The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a young adult novel written by Stephen Chbosky and published in February 1999.

The book describes the life of a very introverted and sensitive 15-year-old boy through the letters he writes to a pen pal. He describes his friends, particularly two older teens who take a liking to him, his family, the music he listens to, the books he reads, the social events he goes to, and his introduction into the larger world of relationships, sex, and drug use.

Personal

I learned about the existence of the book when it was turned into a film, and, only then because it starred Emma Watson. However, I still made no attempt to watch or read it. After seeing the book on a list of challenged books, I finally decided to read it.

Review

Good

• The book presents the rebellious world of older teenagers through the eyes of a late-blooming neurodivergent 15-year-old boy. This is well-executed and results in a lot of funny and thought-provoking moments. I particularly like that he is befriended two older teens who help guide him through his life.
• The book deals with a lot of heavy issues.
• Charlie goes through various
• I like the various references to books, music, and film. I was familiar with a lot of them, and, for the ones I wasn't, it was nice to

Bad

• I don't really like books which use an epistolary format.
• It was a nice addition to have Charlie start mimicking Holden's idiosyncratic "it really does" phrase after he read Catcher in the Rye, but it only reminded me how annoying it is.

Ugly

• Nothing.

Representation

Strong female character?	Pass	Sam is strong.
Bechdel test?	Unknown
Strong person of color character?	Fail
Queer character?	Pass	Patrick and Brad are gay.

Used gyp racial slur.

Links