I bought this book a long time ago because I wanted to watch the movie, but I am one of those people that likes to read the book first. I had planned to read it immediately after buying it but that didn’t happen. I still haven’t seen the movie, but I probably will soon because I have finally finished the book.
I really enjoyed the writing style, it was very casual. The book is written in the first person of a teenager named Charlie as he narrates his life in the form of writing letters to an anonymous ‘friend’. He tells this person everything, simple things like what book he is currently reading, more interesting things like the details of a party he went to, and very personal things, like his thoughts and bodily reactions regarding his crush. You can tell early on that Charlie is a little unusual in how he feels no embarrassment when it comes to discussing things that a normal person would be reluctant to discuss. It makes you wonder if he was born different or if something happened to him to make him this way. You do find out in the end why he is a little strange.
My only regret in waiting so long to read this is that I wish I had gotten a different edition of the book. I dislike special edition covers because they are usually less pleasing to the eye than the original and they also put a stamp of some sort on the cover stating that it is a new or special edition. But I was eager to read the book at the time so I just grabbed the most readily available edition rather than the better looking copy. Overlooking that, I am glad that I got to read the new ‘letter’ that the author wrote for the twenty year anniversary. For anyone reading this book who has gone through a similar experience to the one Charlie has been through, I can see this extra passage as giving hope to survivors. In addition to that, I do like that there is a page at the back with information for those who may be looking for help, which I am not certain was included in first editions. Having said all that, if books about sexual abuse are a trigger or just something you would rather not read about, I would say that you might not want to read this book. It does not get very detailed with exactly what happens, but even the small amount that is mentioned might be enough to bother a sensitive person.
Nonfiction and Nonsense 