The Perks of Being a Wallflower

“I just listened to the music, and breathed in the day, and remembered things.”

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is Stephen Chbosky’s debut novel. Despite being written in 1999, the themes of friendship, mental health, love, and purpose that are woven into the book still stand true today. The Perks of Being a Wallflower’s story is told through a series of letters sent to an anonymous recipient. The letters are written by Charlie, and they detail his life as he experiences his first year of high school, with everything good and bad that comes with it. 

At the beginning of the novel, Charlie is dealing with the loss of his best friend, Michael. He feels incredibly lonely at school, where he mainly keeps to himself, until one day when he meets Sam and Patrick, a pair of siblings who introduce him to their friend group. Charlie finds comfort in them, feeling like he can talk more openly about their shared interests and his emotions. Charlie is very much in his own head; the letters are evidence of this. The tone of each letter is drastically different from the last, showing how he deals with grief, love, sadness, anger, and confusion.

“It’s strange to describe reading a book as a really great experience, but that’s kind of how it felt.”

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is the poster child of the “Coming of Age” genre, exploring the innermost feelings of a teenager as Charlie experiences his most formative years. Chbosky makes Charlie seem less like a character and more like a friend. As the reader, you understand and empathize with him and his situation more and more with each letter. Chbosky makes you cry with Charlie, laugh with Charlie, and grow with Charlie. Stephen Chbosky’s talent is not confined to his pages, either. He not only wrote the book, but he also directed the movie. In my opinion, The Perks of Being a Wallflower movie is one of the best book-to-movie adaptations of the 2010s. Every character is adapted perfectly; their on-screen counterparts are exactly how I imagined them while reading the book.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a love letter to emotions, a celebration of friendship, and an encouragement to live. If you ever feel yourself standing on the fringes of life, just remember that Charlie made it, and so will you.