I'm not sure why the reviews on this site are so positive. I thought this was fairly boring and seemed to be somewhat of a copy of 'Catcher in the Rye' (which is over-rated in the first place). I think if I was still in high school I would have liked this more but having read these types of stories I was fairly bored with this. Recommended for readers of Young Adult books only.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower tells the story of Charlie, an awkward and introspective high school freshman. The book is comprised of a series of letters that Charlie writes to an unknown recipient, relating the news of his life, the friendships with a group of seniors, his complex relationship with his family and his bond with a teacher who believes Charlie is special.

This is a wonderful coming-of-age tale. It's such a cliche to compare every tale of a misfit boy to The Catcher in the Rye, but Charlie's alienation and struggle to find himself are every bit as compelling as in the classic stories of troubled youth, like Catcher. Chbosky's writing style is honest and straightforward. Charlie's desires and inadequacies are palpable. I highly recommend this intelligent and moving novel.

exactly what i wanted, in great condition.
and super cheap!

but it was a little late on shipping...

This book is amazing. It's full of weird things, comedy, and of course some serious stuff. It has changed people's life but it my not change yours. I would recommend this to people 14 yrs. old and up. Also, anyone who has felt alone, scared, or just hasn't been able to fit in anywhere. What it's about is a boy named Charlie (that's not his real name. He doesn't use real ones) who is scared about going into high school. He meets a few people like Patrick and Sam. The story is full of suspense and comedy. It's is great.

My favorite book of all time. An extremely easy read, that you won't want to put down. The format is a little odd to get used to at first, but once you move past that, you can't help but relate with the main character and really connect and root for him.

This was the first book I read because I wanted to. Not because some english teacher said I had to. A man I work with's daughter was given this book by her school as an assignment and told to read it over the summer. The mother of this girl evidently was reading it and the parents were not happy about their daughter reading this book. They said it was too detailed for their 17 year old daughter. So I looked it up on the internet and bought it to read myself.
I think it did it's job as a book. It left me wanting to know more about the boy and at times I couldn't put it down. I laughed out loud yet cried at times. I found myself worrying about him and I really became attached to him. I felt as if I knew him personally. However I do think it is a little too detailed at times for younger readers. Overall I like this book and am glad I read it.
Now I want to read more books!

It took me nearly four years to get around to reading this book and it was definitely worth the wait. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is an amazing story that follows a scared and lonely teenage boy through his freshman year of high school: making friends, "discovering" girls, developing an identity, and holding on for dear life in a world much unlike anything he's ever encountered before. For anyone who has ever experienced high school, the book reminds readers just how scary, new and amazing high school can be. The book is a quick read (just over 200 pages) and written in a friendly format that instantly makes the reader empathize with the main character. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a wonderful story that will make you laugh, cry, and reminisce on the good old days of high school. I highly recommend this book.

Charlie is about to start high school, and so he begins to send letters to an anonymous stranger as an outlet for his fears. His letters continue through the school year, recording his friendships, high school life, mental issues, and ongoing battle to emerge from passivity and actively engage with the world. Although heavy-handed in its themes and discussing a surfeit of difficult issues from suicide to drug use to homosexuality, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is remarkably good. Realistic characters make up for the the unrealistic plot, and Charlie's epiphanies about life and happiness, however small they may be, are meaningful and resonant. The book is swiftly readable, emotional, and meaningful, and I recommend it.

I wish that I had read The Perks of Being a Wallflower when I was a young adult, because I think I would have enjoyed it even more then. Reading it as an adult, the book is still quite good--but its flaws are more noticeable. From premise to plot, too much of the book is unrealistic. Charlie's letters function as a direct address to the reader, but why he writes them is never adequately explained. Although he is a wallflower--the very premise of the book--Charlie quickly becomes friends with a group of students, and through them (and his siblings) faces all number of difficult issues: (discrimination against and coming to terms with) homosexuality, drug use, rape, dating, sexual activity and promiscuity, pregnancy and abortion, mental health, and suicide, to name a few. With so many issues in such a short book, each becomes abrupt and heavy-handed, and some are immediately reduced to a single important theme.

