the perks of being a wallflower

The perks of being a wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky, is one of those commonly banned books (a list of some of which I posted there) and was published in 1999, so it’s definitely a « classic. » It’s often labeled as « young adult literature » because the narrator is young and in high school, but I mostly enjoyed listening to it anyway.

It’s the story of Charlie, as he tells it through letters written to an unknown reader, during his first year of high school. In these letters, Charlie tells stories about his family, his classmates, his teachers, his friends, his readings, the music he likes, and the alcohol and drugs he enjoys. Even though he is a freshman (first year), he meets a group of people who are seniors (fourth year) and who befriend him and help him get through this first year of high school.

Some of the stories are really funny, some are very sad, some are shocking, and many are about sex and drugs and alcohol, which explains why the book is so often banned.

I can’t tell if Charlie’s stories are typical of what high school students go through, but if it is, it’s deeply shocking. Charlie is a bit « special, » probably very smart, probably « on the spectrum, » and he is sometimes very depressed and lonely and feeling awkward in social situations. But I really got to like him and his deadpan analyses of family life and his search for love and belonging.

I was a very awkward and « different » kid, too, and I sometimes understood what Charlie was going through. Some of the critiques out there are very harsh, saying that Charlie is stupid, always crying, and very immature, but I think that a first-year high school kid is indeed young, awkward, a bit stupid at times, immature, and confused, especially if he’s a bit « special. »