Book Reviews

Book Review on “The Perks Of Being A Wallflower” By Stephen Chbosky

Literature has a way of making its imprint on the ages in which it was written.  From its inception in the 1950s all the way through to the present day, “The Catcher In The Rye” by JD Salinger has been the most popular “coming of age” novel for every generation, even banned as it was from high school libraries.  In the 1990s, however, a novel was published that quickly became a close second to Salinger’s masterpiece, called  “The Perks Of Being A Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky – a little book that quickly became a phenomenon among high schol kids all across the country, and has grown into a phenomenon for readers of all ages; for any teenager looking for a terrific “coming of age” tale, or for anyone else looking for a great book, this is a wonderful piece of literature to consider picking up.

“The Perks Of Being A Wallflower” is comprised entirely of letters from a high school freshman named “Charlie” (which, as he admits in an early letter, is not his real name) to a recipient who is never revealed, and who does not know who Charlie is. For Charlie, the recipient of these letters functions the way a journal would function - becoming a person to whom he can share his thoughts, dreams, fears, and secrets, and in this way, the reader is also able to look into Charlie’s mind.  This app0roach is a great way for kids to really connect with Charlie, as well, because they can establish a line of connection between themselves and their own thoughts and the thoughts of Charlie.  In this way, today’s kids may realize that they are not alone in their struggles with fitting in and peer relations.  It hits home in a way that your parents telling you “I remember what it was like” never will.

Although the approach the novel takes (“a novel written in letters”) leads some to imagine the novel might be boring, the approach is pulled off with a grace and quickness of writing that makes “The Perks Of Being A Wallflower” one of those books that you truly cannot put down.

Throughout the book, Charlie goes through what some might consider to be an unrealistic amount of problems, issues, and experiences for a single high school freshman to go through in a single year – but this is also part of the beauty of the novel, as it becomes an encapsulation of the issues a modern-day high school student might encounter.  In addition, without problems, what fun would the novel be?  As unlikely as popular titles like the Harry Potter series, where Harry went through life threatening situations in every year of his schooling at Hogwarts?  We all know how well the Harry Potter novels did!

This novel had a major impact on an entire generation of readers, and as time passes, the book becomes more and more of a “classic”; regardless of whether you are a high school student, a new reader, or an old reader, you are sure to find something to appreciate in “The Perks Of Being A Wallflower.”