Despite these flaws, I enjoyed the book. It is swiftly readable, Chbosky's adolescent voice is almost too accurate, but best of all: despite its heavy-handedness, The Perks of Being a Wallflower manages to be remarkably sensitive and tug more than a few heartstrings. Though the plot lacks subtlety, Charlie does not. His thoughtful and emotional approach to his friends and environment grants him starting perception, and his continual battle to rise from thought into action is a never-ending coming of age story which is appropriate for all readers. No matter how blatant many of his epiphanies are, Charlie's small discoveries about his potential and happiness remain true and meaningful. The book is emotional, sometimes depressing, but ultimately empowering.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower was not all that I expected it would be (based on the recommendation that I'd heard), and I believe that it is more relevant and enjoyable to the intended young adult audience. Nonetheless, I'm glad to have read it, and I can see why it's become a YA classic--and, for its subject matter, why it is controversial. Although somewhat blatant and heavy-handed, the novel deals with a number of difficult issues which may affect teens, denying neither their existence nor danger. But where the book really shines is in Charlie's personal and private discoveries, things not inspired by drug use or teen sexual activity. When he feels "infinite," driving and listening to music with his friends, both Charlie and the reader are exhilarated by the potential of life--a message well worth taking away. I enjoyed this book despite its faults, and I recommend it to all audiences.

When I picked this book up, I expected a book to identify with. However, as I read the story, this was not the case. A majority of the book is talking about what kind of music Charlie likes, what kind of drugs he takes, or how much fun he has at the Rocky Horror show. I can't count how many times he goes to it and watches the same thing. As I wasn't interested in any of this topics the book didn't particularly give me any message.

There was one interesting twist in this book. The background information to the twist makes it believable, and the way it is revealed is brilliant. Aside from that, theres not much good to say about this book.

The honesty of the character in this story is what makes it one of my favorites. He has a wonderful personality and it's always fun to hear what he had to say about his high school experience. I'd recommend this to anyone from 14-20 years old.

I read this book a few years ago when making the transition from high school to college. I've never read a book quite like this one and thus it holds a special place in my heart. It's almost impossible to not relate to the main character, Charlie. The timing of when I read this book was also a bit of a coincidence while he was adjusting to high school, I was adjusting to college. The language and punctuation of the book is humorous and entertaining. You watch a boy begin to grow up and you feel a real connection with the character by the end of the book. Some compare this book to The Catcher In The Rye but I find this book way better than that. The book reads quickly and has a MAJOR twist at the end. I'd reccommend this book for just about any teenager especially if you're making the first step into high school or college. I think that older readers would find this book interesting as well. So, go ahead and pick it up - I assure you that you won't put it down.

Honestly, this book was amazing. I feel like almost anyone would be able to relate to Charlie or his friends. This book was given to me by my best friend and, even though I put off reading it for a year, I picked it up and read it in 5 hours. I was sucked into the world of a 15 year old boy. It reminds me of almost everyone I know and love. I definitely recommend this to anyone!

okay so i read this book awhile ago. it was a well worn copy from my school library and i ended up finishing the book just days later. i still thought about this book from time to time. something a bout it is good. i can't explain it. i had to buy it and read it again. it was worth it.

In short- this book is brilliant and it changed my life. I have read it about a dozen times (yes, literally) over the years.
I can't really tell you any more than the other reviews say.

The one negative thing I can say is that Charlie is unbelievably naive for a teenager.

Perks was a GREAT read, my favorite book of all time, and I am AMAZED that just a book can leave me with the feeling that I get from it.

"...but even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there."

i was suprised upon this book's arrival to read on the jacket that it had one a few young reader awards, but i didn't let that phase me (as i usually would) bc the of the reviews on here. I am glad for that bc this book really resonates with me. i read the entire book on a dallas to san fran flight. (it's not a page turner, it's just brief). i thnk i just also particularly enjoy coming of age novels and memoirs. if you need more of a plot, you may not enjoy this as much.

A coming of age book. If you happen to be a fan of The Catcher in the Rye, this is also a good read about a boy with free spirit and a lot in his mind. A fantastic and inspiring story witch i would suggest everyone should read.

Stephen Chbosky did an excellent job with this book. I realized all the mistakes Charlie made along the way and realized how fortune and lucky I am in my own life. This is a great story and well worth reading! I did not want to put it down! I am interested in reading other novels by Chbosky! The ending was unexpected, but at the same time, amazing. Overall, it was a GREAT story!

The book was in great shape and fast delivery!!
Was a great purchase. Thank you.

