Purple Paradise05

Charlie, the main character of this book, is a very observant, sentimental, over-thinking type of guy. In the beginning of the book, Charlie is just starting out in freshmen year of highschool when he makes new friends who happen to be seniors. Through time, the friend group becomes close but its apparent that Charlie is dealing with mental illness which is shown is certain moments. Because Charlie is so sentimental and observant, he is often flashing back to recent memories that they made together in great detail. This usually results in him spiraling. As Charlies writing develops into well-written letters throughout the book, the readers get to picture more clearly what Charlie is going through. Overall, I found the book quite enjoyable- 7/10. What I liked about the novel is how relatable it is and how it can somewhat guide other freshmen in highschool. Whats so relatable is the way the book is structured, realistic and how it talks about the struggles of mental illness. I appreciate the detail it has when Charlie is spiraling because that’s how it is in real time. I like the ending it has; on a good note, but it takes a rather big twist near the end. I think this could guide freshmen through how relatable it is – they could see themselves within the main character if they relate and can see a glimpse into the future. If they’re dealing with struggles that are taking a harsh toll, then they could possibly get a glimpse into the future which might encourage them to seek out help or change something to avoid that. I suggest that possibility because that was my main takeaway from the book. The character development of Charlie through both his writing and knowledge when it comes to social settings or literature is clear and prominent. I appreciate that because there seems to be too many books that try to be like the classics but end up using words too complex for theirselfs to understand which makes the story not make sense, go for too big of a plot and get lazy with the writing near the ending or use extremely unlikely situations – it’s the opposite of that, I say that gladly. I would recommend this novel if I had friends that were not sensitive to this type of content. My friends are fairly sensitive to self-harm/suicide related topics because we all have gone through something related to that and this book is very relatable in that sense. If different people were around me who were also into reading, then I would recommend this because of how simple and relatable it is but also because of clear the character development is – you don’t get lost, the plot isn’t messy.