The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a novel written by Stephen Chbosky, and published in February 1999. The book is set in a suburban neighborhood near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the 1990s, and explores the underlying desires to understand people and their complexities, and the idea that although humans do bad things, they aren’t innately bad, through a series of letters written by the high school boy, Charlie. 

The book is written in letters from Charlie to an anonymous person whom Charlie seems to think of as a good person who understands. Similar to diaries these letters detail what he is going through. The first couple of letters write about Charlie in his freshman year of high school, who is grappling with memories of two traumatic deaths, a suicide by his friend, Michael, and one where his aunt died. He is quiet but thoughtful and observant, always starting with, “Dear friend,” and ending with, “Love always, Charlie.” His letters serve as a sort of diary entry, as the letters are anonymous and his “friend,” never writes back. During his freshman year, he meets two free-spirited seniors, Patrick and Sam, who are helping him to gain a larger social circle and guide him through unfamiliar situations he is learning to interpret and understand. Charlie’s life is colored with a series of traumatic events, including sexual abuse, suicide, and death, that pair along with his mental health struggles and the feelings of isolation, sometimes caused by observing others in pain. However, with the help of his new friends, he can find solace in music and literature and can find joy in friendship and love. Charlie makes a mistake that damages his friendship, leading him to feel alone when his friends distance themselves. After a reconciliation with his friends, Charlie starts to be more involved with drugs such as LSD making him pass out in the snow later. As the school year ends, his close friends are going to college, leaving him alone to find his way in high school. Charlie has a mental breakdown, and he is hospitalized and given therapy, which helps him to face his traumatic past and begin healing. 

At the end of the book, Charlie learns to confront his past and to participate more fully in life. It is an astounding end to a beautifully written book that details the life of a teenager very well.