I came across The Perks of being a Wallflower a couple of times on the internet — the film adaptation and the book. It seemed like something I’d like but I never downloaded it to watch. When I saw the book at my school trade fair, I didn’t hesitate. I just grabbed the copy. It’s been on my TBR since then. I don’t know what made me pick it up yesterday, but I’m glad I did.
The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is a coming-of-age novel set in the early 1990s but published in 1999. It’s written in epistolary style and covers such serious issues as sexual abuse, drug abuse, mental health, rape, and suicide.
SUMMARY
Socially awkward Charlie has always watched the events going on around him and tried to make meaning of them. When he loses his friend, he discovers someone he can talk to through letters. What he has no idea about is how eventful and interesting things are going to get because now he’s not just watching people live their lives and studying the things that happen to them — instead, he’s having things happen to him. With new friends come new experiences and things he’s never had to deal with. He’s not just a wallflower anymore.
At the start of the book, Charlie has just begun High School in the summer of 1991 and is dealing with the loss of two significant people in his life. First, it was his Aunt Helen who was his “favorite person in the whole world”. Then, it was his friend, Michael, and Charlie doesn’t seem to have had many friends in his life. It’s at this point that he begins to write letters to a stranger he’s evaluated to be reliable:
“𝙸 𝚊𝚖 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚝𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚕𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚢 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎.”
He tells him about his life and all that’s going on around him.
Charlie is withdrawn and introspective. He spends his days at school taking in the things going on around him and not really getting involved. He stays in the background watching, studying, thinking, philosophizing about life. He usually over thinks things. After a chance meeting at the high school football game with a senior whom he has a class with and his sister, he becomes friends with them and is introduced to their group and what it feels like to be infinite. His Advanced English teacher’s advice to “participate” is hugely responsible for his getting actively involved with them.
Charlie’s Advanced English teacher, Bill, is a significant character in the book. Through his guidance, Charlie grows and develops. He gets books to read and write papers on from him. In every book he reads, he tries to form a connection with the characters and himself.
As the story progresses, Charlie encounters and deals with family drama, love and relationship, his mental health, and problems with friends. He even comes to a shocking revelation about his past.
Thoughts
Although it was a pretty straightforward story told entirely with letters, I was able to feel emotions as the characters felt them.
Also, the book gives a lot to think about. There are so many quoteworthy lines. This is the first novel I actually highlighted. I don’t usually like making marks in my novels but I had to make an exception this time.
CONCLUSION
The Perks of being a Wallflower will make you give more thoughts to the things going on around you. It’s a compelling read that everyone should try. It’s definitely ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
Image 1: taken by me with my mobile phone
Image 2: designed with Canva.