Something about this novel just didn't sit right with me. It was well written, easy to read and quite compelling, but something about the characters just didn't sit right. For this story to really hit home I think you need so find some relation with or sympathy for the main character, Charlie, and I just found him to unbelievable a character for that to happen. Charlie felt very much like an older version of Nick Twisp from the book Youth in Revolt, but part of what made that novel so appealing was its absurdity. This novel doesn't feel absurd, so you're forced to take Charlie much more serious then Nick and that sets up a huge gap of believability.
We are told Charlie is a genius and I can only assume, from his emotional detachment and lack of social skills, that he falls somewhere on the autism spectrum. The whole story is told from his off kilter perspective which might answer the question of why no one else seems to find Charlie so odd. But at the same time, Charlie doesn't seem like a person who should be left to his own devises. He obviously has problems and mental illness, yet no one in the story seems to pay attention to those facts. They treat him like he's a normal kid, one that just isn't understood and that just didn't ring true to me.
The charm of this book should be how it captures life on the fringes of high school life, but I just feel like it missed the mark. Chbosky created a character that is so much on the fringe that it's hard to believe he would be allowed to function the way he does in the novel. This story may ring true to others, but my experiences tell me things are a little off and that hurt my enjoyment of the book as a whole.
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