Bibliographic
Information
The Perks of Being
a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. MTV Books. (2012).
Price: $14.00 for paperback
Pages: 224 for paperback
Note: This was originally published in 1999.
Plot Summary
Afraid of attending high school, Charlie begins to write
a series of letters to an anonymous friend to ease his anxiety. In his letters
he tells of how he makes friends with two seniors, Patrick who is great at shop
class, and Sam, who is beautiful, clever, and funny. Together, the three of
them attend various parties and discuss deep topics. Charlie also relates
stories about his extended family, of dysfunctional holidays spent together, of
him missing his older brother who is away at Penn State, and of his perpetually
angry sister who seems to consistently make poor dating choices. Charlie starts
dating a girl against his better judgment which eventually alienates him from
his friends when he causes the girl emotional distress by being honest with
her, albeit in a roundabout way. In the end, however, Charlie learns a great
deal about himself and the world around him throughout his first year in high
school all of which he communicates to his mysterious friend.
Critical
Evaluation
I am sure that I am not the only one left confused by
The Perks of Being a Wallflower. This is
the type of book one finishes and sits looking off into space for a few minutes
before muttering “Huh…that was interesting”. It’s not that
Perks doesn’t have its brilliant moments such as Bill noting that
we accept the love we think we deserve or Charlie’s keen insights into the
world; however, Chbosky is a master at dancing around an issue (p. 24). Many
things throughout the novel are left vague such as the character of Charlie’s
sister’s boyfriend (not to mention the name of Charlie’s sister). Are readers
to believe Charlie’s parents’ opinion of him, that he is abusive and not good
for Charlie’s sister? Or are readers to believe the account of Charlie’s sister,
that her boyfriend never hit her ever again and is a truly wonderful person? Other
nebulous plot points include the exact nature of Patrick’s relationship with
Brad (simply sexual or something more?), the nature of the abuse Sam suffered
in her past, and perhaps the biggest of all, the state of Charlie’s mental
health. In fact, I couldn’t help but wonder throughout the entirety of the
novel if Charlie was meant to simply be naïve or if he was actually on the high
end of the autism spectrum with a condition like Asperger’s. This bothered me
so much that I, at times, had difficulty appreciating the plot of the novel. In
the end, I felt that Charlie must be autistic as he seemed to have a great deal
of trouble relating to people emotionally while he was constantly caught up in
his own thoughts.
Some may feel that the novel has too many controversial
elements in it, however, like the many mysteries contained within the book,
Chbosky manages to skirt around most of these elements with a brief mention
here or there. For example, underage cigarette smoking is seen throughout the
novel but it’s there more for background than anything else. In the end, I
think most readers will be somewhat confused after reaching the book’s
conclusion not just because of Chbosky’s deliberate vagueness but because there
doesn’t seem to a point to the book. I suppose some would call it a coming-of-age
story but most of the characters do not change throughout the course of the
novel. Overall, the book is an adequate story but it is difficult to see how it
ever became a modern classic.
Reader’s Annotation
Fifteen-year-old Charlie pens a series of letters to an
anonymous friend telling about his everyday life during his first year in high
school.
About the
Author
While Stephen Chbosky is an author he is also involved in
the film industry. He has created numerous films including his first, The Four
Corners of Nowhere. He also wrote the screenplay for RENT and co-created the
television series Jericho. His most recent project was producing the film
version of his book The Perks of Being a
Wallflower.
His name is pronounced: Stephen Sh-bosk-eee
Listen to this
51 second explanation from Stephen Chbosky
on how to pronounce his name and why it is spelled the way it is.
Visit these sites to learn more about Stephen Chbosky
here
and
here.
Genre
Coming of age, Epistolatory novel,
LGBTQ, Realistic fiction
Readalikes
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green
·
A story featuring male LGBTQ supporting characters.
Also a coming of age story.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
·
Also considered hipster literature and some think of Perks being the modern day Catcher
in the Rye
Am I Blue?: Coming
Out of the Silence edited by Marion Dane Bauer
·
A collection of short stories with LGBTQ themes.
Tags
15 yr. old, 16 yr. old, classic literature, cycle of
abuse, driving, Freshman, inspirational teacher, Rocky Horror Picture Show, youngest
child
Awards
Won/Lists On
2000—ALA Best Books for Young Adults
2000—ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
2002—ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults
Professional
Reviews
Publishers Weekly
School Library Journal
Booktalk Ideas
“We accept the love we think we deserve” (24)
·
Aunt Rebecca marries abusive people (87)
·
Charlie’s sister lets herself be hit
·
Sam dates Craig although he doesn’t really see
her
·
Patrick agrees to keep his relationship a secret
Bibliotherapeutic
Usefulness
This book could be used to help others understand the
effects of abuse. For example, Charlie has managed to block out the event, Sam
was possibly sexually promiscuous, and Sam’s sister felt that she deserved to
be hit by her boyfriend.
Reading
Level/Interest Level
Reading Level: 5th grade
Interest Level: 9th-12th grade
Challenge
Issues
This book includes the following potentially
controversial elements:
·
Abusive father
·
Suicide
·
Teens having sex
·
Premarital sex
·
Frank discussion of masturbation
·
Rape
·
Slight profanity
·
Marijuana usage
·
Gay characters
·
Underage cigarette smoking
·
Homosexual slurs
·
Underage drinking
·
Sexually abusive friend of parent
·
Sexually abusive relative
·
Taking the Lord’s name in vain
·
Child molestation
·
LSD usage
·
Teen pregnancy
·
Abortion
·
Sexual hook-ups
·
Cohabitation
Librarians can point out that while this book contains a
ton of potentially controversial topics it can be used as a way to discuss such
topics with teens. For example, as the discussion guide at the back of the
reprint asks, are Charlie’s friends a good or bad influence? (p. 215)
Why Was This
Included?
I wanted to read this because I knew it was frequently
featured on challenged book lists and because it is considered a classic.
