The Perks of Being a Wallflower

“Dear friend,

I am writing to you because she said you listen and understand and didn’t try to sleep with that person at that party even though you could have. Please don’t try to figure out who she is because then you might figure out who I am, and I really don’t want you to do that. I will call people by different names or generic names because I don’t want you to find me. I didn’t enclose a return address for the same reason. I mean nothing bad by this. Honest.

I just need to know that someone out there listens and understands and doesn’t try to sleep with people even if they could have. I need to know that these people exist.”

Everyone, no matter what their age, needs to know that these people exist. People who listen and understand. For Charlie, it’s that he needs someone to listen as he tries to make sense of his new beginning in high school. Charlie’s days are spent noticing the details of the world around him. He sees what most people are too busy to see, too busy rushing through life.

Charlie’s story is a modern coming-of-age tale, similar to The Catcher in the Rye. The Catcher in the Rye’s main character, Holden Caulfield, is similar to Charlie, but much harder to connect with. Holden comes from an old-fashioned era, so his language and actions are somewhat foreign to today’s teens. He comes across brash at times, and even outspoken. Charlie, on the other hand, is soft and likeable, and easy to relate to. He goes through the typical teenage crises of drugs, the intrigue of older, more experienced friends, and self discovery. Holden is a rebel of all sorts whereas Charlie is a quiet rebel, searching and discovering his way through his freshman year of high school. His encounters with new older friends, drugs, sex and young love all bond together to shape this young wallflower as his high school career takes off.

“Sam tapped her hand on the steering wheel. Patrick held his hand outside the car and made air waves. And I just sat between them. After the song finished, I said something.

‘I feel infinite.’

And Sam and Patrick looked at me like I said the greatest thing they ever heard. Because the song was that great and because we all really paid attention to it. Five minutes of a lifetime were truly spent, and we felt young in a good way.”

Read Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower and I guarantee those minutes of your lifetime will be truly well spent.