K Brasher
Mrs. Smith
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Chbosky, Stephen The Perks of Being a Wallflower
MTV Books: 1999
Heart
Borders $11.20
Fiction
213 pages
Does high school ever seem tough? Well nothing can be compared to a young freshman named Charlie. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is the story of a boy living in the early 1990’s. The story is written in the form of letters to an anonymous person, who he considers a friend and the only one who will listen. Charlie, the main character, begins high school completely friendless after the death of his best friend. He becomes just like the title of the book suggests a wallflower. He observes others and is the witness to what is going on in the school. After roaming the halls alone for weeks he meets his future best friends Sam and her stepbrother Patrick. They introduce him to many new things including drugs, alcohol, girls and even the Rocky Horror Picture Show. When his past catches up to him, he learns an unsettling truth about his Aunt Helen. This truth even ends up putting Charlie in the hospital
The setting of this story is really of no importance. He tells the person he is writing to that everyone must be kept anonymous. The only place of any significance is the Big Boy where they hang out a lot. Given the clues and places they go it appears they live in the city somewhere in the Midwest.
The readability of this story is good. Chbosky does an excellent job of revealing Charlie’s thoughts and emotions in a style that’s not confusing. The plot is kept interesting because the story is written through letters telling the story of Charlie with no other side plots.
I think it is a very good and interesting book. Charlie’s life is very much relatable to our own. Although he makes some decisions most of us wouldn’t, we can all relate to the pressure he gets from home school and friends.
3 comments:
I would read this book because it takes you through the life of a boy. One who doesn't have many things at first, but throughout the book he learns many things and expierences and changes because of the things he has learned. This book appeals to me because it is targeted towards teenagers and truly defines the defination of a shy teenager just coming out of there shell.
I think I would enjoy reading this book. I like reading books that are written in letter form. You said that Charlie goes through the same stuff we do and the same pressures, so it sounds like it would be very esay to connect with.
This is a book I would read because is clearly shows through letters the growth one boy went through and how he leanred to trust in himself.
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