Citation:
Chbosky, S. (2006). The perks of
being a wallflower. New York, NY: Recorded
Books.
Summary:
Told in an epistolary style, “Charlie”
(an alias), writes to a person anonymously about his life throughout his
freshman year of high school. Charlie is not really someone that “fits in”
easily. As a matter of fact, many folks call him a freak. He is a quirky and
very sensitive young man, who doesn’t make friends easily. His only friend from
middle school has committed suicide, and he starts the high school journey
nervous and alone. He shares his experience of meeting Patrick and his step-sister
Sam, and becoming part of a group of eclectic friends that appreciate him for
who he is. Charlie likes Sam romantically, but she has let him know that she
doesn’t care for him the same way. As the year progresses, his new friends
expose him to a wide range of new experiences (some illegal); and, the
friendships morph in different ways. Charlie is extremely smart and insightful,
and this is nurtured by an English teacher that takes an interest in helping
Charlie to develop his writing style and introduces him to many different types
of novels. Throughout the year Charlie has been seeing a psychiatrist who asks
him a lot of questions about his childhood that seem irrelevant to him; but,
with each passing new experience with his friends, Charlie comes closer and
closer to the cause of his strange and disconnected behavior.
Impressions:
I found the book very thoughtful
and honest. I appreciated the format of letter writing to someone that didn’t
know Charlie as a means of fostering/eliciting complete honesty from the
character. There are some very “adult” topics addressed in this book: sex, homosexuality, drugs, masturbation,
suicide, depression, teen pregnancy, abortion, and molestation. Talk about potential
for controversy. I must say however, that I feel all of these topics are
handled very well, in that the character does not take them lightly, they are
not spoken of in a crass or derogatory way. Instead, the audience walks with
Charlie as he unpacks his thoughts on these topics, and learns more about the
human experience.
Usage in a Library:
This is obviously a book you need
to be careful with promoting, as it needs to be in the hands of those mature
teenagers that can appreciate it for its literary merit rather than someone who
just want to read it for its shock value. It could definitely be used as part
of a banned books presentation in some way. It may also be very valuable to
collaborate with the Communities in Schools (CIS) mentors or the school
counselors to hold a seminar on coming of age issues in the library and share
this as one of the books that can help teenagers think about the challenges
they face through the eyes of a character.
Review:
Charlie is an outsider,
a typical wallflower. He gets bullied at school and prefers taking the forty
minute walk home instead of the school bus. Charlie is sixteen years old and
when he starts high school, his life is going to change forever.
Isn't this a familiar
set-up, don't we already know these stories where the loser turns out to be the
really cool, popular guy? Well all this is true too for The Perks of Being a
Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, but just wait and you will find so much more.
This book is going to catch and surprise you every time you turn a page.
In a series of letters
written by Charlie and sent to an anonymous person we learn about his life, his
new friends, his family and especially Charlie himself. He writes about school
and his English teacher, Bill, who gives Charlie extra books to read. Charlie
then writes essays about them. He would like to become a writer someday.
Charlie himself is a
mystery. He has mental problems, gets angry, sees things and then passes out.
Right before he started high school his best friend shot himself, but there is
also another, worse reason for his problems. At school Charlie meets Patrick and
Sam, both of whom are outsiders too, just cooler ones. Patrick is gay and
before his stepsister Sam introduced him to "good" music, he was a
popular kid. They introduce Charlie to all kinds of new things. Parties, drugs
and rock music become new parts of Charlie's life and for the first time he
knows what it really means to have good friends.
What makes this book so
special and authentic is its reality. As an adult it takes you back to when you
were a teenager, as a child it shows you what lies ahead and as a teenager it
inspires you. And as we all know there is no other time when finding out who
you are and where you belong to is more immediate than when you are a teenager.
Review Citation:
Readr. (2013,
January 20). The perks of being a wallflower (review). The Guardian. Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2013/jan/20/review-perks-being-wallflower-stephen-chbosky
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