The Perks of Being A Wallflower

Citation

Chbosky, S. (1999). The Perks of Being a Wallflower. New York, NY: Pocket Books.

Description

Read the cult-favorite coming of age story that takes a sometimes heartbreaking, often hysterical, and always honest look at high school in all its glory. Now a major motion picture starring Logan Lerman and Emma Watson, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a funny, touching, and haunting modern classic.

The critically acclaimed debut novel from Stephen Chbosky, Perks follows observant “wallflower” Charlie as he charts a course through the strange world between adolescence and adulthood. First dates, family drama, and new friends. Sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Devastating loss, young love, and life on the fringes. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it, Charlie must learn to navigate those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.

A #1 New York Times best seller for more than a year, an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults (2000) and Best Book for Reluctant Readers (2000), and with millions of copies in print, this novel for teen readers (or “wallflowers” of more-advanced age) will make you laugh, cry, and perhaps feel nostalgic for those moments when you, too, tiptoed onto the dance floor of life.

Coming of Age Fiction, Epistolary Fiction

Scholarly Review

Gr 9 Up --An epistolary narrative cleverly places readers in the role of recipients of Charlie's unfolding story of his freshman year in high school. From the beginning, Charlie's identity as an outsider 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 boyfriend's 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.

[School Library Journal, 1999]

My Analysis

Stephen Chbosky's novel is told through Charlie’s perspective as told through letters to an unnamed friend. He becomes friends with seniors Patrick and Sam, and, through that friendship, learns about and explores issues of first love, sex and masturbation, pregnancy and abortion, homosexuality, drugs, and sexual abuse. The way Chbosky writes is subtle and stunning because he inputs short scenes that make you feel to your core and leave you heartbroken. I can see why this novel has had so much popularity and success because, even though it can be hard to read in places, it is very realistic and portrays experiences that readers can relate to. Yes, it can be “explicit” in places, but for a lot of teenagers, this is a reality. The writing is honest, and readers will gain empathy for the characters. Charlie survived his experiences and grew into himself, becoming a better person. Sometimes the point isn’t the destination, but the journey.

Tags

high school, sexual abuse, coming of age, friendship

Usage

I think this book would be great for a comparative analysis between the book and the movie. This is such a popular book among teenagers that I think they would enjoy getting a chance to read the book and watch the movie. It would also make a good book in a high school book club (or young adult book club in a public library). There are a lot of topics in this book that would make for great discussion.

Awards

2014 Michael L. Printz Honor Book for Excellence in Young Adult Literature

Censorship

The organization Parents Against Bad Books in School (PABBIS) in Fairfax, Virginia challenged this book because it “contains profanity and descriptions of drug abuse, sexually explicit conduct, and torture.” This book was also one of the most challenged book of 2009.

http://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=1525

References

Chamberlain, K. (2010). Spotlight on censorship - the perks of being a wallflower. Retrieved from http://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=1525

Goldsmith, F. (1999). Grades 5 & Up: Fiction. School Library Journal, 45(6), 126. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.uky.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=4&sid=16a26ab0-a80e-4019-b0c1-2f1d328f41a5%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=2971456&db=a9h

Simon & Schuster. (n.d.). The Perks of Being a Wallflower details. Retrieved from http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Perks-of-Being-a-Wallflower/Stephen-Chbosky/9781451696202