The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Stephen Chbosky (1999)
“A teenager writes anonymous letters to a stranger about his first year of high school — and slowly reveals a trauma he can't yet name.”
At a Glance
Fifteen-year-old Charlie writes a series of confessional letters to an anonymous 'friend' during his freshman year of high school in Pittsburgh. Socially isolated and recovering from the suicide of his best friend Michael, Charlie befriends seniors Sam and Patrick, who introduce him to Rocky Horror, parties, and the richness of being young. By year's end, a repressed memory of childhood sexual abuse by his beloved Aunt Helen surfaces. Charlie is hospitalized, recovers, and emerges — tentatively — into life.
Read full summary →Why This Book Matters
Published by a small independent press (Pocket Books/MTV Books) in 1999, the novel spread almost entirely by word of mouth among teenagers who passed dog-eared copies to each other. By 2012 — when Chbosky's film adaptation arrived — it had sold over a million copies. It became the definitive text for a generation of teenagers navigating mental illness, trauma, LGBTQ+ identity, and the experience of feeling like you're watching life from outside the glass. It is now one of the most frequently banned books in American schools.
Diction Profile
Conversational — simple vocabulary, short declarative sentences, present-tense emotional reports
Low