It reminded me an awful lot of 'The Catcher in the Rye' which a lot of people seem to agree with, after reading some other reviews on the book. I read The Catcher in the Rye this time last year and wasn't a fan so I don't know why I expected anything different from this.

I also have no idea why everyone is so enamoured by the quotes which appear in this book. The internet (well, mainly Tumblr) seem to be reciting "We accept the love we think we deserve" and "In that moment, I swear we were infinite" at any given chance, but maybe I just don't appreciate them as I'm not a 15 year old hipster. Although so I don't come across as a completely cynical 20 year old I did really like this quote:

"So, I looked up, and we were in this giant dome like a glass snowball, and Mark said that the amazing white stars were really only holes in the black glass of the dome, and when you went to heaven, the glass broke away, and there was nothing but a whole sheet of star white, which is brighter than anything but doesn’t hurt your eyes. It was vast and open and thinly quiet, and I felt so small."

I feel I've been a bit harsh so far, as I said it's not a bad book, just not my cup of tea. I'd recommend it if someone was a huge fan of CITR or just wanted a quick and easy read as it's only 231 pages long. I'm sure a lot of people could really relate to some of the characters in the book too, and it contains some quite strong topics such as sex, drugs, sexuality, mental health issues and domestic abuse. 

I still really want to see the film, mainly because I'm a huge fan of Emma Watson, and I think it's one of those books which will come across well on screen, which reminds me that I still need to watch the film version of One Day. So that's my opinion, more of a rant than a review I think but there we go.

On a final note, am I the only person who hates the "NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE" covers of books?