This book was reccomended to me by several friends, so I decided to read it. It is a relatively brief book, and I finished it quickly. It left me unsatisfied after all of the hype surrounding it. It attempts to be deep, and meaningful, it even tries to portray the life of a 'real' teenager. Let's face it, Charlie is not 'real'. Neither are the remaining characters, such as his friends, teachers, and family. I really do not understand the great love for this book by so many. Come on, it's published by MTV!

this was a great book. it's one of those ones where you just love the main character. charlie's in grade 9, a smart kid with no friends, and this book follows charlie's life through a series of letters he writes to us the readers.

what i think i love about charlie is his honesty in his approach to the world. he seems somewhat unconnected, and is as he has no friends to peer pressure him at the beginning of the story, so he views people at school from an outsiders perspective. he never sounds persecuted though (as you would have to be emotionally involved to be persecuted, and charlie is almost estranged from his own life, being the wallflower and all) he just reports the events in his life with an earnestness that makes you want the best for him. he talks about both touchy subjects and regular 'growing up' issues and approaches these with a cautious nervousness, though at the same time he's... i guess he chooses an opinion and then sticks with that conviction. he makes me smile, i want to hug him. i really got emotionally attached to him, when he experiences something good, i'm really happy for him. i think i teared up a bit when he kissed that girl.

anyways, charlie's problem is that he has no presence in his own life. he is a wallflower in his own life, so much so that he writes us these letters so that the reader has a larger presence vicariously in his life than he does himself. there is one scene when he's the dj at a party, and he gauges the mood of the party so well that he accurately picks out songs to reflect that mood. he's very 'other' focused, too selfless. there's a potential reason for this at the end, though it is debatable as to how much of this is just his personality as opposed to a response to something else.

this is a great book with a great character.

I have been wanting to read this book for over a year now and I finally got my hands on a copy! This book was amazing! I loved the way the author laid the book out like a series of letters to an anonymous receiver. I read this book in about three days-I couldn't put it down! I could relate to Charlie's character and his feelings of being 'infinite' in specific scenarios. It was wonderful!

As THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER begins it appears to be yet another in the long line of coming of age stories. The story is told from the perspective of an adolescent who is a bit of an outcast and has suffered a trauma. The story is even told through a series of letters very much in the style of Anne Frank's diary. After the first few pages though it becomes apparent that there is something more going on here. The hero, Charlie, was just beginning his first year in high school as the novel opens. A few months earlier a friend had committed suicide which had shocked and depressed Charlie to the point his parents sent him to therapy.

Gradually as the school year progresses Charlie begins to carve out a space for himself. He even begins to find acceptence with a new group of friends and experience the usual teenage traumas, the experimentation with drugs and alcohol and sex but it also becomes increasingly apparent that something more is going on with Charlie. Charlie seems to take things much harder than everyone else, whether it is the recent death of his friend or the long ago one of his beloved aunt he continues to grieve long after others have recovered. He passes through life more as an observer than a participant, much as if he really doesn't understand the rules.
Eventually the reasons for his odd behavior are explained in a twist that will probably take the reader by surprise.

The reading level of this book is about 5th or 6th grade but the subject matter is too mature for anyone much younger than 13 or 14. Like the best examples of 'coming of age' books, CATCHER IN THE RYE, THE OUTSIDERS, HUCKLEBERRY FINN etc. THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER will appeal even to those who have long since left adolescence behind. It is a book that should be read, then shared with others and discussed at length.

Although I am a 24 years old male, Yes, this is a very touching book indeed. I finished it in a whooping 6 hours. Why? I honestly don't know but all I have to say is I couldn't put it down.

The story is about a boy going through freshman year with no significant moments or things really occur during the entire story. BUT the things that happened were told by a very beautiful and honest voice (I had a monotone-like voice by the narrator in my head throughout the book). The boy is a bit weird but I have to say I loved him! I mean you can't not love him! In the end you'd get a glimps of a part which made him the way he is. Sam and Patrick are two great charactors which I can't take them out of my mind at all.

This is an ordinary story told in a very touching way. It might not change your life but it will probably stay with you forever (without really being able to explain why). Try it!, then sign and smile when you finish it, because that's what I did.


***If you read and loved Mark Haddon's Curios Incident....then I think you'll love this. As good as that book was for me, now I rated this book way better though!!!***

The Book The Perks of Being a Wallflower was a very good book. It is mostly aimed toward teenagers, but anyone could read it. The book relates to high schoolers, especially the ones who don't usually fit in with the "in" crowd. It has a good look out on teenagers and how rough high school life can be.
I liked this book mostly because when you're reading it you think of yourself in that position. It made me think about what I would do if I was stuck and had to deal with the battles everyday of what Charlie (the main character) did. One other thing about the book that made me think was Charlie's dad would say, "There is people who have it worse than we do." So it sort of makes you think about the brighter side of things.
Charlie discusses his life in a diary sort of way. Charlie talks about his daily life, the ups and downs of high school, family, and his friends that he's made along the way. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a good and easy book for young adults to relate to.

