mp’s rating: 4/5
It’s one of those books you can’t really put down unless you’ve finished it. Not even during dinner, breakfast, or gym time (with exception of sleeping). Yes, it gets to the point where I read this book while exercising in the gym.
After watching the movie with some friends at the end of last year, I have made myself a promise to actually buy the book and read the original version. But truth is, I rarely read a book which movie I’ve watched, just because my imagination will be limited and I will constantly compare the book with the movie. Not good.
I was in awe with the movie, and since the director/scriptwriter of the movie is the same as the writer of the book, I thought I’ll give it a pass. It’s not until last week when my mentor/ex-high-school-teacher mentioned about the book.
So I bought it.
I started reading the book last night after dinner and I finished it this morning. I would love to finish it yesterday, but I was lacking sleep so much that in the end, the pillow and bed and gravity won against my will.
And I still find the words, “I feel infinite,” the grandest thing of them all.
I have written a whole essay about the another quote from the book/movie, “We accept the love we think we deserve,” and it was true back then when I first heard it as it is now.
Truth is, high school is a very tough place to grow up. It’s cruel. It’s to the point that when I have children, I would be really scared for them. I really hope they can handle things well, which I assume they will. They are my children (and their father’s, which is of my own choice), after all.
I still don’t know what to make of the book because even though it’s honest, it’s not really applicable for people who live in non-Western countries. While I have never been exposed to 99 per cent of the problems depicted by Stephen Chbosky, I can understand and sympathise with their feelings. The book makes me more aware of my surrounding, and of my peers, who may actually go through similar things growing up. I’m lucky, I know.
If you haven’t done so, consider reading the book. Read it with an open mind. Place yourself as a fifteen-year-old. High School can be a cruel place, if you don’t have supportive family and friends. But the lessons learned stick with you.
If you do have a bad growing up period, I do wish you have made peace with your High School.
“So, I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we’ll never know most of them. But even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.”
Stephen Chbosky – a quote from the book
