January 5th, 2008

Dear Friend

Lately I’ve been reading this book called The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I finished it a while ago and I would like to share my thoughts and opinions about it with you. It’s a pretty good book and I enjoyed it very much. I thought that the book was very genuine, because I could relate to the main character. The main character in the book is Charlie; he is a sixteen year old boy who goes through a tough experience called high school. Charlie has an older brother and a sister. He lives with his parents. Throughout the book, Charlie meets new friends and falls in love with a girl named Sam. Charlie likes to read books. Every book he reads is his favorite book. I also like to read books, so I enjoyed sections in the book when Charlie talked about the books he has read. He also gets good grades in school. I can relate to Charlie in a way of starting something new and unexpected. Freshman year of high school was very scary for me. I did not know anyone and it was hard for me to make friends because of my introvert personality. To tell you the truth, I am scared of people. People intimidate me, because I think that everyone is better than me, which they probably are. Not everything in Charlie’s life is filled with happiness. Everyone can relate to that, because no one in the world lives a perfect and happy life. Charlie goes through some hard times after the death of his Aunt Helen, which turn out to be ironic at the end. He starts to experiment with drugs and he begins to drink. Charlie learns about sex at young age. He learns new and exciting things about love and friendships. Friends are very important to Charlie. His two best friends are Patrick and Sam. Charlie has other friends, but not as important. Charlie went through a lot when he was young. He was really disturbed when his friend Michael killed himself and when his Aunt Helen died. Charlie ends up finishing his first year of high school and moving on with his life. I do not want to reveal the ending to you, because I recommend that you read this book on your own.

On page 39 I really liked how Charlie explained the moment when he was feeling infinite. Charlie, Sam and Patrick were riding through a tunnel while listening to the song called “Landslide.” They were downtown and it was nighttime. They were surrounded by each other, music and nightlights. That was when Charlie felt infinite. I like this section, because it shows that people pay attention. Charlie and his friends pay attention to beautiful things around them like music and night lights. I appreciate people who pay attention to little things. I think it’s endearing. In the book, Charlie has a teacher who helps him out and guides him. I really enjoyed that about the book. On page 181 I liked the part when Bill, Charlie’s teacher, told Charlie how he was special. This section in the book reminded me about the time a teacher told me that I was special. Just like Charlie, I also had a teacher in high school that was like a mentor to me. I will not reveal the real name of that teacher, because I would like to respect her privacy. I will, however, make up a name for reference. I will call her Mrs. Smith. Whenever I had a problem or needed advice, I always went to see Mrs. Smith and she never let me down. I will be forever grateful to her, not only because she helped me out and not because she understood me, but because she took the time to listen to me when no one else cared. Before I go on writing I would like to thank you. Thank you for taking the time to read my letters and thank you for not judging.

On page 182 I really liked the part when Charlie said that “I think that everyone is special in their own way.” First off, I’d like to say that I agree with Charlie. All people are unique. What Charlie said made me feel good. It made me realize that I should just be myself and stop pretending to be someone that I am not. This sentence made me think; think about how there is only one Rachel Brian (me) and how I am different, but in a good way. It made me think about how everyone is different and how little things can shape who we are, who we pretend to be or who we want to be. The one thing that I will always remember from this section is that each individual person is one of a kind. I guess that people can be associated with stars. There are billions of stars in the sky and each star has a distinct shape or form that distinguishes it from the rest. Same thing can be said about people. I also like the part when Charlie explains how beautiful Sam’s photograph is on page 48. He uses words like “prettiest eyes,” “you cry,” “person holds you,” etc. The way Charlie talks about Sam is very touching and emotional and I like that. These sentences show a different side of Charlie, a side that makes him sensitive and insightful. I respect that in a guy. I believe that if a guy can express his true emotions, then he is an honest and trustworthy guy. I would trust that guy with any secret and I would be comfortable around him. I used to think that guys just think about sports, food and beautiful women. However, the way Charlie talks about Sam made me realize that there are guys in the world that are sensitive and understanding. Charlie sees good in people and I admire that quality.

I’d like to tell you what I think about the ending. I will try to be as vague about the ending as possible, because I do not want to give away the mystery and the excitement. I did not like the ending. It was definitely unexpected. I would never have guessed that the book would end this way. The way Charlie talked about his Aunt Helen was sweet and considerate. Charlie’s words made his Aunt Helen sound lovable and caring. I would never have expected Aunt Helen to be the cause of Charlie’s problems. I would never have anticipated that Aunt Helen would do such a terrible thing. The ending definitely relates to the story and to the source of Charlie’s sufferings. The ending makes sense in a way that explains why Charlie is so disturbed throughout the book. The ending definitely came as a shock to me. I thought that Charlie had some sort of accident that made him block out some traumatic experiences. To be honest, I thought that Charlie had post traumatic stress disorder, but I could not figure out why. Overall, Charlie is a great character and The Perks of Being of Wallflower is a good book. I hope that you get a chance to read it. This is my last letter and these are my final words. I don’t know why I dropped all this on you, but I am glad that I shared my feeling with someone. I hope that I did not offend or disrespect you in any way in my letters. Again, I want to thank you for reading, listening and understanding.

Love always, Rachel