The Perks of Being a Wallflower

By: Stephen Chbosky
Genre: Fiction
Stars: 5 out of 5
Charlie is a freshman in high school and to cope with the stress he begins writing letters to a stranger. He writes about his experiences and his feelings throughout the course of the year. Charlie meets two seniors Patrick and Sam, step siblings who welcome Charlie into their world with open arms. They introduce him to the world of drinking, drugs and cigarettes. Then there is Bill, Charlie’s English teacher who gives him extra books to read because he is “special” and Charlie’s family who is dysfunctional and normal at the same time. All the while Charlie is still coping with the death of his Aunt Helen who was the only person besides his immediate family to ever buy him “two presents” for his birthday and Christmas. This is a coming of age story where Charlie must learn to “participate” in the world that he has now entered while keeping his insanity.

This is one of those books that you hear about every now and then and you see on the “noteworthy fiction” table from time to time. It has been on my list to read for quite some time now and I only recently picked it up from the library to read. Once I started read Stephen Chbosky’s novel I was intrigued. Written in the form of a series of letters, you learn that Charlie is a freshman in high school and he is having trouble “participating” and is still dealing with the deaths of his best friend Michael and his Aunt Helen. From the very beginning it seems as though Charlie may have some kind of social disability and it’s absorbing to read about his experiences with his new friends Patrick and Sam. From then on, you are thrown into Charlie’s world of love, drinking, drugs, friendship and issues with family. At the end, there is a twist that explains Charlie’s behavior and you finally understand. I really enjoyed this book and I would highly recommend it to you too. It’s a great coming of age story that I would categorize with the classic The Catcher in the Rye. So if you haven’t had to read it for school, then pick it up for pleasure; I am sure you won’t be disappointed!

The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones

By: Rick Riordan
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Stars: 5 out of 5
Amy and Dan Cahill’s grandmother Grace has just passed away and has left behind a game for all her relatives. The Cahill family is the most powerful family in history and it is a chase to see who can find out all the power that the family holds. Amy and Dan decide to partake in the journey instead of taking the two million dollars offered to them. Outrunning their cunning and mischievous relatives who will do anything to eliminate their biggest threat, Amy and Dan Cahill put aside their differences and begin the hunt for the next 38 clues that will lead them to all the family secrets. Can Amy and Dan figure out the first clue and beat their relatives to the next one all while staying out of danger?

This is the first in a series of ten books that can be found in the children’s department. Since I am back in school my time for pleasure reading has diminished quite a bit and when the last book in this series came out I decided it might be fun and an easy read to read this book. I must say I was not disappointed. Rick Riordan, the same author of the series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, wrote an enjoyable and pleasant read even for an adult like me. It has suspense, mystery and things about history that I did not realize or learn in school. I picked up the second book and I cannot wait to enjoy it. In other words, if you want a fun yet easy read or want your kids to learn and like a book, try The 39 Clues series. I am positive you won’t be disappointed.