I was really impressed with this book. I think, had I read it as a teenager, I would have given it a 5. Everyone talks about the Perks of Being a Wallflower as the quintessential high school experience, but I disagree, I think this book is everything Perks tries to be. It really examines the high school experience, both in a general sense ("before") and then with the changes that occur after a tragedy ("after"). The story itself resonated as a very realistic telling and also the language used was wonderful. It was a book for teens that was written with a mature voice, not falling into the trap of sounding juvenile because that's who it was "written for". I enjoyed that and it made me like it much better reading it as an adult. Again, that is something that I felt Perks really failed on. I think, bottom line, the central focus of the book is something that everyone can relate to, no matter their age...and I believe that is another thing teen books always leave out. Just becuase the book is about teens does not mean that what they experience is not something that everyone goes through. They may deal with it differently because of their age, but some suffering is universal. And the conclusion this book reaches definitely is universal. For a person to realize that "we are greater than the sum of our parts" and use that in acceptance of a tragedy....well, that's something anyone would be lucky to achieve, no matter their age.