Whether you are one of those kids who keeps up on every teen tidbit, book, and/or series that is currently being obsessed over, or  the kid who is too cool to read popular teen books, the novel Perks of Being a Wallflower will settle with your soul in some way or another.

The movie came out on Sept. 28 and was also directed by the author himself, Stephan Chbosky. Like many others, the book was better than the movie, most likely because the book had such a wide variety of details that couldn’t be expressed in the time given for a film.

Charlie was played by Logan Lerman who also starred in Percy Jackson and the Olympians in 2010. He perfected Charlie’s mannerisms like those pertaining to his social anxiety and his naive nature. Emma Watson played Sam who was just as “unconventionally” beautiful, as Charlie described in his letters.

Although she seemed more fixated on Charlie than in the book, for the most part she was the same character – confused, malleable to love, strong and eccentrically wild.

Ezra Miller quickly turns into a viewer’s favorite. His facial features and expressions were necessary to express Patrick’s quirky humor, spontaneous body movement and overall happiness. Although when there was a serious moment, these same facial expressions worked to his advantage as well.

The novel as a whole is as alluring as the main character himself – incidentally relatable, and on the brink of adolescence – Charlie is remarkable. He begins the story as a typical misfit- quiet and reserved with no friends to go to. He progresses into something more complicated; early on it is revealed that he dealt with suicide, and later a traumatic family experience.

These incidences may be the core of his psychiatric problems, yet Charlie remains full of love- whether he is trying to understand it, give it, or receive it, there is a presence of love, ultimately making him more lovable by not only the characters in the story, but by the reader.

The novel is structured as a series of letters to an anonymous person labeled “friend” who Charlie is somewhat aware of but doesn’t really know. This reinforces the structure of Charlie’s brain – his over-analyzing yet ambiguous mind that the reader becomes addicted to.

Aware of the awkwardness he can portray, Charlie, more than anything, desires friends. Incidentally he meets two others who are masked by unconventionality and claim an aura of overall “cool.” Sam and Patrick are prominent to Charlie and help him through his freshman year, seeing as they are seniors.

Among other influential relationships is the unexpected one between him and his English teacher. Charlie starts to gain a sense of pride for the extra book reports the teacher has him do, all in essence to reveal the rarity and intellect Charlie has but isn’t aware of.

The book is an overall process of self-realization and overcoming the traumatic experiences he faced as a child with new friends who make him analyze it more than ever. It is a coming-of-age story that is, in a way, relatable to everyone.

What was disappointing about the movie, though, is that the relationship between Charlie and his sister was mildly expressed and in contrary, his brother took more of a pretense. In fact there was barely any detail about his feelings toward his family, which made the end a little less comprehensible. The relationship between him and his English teacher wasn’t all that apparent either.

Although what the least satisfying part was the last confrontation that Charlie has with Sam, it was altered a little bit, not a big significance, but the message Sam was trying to give to Charlie was a little muddled.

As lovely as the movie was, there is no way it could have been better than the book, because the movie seems to have been produced solely for fans of the book rather than newcomers to the story.

Overall though, watching Charlie’s story in The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a moving experience. Viewers will be able to relate to that moment when  they feel young – better yet, infinite.