Review of “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”

The novel “The perks of being a wallflower” written by Stephen Chbosky describes a school year of a 15 year old boy named Charlie. He writes letters to an anonymous person about his fears and thoughts about friends, sex, love, alcohol, drugs and the conflict he has in the new high school. The plot takes place in the years 1991 and 1992 in an outskirt of Pittsburgh.

The book is a masterpiece of the author although there are many books describing the growing up of a teenager. The whole novel consists of letters Charlie is writing during the time of his first high school year. He can’t approach anyone and he has to go alone to the first year of high school. In the beginning he is in a depressing mood, because of the death of Charlie’s aunt Helen and his best friend Michael, but when Charlie meets his new friends and his love during the novel his mood turns better and better. Charlie describes his feelings so well in his letters that you can easily share them. At first Charlie does not take much interest in his environment because he is very shy and emotional, but during the novel and the time with Sam and Patrick he collects experiences with girls and how they act. I like the way Charlie acts even though he is a little bit too emotional and cries a lot. Finally the book is an outstanding example how stories about teenager and their problems should be written.

Alban