The Perks of Being a Wallflower: the most moving coming-of-age classic

by Stephen Chbosky

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up. Now a major motion picture starring Emma Watson and Logan Lerman. Stephen Chbosky's new film Wonder, starring Owen Wilson and Julia Roberts is out now. 

Charlie is a freshman. And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it. Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mix-tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But Charlie can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

'A coming of age tale in the tradition of The Catcher in the Rye and A Separate Peace... often inspirational and always beautifully written' USA Today

• ISBN10: 1471100480
• ISBN13: 9781471100482
• Publish Date: 13 September 2012 (first published 1 February 1999)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 15 May 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster Ltd
• Edition: Film Tie-In
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 240
• Language: English

Reviews

[roundtableknight]

Rating: 3.5/5 stars
~
I ended up pleasantly enjoying this book, so much that I read it in a day. The plot was average and the characters weren't that noteworthy, but the pacing was very well done and Charlie's way of writing his thoughts and feeling felt real in the sense of a freshman/sophomore. It's definitely a adolescence type novel, but I'm glad I read it.

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

This book... is okay.

I know a lot of people love it to bits and pieces, and I want to love it because Emma Watson was in the film and I know that's a stupid reason, because that's my reason nonetheless. There are a lot of hard topics discussed in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, things we *don't* want to talk about, we don't want to hear about... the things we want to believe don't happen. They're important, and they're discussed well enough.

But... I just couldn't connect with Charlie. Or the other characters, not really. They feel so flat and predictable. I don't know. I think what happened to Charlie was terrible, and I am sorry for how unhappy all the various characters are as they struggle through high school... but mostly I was just bored. I feel like I should have been more entranced or furious about the story. I wasn't. The Perks of Being a Wallflower simply *was* for me.

There are beautifully written moments which I thoroughly appreciated, but I don't think I'd read it again.

[chetofuor]

And in that moment I swear I didn't feel much.

There were some occasional good passages and moments but overall this book was way worse than I expected it to be.

[Liz (Bent Bookworm)]

This is one of the few times I've seen the movie before reading the book.

Overall it was a great book with an honest look at a teenager's struggle with abuse, depression, and anxiety. Some parts were painfully relatable to. Other parts disturbed me because of the casualness with which underage drinking and illegal drug use is treated. Maybe good from an adult reader's perspective, not sure how I would've felt reading it as a teen or what thoughts I would've had. I think I'd still recommend it for late middle school readers.

[Laurie]

First I thought it was the shittiest book I've read in years. It became a bit better though. The climax came too late and there was no action. 1 star.

[lauriesbookshelf]

First I thought it was the shittiest book I've read in years. It became a bit better though. The climax came too late and there was no action. 1 star.

[Chelsea]

Initial Thoughts

I was expecting a boring book that I would have a hard time getting into. I don’t usually read books in letter format but I was surprised at how easy this one was to read.

My New BFF

I think my favourite character was Sam. She was a really nice person even though she was a little strange sometimes. There’s not really much to say about her though because this book wasn’t really focused on characters.

My Crush

No crush here! Not that kind of book so if you’re expecting romance, maybe not the greatest pick for you.

Writing Style

What I like most about this book is the timelessness of it. It doesn’t feel like it takes place in the 90’s really. It’s a typical coming of age story and everyone goes through it so it’s easy to relate to. The writing was ok for me, not amazing. Probably because it was a little boring just like any other coming of age story I find. The focus wasn’t really on characters other than Charlie who was narrating, but you could see him start to grow up.

Closing Thoughts

I liked this book. I’m not in love with it but I’m glad I read it. It was easier to get through without much of a plot than I thought it was going to be and I’m glad. Charlie was a great narrator because he had a really interesting point of view. He’s young and very naive but it made for an interesting story. I’d recommend that everyone reads this book because it’s just one of those books that everyone should read. Kind of like The Kite Runner or To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s along those same lines.

[Rowena]

I got this book in the mail for review and was looking forward to reading it because I like that Logan kid from Percy Jackson. I also like Harmoine from Harry Potter. I’ve been slogged down in review books for the past couple of months and so this book fell off my radar for a little bit but was thrown right back onto the top when my nephew Jarred told me on Instagram that this book was a really good book.

