Title: The Perks of Being a Wallflower Author: Stephen Chbosky Published by: MTV Published on: 1 February 1999 Pages: 224
"And in that moment, I swear we were infinite."
-- October 28, 1991, Part 1
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a contemporary young adult novel with letters acting as the narration to its story. Written by our main protagonist, Charlie, these letters were basically him deciding to tell his life story to strangers (read: us) within the pages.
Charlie was a freshman at high school, and as all of us do, first day of high school made him a bundle of nerves with all the new people, new environment, etc. Plus, he kept being reminded of his best friend who'd committed suicide not long ago.
He soon made fast friends with his English teacher who saw the potential in this shy, introverted boy. Being a wallflower, Charlie mostly kept to himself and didn't really socialise with the other students. He was very observant, though, and had a very interesting way of thinking. His English teacher, Bill, assigned books for him to read and write essays on them, with the hope that Charlie could unleash his true potential. Charlie also made friends with his seniors: Patrick and Sam, the latter being the former's sister. I think the plot is rather predictable this way, no? Along with his massive crush on Sam and Patrick's easy going attitude, Charlie's freshman year might just be the shake up this wallflower needed. Even memories he didn't know he had.
They said that before healing, there was hurt. Deep, deep hurt.
EGGLYSIS
Perks is actually a great book, come to think of it. It has a unique format -- those letters are really selling it. By telling the stories as if to us, strangers, readers, Charlie becomes real and more personal. It's like having a new friend trusting us with their deepest, darkest secret.
Plot-wise, it's your typical young adult/coming of age book. The ups and downs, the highs and lows of being a teenager in high school, with all its drama. While Sam can feel rather manic-pixie-dream-girl-y, Patrick is a national treasure that needs to be protected. Honestly, he's my favourite of the whole story, and a part of me wished either Ezra Miller didn't play him in the movie or Ezra Miller didn't become this problematic (writing from 2022, y'alls).
Alas, I think there's a reason target audience is an important aspect whenever a book is to be published. Perks was definitely written with teens and young adults as its main target, which I definitely am not. It felt a bit nostalgic though, as the story is set in the 90s. I always love that decade, though I wasn't a teenage then, lol.
Overall, The Perks of Being a Wallflower...