This book is called The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Steven Chbosky. It was published by MTV on February 1, 1999, and is 224 pages long. This book would best be classified as realistic fiction, and has a reading level of 4.8.
In The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the plot centers around a boy named Charlie who is in the process of finding out who he is as he transitions into high school. Charlie suffers from some psychological problems, which are later revealed to be the result of childhood sexual abuse. His problems are further compounded in the beginning of the book when his best friend Michael commits suicide. Charlie is thrown into the world of high school with no friends. His see it as it is thought process, along with his extreme shyness leaves him very alone at his new school. One night, he decides to go to a football game, which is something he and Michael enjoyed doing in middle school. While there, he meets Samantha and Patrick, step siblings and seniors at his school. The three become fast friends, opening the plot to Charlie being welcomed into their circle of friends. They find common ties in musical taste, pop culture, and ways of thinking about the world and their future. Charlie feels welcome in a social circle for the first time in his life, and quickly falls in love with Samantha. Samantha is seeing a college boy named Craig, though it becomes apparent that if Charlie had tried to express his feelings, Sam would have had a hard time turning him down. Throughout the book, he learns a lot about himself and what his closed off demeanor holds him back from doing. He is often anxious about being left behind when all of his friends go to college, but by the end, he has realized that he will be OK. His mentor teacher, Bill, provides Charlie with a means to use his intelligence to overcome obstacles in his social life, while getting him to realize that he can do great things. While Charlie initially clings to Bill as a source of support, their relationship also develops into one of mutual respect and caring. The reader can sense that Bill is one of the unique teachers whose lessons will be life long.
Overall, this book is excellent for young readers of the junior high or high school age group. More conservative readers may object to the sexual content, homosexual relationship, or drug use prevalent in the story, but these are realities of the high school culture in this day and age. The story line is superb, and has left many teenagers bleary eyed into the night, struggling to stay awake and finish reading the story of Charlie, who they can relate to on several levels. Anyone who has ever felt out of place in their peer group or dislocated in the huge corridors of high school will surely find this book to be a source of comfort. While not the traditional coming of age story, it is a real account of what a young boy entering high school may be feeling, facing, and struggling with.

Have you ever been to the bookstore, looked at all the shelves, all the pages, all the jackets, and wished you could just know which books would be worth your time? Which would mean something? Well, I can't speak for everyone, but this book was one of those books for me.

In the simplest of ways, it described every complex feeling I'd ever had, but couldn't put into words myself. Both tragic and comical, it struck me as the only real thing I'd ever read.

Through a introvert, shy teenager named Charlie, this book reaches into complex emotions with stunning simplicity, reaching the deepest corners of even the most average teenager's mind. Highly recommended, even if you're skeptical at first.

Other recommendations: The Catcher in the Rye, Thirteen Reasons Why, Girl Interrupted.

For me the most memorable sentance in the book was " We Accept The Love We Think We Deserve"- it is written on my back in calligraphy- thank you
Stephen Chbosky. Everyone should read this book

I read this book for the first time recently, well aware that many of my friends when I was in high school (I'm currently a senior in college) raved about it and considered the book one of their favorites as an absolutely necessary read. I can see why they believed that (they probably still do) but I guess I just don't see the light.

There have been other reviews which comment on this, but the sheer amount of clichéd teen-angst drama make for a jumbled and highly unrealistic mess. People who loved this book have told me it that encapsulated what it was like to grow up in high school. Really? While issues like sex, hardcore drug and alcohol use, peer pressure and abuse, dealing with death and suicide and having some pretty severe sexual abuse problems certainly exist as fragments of adolescent lives, the idea that all of these issues and more can barrage a kid in one calendar year is too unrealistic for me to handle or relate to. Does a friend's suicide and sexual abuse need to even be part of this book to make it poignant and accessible? Teens, for all their supposed angst and emotional problems, also for the most part live pretty normal and healthy lives with spots of trouble that generally fade in significance as they mature and experience life. When teens read books like this, I'm willing to bet they are more likely to think they are as "deep" and "conflicted" as people like Charlie or Holden Caufield than they really are. It's as if teenagers need to read literature that says, "you're life is complex, unique and desperate" when most are truthfully not.

This is another book to be read with self-importance and pseudo-self awareness that invokes all the worst and rare parts of growing up and not enough of the quiet memories and stable lives which most kids have. Life can be complex and meaningful outside of tragedy and it's a shame that an author who writes in such an accessible prose chose to go the easy path and formulate a story that could be found in a bad lifetime movie. Read it if you want to, but don't believe the hype.

By the way, "Catcher in the Rye" was one of my favorite books as a teenager and it still ranks up there. Looking back, I believe that I was one of those victims of that "I'm deep and special and nobody understands the depth of my depthness and specialness" mentality that a book like "Catcher" can evoke. Yet "Catcher" is a far better book than this piece and will deservedly outlast it in terms of influence and readability.

