The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

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 mixed 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.

This is a coming-of-age story, set in a high school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Charlie is an introvert and feels awkward and lost trying to get to grips with the cliques and relationships of high school. He prefers to be a ‘wallflower’, watching rather than participating in the action around him. Things change when he is befriended by two seniors – Patrick and his stepsister Sam – and he develops a crush on Sam. All three of them, however, are dealing with some serious personal issues in their present and past, not necessarily realising how serious the issues are because that is their own normality.

Charlie is pushed beyond his comfort zone in all of the ways that come with being a teenager. He becomes increasingly self-aware as he navigates the experiences that that age brings – the usual high school dramas (that seem so important at the time but much less important in retrospect) as well as attempting to deal with situations that are bigger than he and his friends can solve. At times he feels bewildered and overwhelmed, not having any template for how to approach or process these issues.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is written in short diary entries by Charlie. Although he feels different to his peers, he is relatable to the reader in that most of us will know how it is to feel like the odd one out, not realising that everyone else feels like that too. The book is easy to read in terms of its style but it addresses complex circumstances and feelings. It caused me to feel simultaneously nostalgic for those years of secondary school and glad to have come through the other side having learnt some of the lessons Charlie learns.