I read this book in one sitting. It’s not that long of a story but I thought it was interesting that the author decided to tell Charlie’s story through letters. The entire story is told through letters that the main character, Charlie writes to a “friend”. What surprised me most about this format was how well it worked for Charlie’s story. I was really engrossed in Charlie’s world and in his story. He was so strange but learning to be okay with how different he was with everyone. I loved his teacher, Bill and I loved both Patrick and Sam, even when things got so out of control with the both of them. I thought Chbosky did a fabulous job of showing how much Charlie grew (emotionally) from the beginning to the end. I really enjoyed seeing him get closer to his family.
The way that this story unfolded piece by piece and it was not always fun reading but man was it real. I could picture everything that happened in this book so vividly and I couldn’t put this book down. There were a few times when the book didn’t move fast enough for me but in the end, I was just so glad that I read this book that I let the little things that bothered me slide.

This book was a solid and good read. I definitely recommend this book to teens because I’m sure that teens these days can connect with a character like Charlie. He wasn’t this perfect character, he was flawed and he made mistakes but best of all, he learned and I came to love his character through the telling of this story. I will most definitely be reading more from this author and I’m definitely watching the movie. I actually can’t wait for the movie.

[girlinthepages]

There's so much to say about this book it's hard to know where to begin, or where to end for that matter. I never read this book in high school, though it would ironically always be that one book that people claimed to have read (by choice) and loved, often times it seemed for the sake of having "read" it, almost as a status symbol. Having read this for the first time in my later college years, I definitely see how much of the issues dealt with in this book can go over the heads of high schoolers, even intelligent ones. Yet that's what's so fascinating about this book; it has layers of reading. You can bet that this is a book that can be read multiple times and each time something new will stand out, make sense, or speak to the reader.

First off, I love Charlie as a narrative. His naiveté may bother some, but I think it makes him an honest narrator, as honest as he can be with his own biases. The format of the novel makes it seem as though each letter is addressed directly to the reader, the ambiguity of who Charlie is writing too makes the reader feel all that more connected to the plot and characters. This book deals with topics that range from mental illness, drug abuse, underage everything, gender and sexuality, mental, physical, and sexual abuse, and more. I've heard critiques of this book with people thinking it is unrealistic that so many issues could be encountered by one kid, but with the alarming statistics about how rampant these problems are in the US, it's really not that surprising at all. Especially when one is a wallflower like Charlie, these multitudes of underlying issues are recognized by those who are quiet observers.

What really strikes me about this book is its timelessness. It was written in 1999, 14 years prior to when I am reading it today, and it takes place in 1991, over 20 years ago, well before the advent of so many things crucial to the young adult experience today, such as social media, a trending and increasing focus on social justice, the increasing awareness of teen depression, anxiety, and suicide, etc. Yet this book still hits the core of the trials of young adulthood flawlessly and honestly, proving that while knowledge, trends, and methods of communication change the teenage experience will always deal with struggle, acceptance, self-awareness, sexuality, trauma, learning tolerance, and learning one's own potentials and weaknesses. I'm sure I can read this book another 10 years from now and still find it poignant and insightful. That's another great aspect of the narrative; even if you're no longer of the high school age, it serves as a tool of reflection and insight of your own experiences at that age.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower deserved every single star in my five-star review. Some may say there is no such thing as perfection, but this may well be as close as it gets. It has a way of sticking to you as a reader, resonating on a deeper emotional and intellectual level than most texts ever will. It is hauntingly honest, almost necessarily brutal in it's portrayal of the experience of young adults. It's unlike anything I have read, and if you're to read just one book from the YA fiction genre, I say with full conviction that it should be this one. It's a book that gives back to the reader as much as it takes.

[Kelly]

http://divainpyjamas.blogspot.com.au/

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower was entertaining, Charlie is a breath of fresh air. He's quirky, strange and even adorable. Most of his written letters are borderline rambling and thinking out loud almost. He always writes what he thinks, but never has the nerve to say it.

I liked Charlie, at times I wondered perhaps if he was autistic. Intelligent beyond his years, but struggled with life beyond his academic abilities and retrospective thoughts. It was more than your average coming of age novel, it was one special boy, discovering his place in the world.