This review contains spoilers

OK, seriously, how I could pass up a book with a title like The Perks of Being a Wallflower? Especially after I read the back and it painted a picture of a shy, gawky and confused highschool kid who had to deal with similar issues that I did during that time?

Well, at least that's what I thought I'd be reading. It started out good enough. The writing is amusing, and some of the teenage "insights" were downright hilarious. There were also a few bits here and there that were amazingly well done and surprisingly painful.

However, taken as a whole, it's a bit too busy and I lost the believability near the end. I don't doubt that a great many intelligent kids have social difficulties in high school (I know that my own experiences were... suboptimal)...

However, the concept that, in the course of one year, a kid can learn about sex and masturbation, get addicted to tobacco, experiment with marijuana and LSD, overcome his own self-esteem problems, deal with child molestation, witness a rape, witness physical abuse, deal with an abortion, have his first drink, etc etc etc... well, it seems contrived. (As is the concept of a kid that gets to be freshman, knows about sex, but has never masturbated before.)

Let me just say that a person can be interesting and have emotional issues resulting from intelligence and poor social skills without having to have been physically or sexually abused. It gets tiresome to read books where such a situation either launches the character on their journey, or (in the case of this book) it becomes a surprise twist at the end.

This book would have been so much better had the kid just been a really bright kid who "didn't get it". There's ample drama and angst in a normal well-adjusted teenager that it's unnecessary to create especially painful experiences for the reader. In many ways, this seems to be the easy way out.

The format is one that is easy to do wrong (collection of letters), but works in this case because the writing style is believable for the type of character writing it... and it's all written by one person, so you don't have the problem of tracking dialogue that often results such such a format.

All in all, the writing is good, and there are some very well written and evocative bits. However, I don't recommend that anyone make it a point to read this one. More importantly, I don't recommend that any angsty teenagers read it at all... it's not likely to help (and could well hinder).

Charlie. Where to start with the character that every teen can relate to? He's not a character teens should look up to, respect, or idolize, because he makes the mistakes that every teen does. He is just proof that someone else really is going through the same thing. He really becomes more of a friend then anything.

This book is written as a journal, but Charlie writes like he's talking to a real person. It's definitely a different way of writing, and it really works for this book.

Charlie really is a wallflower. He looks at his life like he's watching through a window that he can't get on the other side of.

Charlie experiences all of the things that normal teens are exposed to, and he handles each in a different way.

Read THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER, because Charlie makes you realize that everyone is going though the same types of ordeals. Love him, hate him, root for him, and cherish him. I know I always will.

Reviewed by: Taylor Rector

This book is one of the best books I personally have ever read, not because of the authors ample use of literary devices, or because of his complex underlying symbolism which takes many hours of careful thought to understand; it is becuase of the straightforwardness of the narrator and the way he can relate to the reader (or specificly me in my case) without having to cover the meaning of the novel up with elaborate style or symbolism. The character of the narrator is enough to allow the reader to understand him, care about him, and eventually love him. The emotional bond that is formed during this novel is second to none.

i read this book while i was in high school and as an adult. I think this book is a great gift for someone in high school.While you are reading it you think wow im not alone out there.. i also like the journal feel.
dont get thrown off by the mtv thing.

I picked this book up because I had heard and read positive things about it. Now that I'm finished, I'm wondering if perhaps I read something entirely different than everyone else.

Protagonist and narrator Charlie is portrayed as a stiff, stilted and extremely unlikable character with an uneven voice. He's also a fairly undiluted Mary Sue. Over the span of the story we learn that a) not one, but several girls, seniors no less, are so smitten with him that they try to seduce him; b) the most interesting and eclectic group of students in the school takes him under their wing, despite the fact that he's neither interesting nor eclectic himself; c) he's getting straight As and his teacher is lauding him as the most brilliant student and most talented writer he's ever met, even though he writes his letters with all the talent of a naive third grader. The author gives the reader no real reason to like Charlie or care about what happens to him. He's not even an authentic outsider; he's a cardboard cutout that sort of drifts along, waiting for everyone else to build him up.

And does the book cover anything groundbreaking? No. All of the topics covered here--one after the other, in what seems to be a long grocery list of teen controversial subjects--are depicted in other, far superior young adult novels in much greater detail, and with much more authenticity, than they are here. I won't judge anyone else, but I honestly wonder if those who are lauding this as great literature have had any exposure to the real McCoy. This is about as close to The Catcher in the Rye as a child's fingerpainting is to the Sistine Chapel.

