Whether it’s a classic about a man with a tragic past or a 21st century novel about a girl having to make the life changing decision of choosing between two conventionally attractive men: books can mean knowledge, imagination, beauty, escape, love, and endless other ways to make a human feel whole. Nevertheless, some people are yet to find a book with which they feel understood and, most importantly, seen. Because of that and many other reasons, I will be recommending the "New York Time´s” #1 bestselling coming-of-age story that, after being published in 1999, became Stephen Chbosky’s most known novel to this day.

Set in the early 90s, “The perks of being a wallflower” follows the life of an observant teenager named Charlie who, alongside his new best friends, courses through the strenuous path of the enviable high school experience. Having to deal with past trauma while trying his best to focus on the “right now”, Chbosky narrates the emotional roller coaster of wanting to fulfill everyone else’s expectations before having even met your own. One of the book’s most memorable phrases “And in that moment, I swear we were infinite” really sums it up; we are not just a sad story, we are a combination of experiences, photographs and emotions, all binding together in the end to create the legacy of our infinite existence.

“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.”
Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Tamara Ramirez (IV.4)