Key Themes: 

Coming-of-Age; Friendship; Mental Health; and Abuse.
 

Best (or Worst) Moments: 

As heart-breaking as the end of this book is, it truly makes it great. I’ve watched the film adaptation several times so I knew what to expect, but it still made me cry while driving home from work at midnight, while listening to the audiobook. Imagine how much worse it would have been if I didn't know what was to happen!

Was this Book What I Expected?: 

This book was what I expected, but also better written than I expected it was going to be. I knew that I’d probably enjoy it as I have watched the film but, really loved it. 

Review: 

I really liked this book and the story it follows. Charlie’s experience in this coming-to-age novel is sad and beautiful and illustrates someone different, who struggles with their mental health, and uses maladaptive coping techniques. If I hadn’t watched the film the ending would have been a shock and no doubt more impactful but it was still amazing despite me knowing what to expect. 

The only thing that would have made this better is if Charlie was a bit more self-aware of his mental health problems - I know part of this will have been a result of his repression, but I think I would have enjoyed reading it more if it went a bit more in depth (but maybe that’s just the psychology degree talking?). But anyway this was still an amazing book. 

Things to Research Further:
Not related to the book but strong endings are becoming a pattern in my ‘best moments’ - try and look for recommendations for books with strong endings, especially ones with twists involved.