Perks of Being a Wallflower is an extremely over-hyped book. Sure, it had its parts but the way people talked about it you'd think it was the Bible or something. Some parts were funny, but other parts I just didn't get. I don't think that it is an accurate portrayal of adolescence. Another thing that bothered me about this book was that sometimes the situations Charlie gets himself into are so embarrassing that you yourself feel embarrassed for him. I've also seen that the people who tend to read/like this book aren't very well read. This book is not equal to those of literary merit by any standards.

High school is a milestone in everyone's life. In Stephen Chbosky's The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, many of the dynamics people face throughout their high school career surface, as the life of a teenage boy is unfolded. Charlie guides you through his teen years through the unusual method of using letters addressed to an unknown person. Through these letters the reader is introduced to the thoughts going through Charlie's head and what is going on in his life. A friend who highly recommended it turned me onto this book. It's a fairly quick read and hard to put down.
Charlie is the reason this book is so enjoyable. At first he seems to be an average high school student who isn't popular or perfect by any means. He's shy and somewhat introverted, while trying to cope with the suicide of his friend, growing apart from people he used to know and family turmoil. However, after getting to know him more, his personality is enjoyable, comical and sometimes witty making the letters fun to read.
One of the major aspects of the book is growing and maintaining relationships. Charlie meets brother and sister seniors, and soon to be his best friends, Patrick and Sam at a football game. Through spending time with them they forge a solid friendship and Charlie is introduced to friends of Patrick and Sam, making mutual friends. As the letters go on Charlie tells of inter-friendship crushes and arguments, and dealing with trying to hold things together.
Charlie also has to deal with his siblings, an older brother away at college and a melodramatic sister, who is also a senior in high school. He watches his sister go through relationships, break-ups, apologies, and regrets, all while trying to figure out all these components in his own life.
The way Chbosky describes so well dealing with first crushes, second chances, questioning yourself, fitting in, and the time period of being on the brink of adulthood and at the same time brings a sense of belonging through his writing is admirable and well worth the time taken to read this novel.

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky


The Perks Of Being A Wallflower is refreshingly honest, and remarably somehthing everyone can relate to. We have all had those moments of times in our lives where we didnt fit in and even if we did fit in felt as though we didn't belong. This tale of self-discovery is in the same vein as that of the classic Catcher In The Rye, and just as every bit as moving. This really is a book for it's time, one that todays generation will regard as a classic in the years to come. The already impressive cult status of Stepehn Chbosky has only increased ten fold with the release of this book insuring him a place in the hearts of young readers much in the same way as Chuck Palhinuik has. The halariously written letters along side the so-low-you-can't-get-back letters make for an interesting contrast much as in the way the real world works, especially in the termultous life of a teen-age highschool student. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower is a book for the ages.

This book was recommended to me by an 18 year old girl - I am 34 - so I was skeptical. One day, I found myself at my car dealership waiting on a repair so I decided, why not start reading this book? I couldn't put it down. I am about 30 pages from finishing it and though I can't wait to read it, I am procrastinating because I don't want it to be over. This book is amazing. It's simple yet descriptive. It's poignant yet dark. It's funny yet sad. You know these people in Charlie's life without really knowing them. Experiencing music and books, love and life through Charlie's eyes changes everything. I read somewhere that this book is literally banned in many high schools in America today. That's ludicrous! This book should be REQUIRED in high schools today. It gets people talking about things we don't talk enough about - like, suicide, homosexuality, drugs, sex, pressures of teendom, and boys who cry. Not to sound over-dramatic, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention... this book has changed me. Read it. You will not be disappointed.

this book is AMAZING.
period.

ive probably read it 23 times since i got it at christmas.

I read this book for the first time many years ago and picked it up again recently. I was still struck by the emotional quality of the story and the way the reader is captured by the narrator despite the lack of much in the way of plot. It is essentially a coming of age story, a book about how one boy's life changes because of the friends he makes during his freshman year in high school. But he is a special boy, a fact that is eluded to throughout the book, but which doesn't really get resolved until the end. I found Charlie, the narrator, to be totally sympathetic, the kind of person you'd like to take care of, which is exactly right for the tone and theme of this book. The other thing I really admire about the book is the way that it doesn't stereotype characters, even though most of the people we meet are not fleshed out beyond moments and events that Charlie experiences. You don't have the dumb jock and the stuck up queen bee or anything like that; rather you get complicated teenagers, all of whom are struggling with their own unique stories as Charlie struggles with his. This book is sophisticated, challenging in subject matter, and emotionally complicated, but by the end, you feel so much for this character that you can't help but continue to think about him long after you've put the book down.

