The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Module 10/ SLIS 5420/ August 9-12 Bibliography

Chbosky, Stephen. (1999). The Perks of Being a Wallflower. New York: MTV Books
ISBN: 978-0-671-02734-6

Summary

Charlie lives on the fringe, but doesn't mind it so much. As he tells his story through a series of letters that act as a diary of his first year in high school, the reader learns along with Charlie what it's like to "participate" in life. Although at first Charlie may seem strange, this book will make you think again about the definition of strange and normal; good and bad. It will make you think again about what it means to be infinite.

My Impressions

This is one of the best YA books I have read all year. It reminds me a bit of how I felt when I read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. Charlie's voice is so authentic that this book will resonate with teens, and hit a nerve for adults. Chbosky is able to convey Charlie's emotions with succinct writing and the observant Charlie is able to talk to the reader and make you care. Often controversial, this book is not light reading. Charlie goes through seriously depressive periods, learns about sexuality, deals with abortion, experiments with drugs, etc. But, if you give this book a chance, all that will not stand out as the main point of the story. Give it a chance, and I know you won't be disappointed.

Reviews

Amazon.com Review: "What is most notable about this funny, touching, memorable first novel from Stephen Chbosky is the resounding accuracy with which the author captures the voice of a boy teetering on the brink of adulthood. Charlie is a freshman. And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. He's a wallflower--shy and introspective, and intelligent beyond his years, if not very savvy in the social arts. We learn about Charlie through the letters he writes to someone of undisclosed name, age, and gender, a stylistic technique that adds to the heart-wrenching earnestness saturating this teen's story. Charlie encounters the same struggles that many kids face in high school--how to make friends, the intensity of a crush, family tensions, a first relationship, exploring sexuality, experimenting with drugs--but he must also deal with his best friend's recent suicide. Charlie's letters take on the intimate feel of a journal as he shares his day-to-day thoughts and feelings:

I walk around the school hallways and look at the people. I look at the teachers and wonder why they're here. If they like their jobs. Or us. And I wonder how smart they were when they were fifteen. Not in a mean way. In a curious way. It's like looking at all the students and wondering who's had their heart broken that day, and how they are able to cope with having three quizzes and a book report due on top of that. Or wondering who did the heart breaking. And wondering why.

With the help of a teacher who recognizes his wisdom and intuition, and his two friends, seniors Samantha and Patrick, Charlie mostly manages to avoid the depression he feels creeping up like kudzu. When it all becomes too much, after a shocking realization about his beloved late Aunt Helen, Charlie retreats from reality for awhile. But he makes it back in due time, ready to face his sophomore year and all that it may bring. Charlie, sincerely searching for that feeling of "being infinite," is a kindred spirit to the generation that's been slapped with the label X." --Brangien Davis

School Library Journal: Grade 9 Up "An epistolary narrative cleverly places readers in the role of recipients of Charlies unfolding story of his freshman year in high school. From the beginning, Charlies identity as an outsider is credibly established. It was in the spring of the previous school year that his best friend committed suicide and now that his class has gone through a summer of change, the boy finds that he has drifted away from old friends. He finds a new and satisfying social set, however, made up of several high school seniors, bright bohemians with ego-bruising insights and, really, hearts of gold. These new friends make more sense to Charlie than his star football-playing older brother ever did and they are able to teach him about the realities of life that his older sister doesn't have the time to share with him. Grounded in a specific time (the 1991/92 academic year) and place (western Pennsylvania), Charlie, his friends, and family are palpably real. His grandfather is an embarrassing bigot; his new best friend is gay; his sister must resolve her pregnancy without her boyfriends support. Charlie develops from an observant wallflower into his own man of action, and, with the help of a therapist, he begins to face the sexual abuse he had experienced as a child. This report on his life will engage teen readers for years to come." Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Suggested Library Use

Use during banned books month, or for a controversial reading program. It's also a great book to pair with a classic that is mentioned as one of the protagonists favorites to get teens interested in titles outside of the YA genre.