The Perks of Being a Wallflower
I have a guilty secret. I like reading young adult fiction. Don't get me wrongI still love reading “books for grown-ups”, but sometimes I just want to switch offtake my brain outnot think too hard.
I spotted “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” while standingin the queue at HMV over a year ago. While waiting for one of the many black-t-shirted Nirvana wannabe store assistants to glance my way, I began looking at the books stacked alongside the queue. Books purposely designed to part people like me from their money. I had heard of the bookit had been all over social media because Emma Watson was going to be in the moviebut I didn't really know anything about it. Istill don't know anything about it.
You know why? Because the moment I walked in the door that afternoon, my teenage daughter picked it up, and I didn't see it again until a few days ago when she was clearing her room out.I'm finally going to get a chance to read it.
I have avoided watching the movie for the last year or so, purely because I had heard the book was good, and know damn-well if I watch the movie, I won't read the book. The same thing has kind of happened with The MartianI bought the book, and planned to read it, but then ended up watching the movie. I still might go back to it, but it seems kind of pointless now.
As an aside, who knew that the book of “Pretty in Pink” (the John Hughes movie from the 1980s) ends differently than the movie? In the book Andie ends up with Duckie, not Blaneapparently the first cut of the movie tested badly with early audiences, so they re-shot it.
Anyway. Yes. Perks of Being a Wallflower. I'm kind of intrigued now to find out why it is regarded so well. I'm also wondering which other similar books have passed me by, purely because they were not marketed to me.