Billed as a YA, this isn't your Grandmother's typical young adult book- well not mine at least. Formatted as letters or more accurately, in "Diary" format, the book covers a year in the life of Charlie, a sensitive, high school freshman who suffers from bouts of depression.

Starting with the suicide of a close friend, we follow Charlie as he makes his way through the morass of being a teenager- and a misunderstood one at that. He's not only sensitive- he's seems to cry at the drop of a hat- he's smart, firmly cementing him into "Freak" status. Despite his wallflower ways, he eventually befriends a brother and sister while at a high school football game. The former he soon discovers has a secret relationship with the star quarterback of the football team and the latter he falls in love with instantly. Charlie gets lost for a little while working through his lot in life, but he does eventually make his way out of it and I liked that most of all about the book.

This book is published by MTV of all things and it's got MTV written all over it. Anxst, Sex- gay and straight, though not graphic-, and Drugs, all mixed in with self-introspective "who am I?", is what it's all about and frankly, Chbosky doesn't put anything in "Perks" that we haven't already seen. We've raised a generation of innocence lost, after all. Yet, the book still manages to come of fresh in a strange sort of way.

In the end, I found it well written and I was totally floored by the ending- although I SHOULD have seen it coming a mile away. (Guess I was distracted by all the crying.)

This is one of my absolute favorite books. I read it in high school and loved. Recently bought it for my teenage brother-in-law.

I was so gald I read this book before starting high school. It is an insightful, darkly humorous, and beautiful look at surviving adolesence. I took this to camp last summer and everyone wanted to borrow it. Definitely one of my favorite books!

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky, is the story of Charlie's freshman year of high school told in letters. Charlie's first letter is written in admiration to a person he has never actually met. Because Charlie is scared of starting high school, he continues writing these letters.
At the end of eighth grade, Charlie is surprised to learn that his close friend has committed suicide. So as he nears his first day of high school, Charlie is afraid he will have no friends; but at the first school football game, Charlie befriends two seniors, Patrick and Patrick's sister, Sam. Along with Patrick and Sam, Charlie frequently attends high school parties, parties that promote drugs and alcohol. At these parties, Charlie doesn't bring much attention himself; he just sits there and flows with everyone else. He talks to people, but doesn't talk too much; he mostly just listens.
Charlie also becomes friends with his English teacher whom he calls by his first name, Bill. Bill gives Charlie extra books to read because he thinks Charlie is exceptionally smart. Charlie talks to Bill like an ordinary friend, not a teacher. After Bill hears what's on in Charlie's life, he tells Charlie to participate more in life, not just think.
Charlie thinks too much, in my opinion; he also cries a lot, more than anyone should at his age. In Charlie's first letter, he writes, "So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be." This was something I could relate to in some ways, but certainly not on the same level as Charlie. Charlie is depressed; but no one knows it, not even him. He actually has no clue why he cries so much, but he knows that he doesn't like it.
He cries every year on his birthday because that is when his most loved relative, his Aunt Helen, died. She was the only person who hugged him, and she was the only one who bought him two presents: one for his birthday, December 24, and one for Christmas.
These people make Charlie feel special and loved; but even though he has friends, Charlie still has a hard time participating and makes many mistakes while trying because he has a low self-confidence, which often leads to him crying.
Charlie cries when he is sad and sometimes when he is happy. On occasion, he just bursts into tears; and because he doesn't know why, he cries even more, harder and louder. When Charlie learns why he cries so often, he never mentions himself crying anymore in his letters. I think Chbosky uses this to symbolize Charlie's recovery from suppressed depression.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is written in the same way a normal guy Charlie's age would speak, which makes it easy to read. At first I thought I wouldn't like the letter format, but it helps enforce the character of the book and Charlie. I would recommend this book despite some controversial text: it's portrayal of teen sexuality and drug use.

Find this and other reviews like it at notrequiredreading.com

The brutal honesty and provocative realism that made The Catcher in the Rye a classic is reborn in this novel. If you didn't like Catcher (not that I think that's possible for people who actually understand it), you won't like this.

Originally printed in 1999 by MTV Books and Pocket Books, this epistolary novel is written as a series of journal entries to an unnamed friend by a kid who calls himself Charlie. A coming of age book, it centers around Charlie and his transition from being a wallflower and observer to an active participant in his own life. The story deals with such issues as homosexuality, teenage suicide, child abuse, and drug use. The readers of the story follow Charlie's tales of him and his new friends as they put on productions of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, throw parties, and experience the awkward times of adolescence. We, as the audience, are drawn into the story and taken along for the ride as Charlie experiences his first kiss, is mentored by his English teacher, deals with the suicide of a friend, and experiences his first high. It is a moving story that I love to quote from. The most entertaining of which is after his first pot-laced-brownie experience where his friend and love interest asks,
"Are you seeing anything, Charlie?"
"Light."
"Does it feel good?"
"Uh-huh."
"Are you thirsty?"
"Uh-huh."
"What would you like to drink?"
"A milkshake."
And everyone in the room, except Sam, erupted in laughter.
"He's stoned."
"Are you hungry, Charlie?"
"Uh-huh."
"What would you like to eat?"
"A milkshake."
As Charlie's life progresses in high school and he becomes more extroverted, we begin to see the causes in his former disassociation and psychological issues; which I will refrain from stating to avoid exposing spoilers.
It truly is a deeply affecting coming of age story. Chbosky did an excellent job of writing this so that the reader is literally pulled into the story, feeling as if they are one of the Characters in Charlie's ever eventful and interesting life. The vocabulary and diction is spot on and could be believably be written by a slightly socially awkward high-schooler. I am even still amazed with the research Chbosky did before writing this. All of his cultural references are fairly accurate, down to the shadow cast costumes of Rocky Horror Picture Show. He even references the socially relevant works of literature, music, movies, and television shows. He has Charlie reading and becoming a fan of many of the books that I fell in love with at that age- To Kill a Mockingbird, This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, A Separate Peace, Catcher in the Rye, Naked Lunch, and The Fountainhead among others. He also included music references to The Smiths, Simon and Garfunkel, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and Ride.
It is an intense read that I think most people can relate to. Anyone who has been or is currently going through adolescence has experienced many of these issues and dealt with their own inner struggles of how to come out of their shell and interact in the world as a well-adjusted person. Chbosky's passion for Charlie, the story, and the other characters make this a book that you can't put down and silently cheer for. I've re-read this book many times and each time I find something new that I love about it. Each new read offers me a different perspective on the book for every point of my life that I'm in. The honesty, attention to detail, well developed characters, and unpredictable plot have turned this book into one of my all-time favorites. It is now even a custom in my social circles to annotate a copy and give it to a friend who has never experienced the wonder that is Charlie.

This is an exceptional book with a great insider point of a view of the teenage mind. What an adult will learn from this is things haven't changed as much as we thought.

The words touched me and I've never felt this close to someone I didn't know.

I'm still astounded the writer was able to write from such a personal first person perspective.

Thank you for this book.

This book is spectacular, it really spoke to me and is perhaps my favorite novel of all time.

I had to read this for school and let me just say, you will probably feel pretty depressed at the end of this book. The whole book has this cloud of dead always surrounding it. Another than that, it's a pretty good book. It's got alost of teen issues and sexual things in it, so I really wouldn't recommend it to anyone under the age of 14 or 15.

I had heard of "The Perks Of Being A Wallflower" for a long time from people on the internet. I had also seen it awhile and I eventually decided to buy it on Amazon to read it.



When it came in I didn't expect much of it. It was a small book and the whole story was a bunch of letters. Or at least that was my first impression.



After reading it, I've officially stated it as my favorite book. Although it was a first novel from Stephen Chbosky, I must say he truely did an amazing job writing it. It was so easy for me to relate to the main character Charlie. And all of the other characters seemed so real. I read it in two sittings. I won't give the plot because plenty of other reveiwers have posted it.



But I will tell you that after reading it my look on life was completely changed. If you ever have read it or will read it, you will understand what I mean.



Just so you know if you're considering to buy it, this is coming from a thirteen year old. And although I may be young, I can still tell you quite honestly that I highly recomend buying no matter your age. Some of the topics included though may not be sutible for a younger audience.

I had heard of "The Perks Of Being A Wallflower" for a long time from people on the internet. I had also seen it awhile and I eventually decided to buy it on Amazon to read it.

When it came in I didn't expect much of it. It was a small book and the whole story was a bunch of letters. Or at least that was my first impression.

After reading it, I've officially stated it as my favorite book. Although it was a first novel from Stephen Chbosky, I must say he truely did an amazing job writing it. It was so easy for me to relate to the main character Charlie. And all of the other characters seemed so real. I read it in two sittings. I won't give the plot because plenty of other reveiwers have posted it.

But I will tell you that after reading it my look on life was completely changed. If you ever have read it or will read it, you will understand what I mean.

Just so you know if you're considering to buy it, this is coming from a thirteen year old. And although I may be young, I can still tell you quite honestly that I highly recomend buying no matter your age. Some of the topics included though may not be sutible for a younger audience.