

When it all becomes too much, after a shocking realization about his beloved late Aunt Helen, Charlie retreats from reality for awhile. With the help of a teacher who recognizes his wisdom and intuition, and his two friends, seniors Samantha and Patrick, Charlie mostly manages to avoid the depression he feels creeping up like kudzu. It's like looking at all the students and wondering who's had their heart broken that day, and how they are able to cope with having three quizzes and a book report due on top of that. And I wonder how smart they were when they were fifteen. I look at the teachers and wonder why they're here. I walk around the school hallways and look at the people. Charlie's letters take on the intimate feel of a journal as he shares his day-to-day thoughts and feelings: Charlie encounters the same struggles that many kids face in high school-how to make friends, the intensity of a crush, family tensions, a first relationship, exploring sexuality, experimenting with drugs-but he must also deal with his best friend's recent suicide. We learn about Charlie through the letters he writes to someone of undisclosed name, age, and gender, a stylistic technique that adds to the heart-wrenching earnestness saturating this teen's story. He's a wallflower-shy and introspective, and intelligent beyond his years, if not very savvy in the social arts. And while's he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. What is most notable about this funny, touching, memorable first novel from Stephen Chbosky is the resounding accuracy with which the author captures the voice of a boy teetering on the brink of adulthood. "synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it, Charlie must learn to navigate those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.Ī #1 New York Times best seller for more than a year, an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults (2000) and Best Book for Reluctant Readers (2000), and with millions of copies in print, this novel for teen readers (or “wallflowers” of more-advanced age) will make you laugh, cry, and perhaps feel nostalgic for those moments when you, too, tiptoed onto the dance floor of life. Devastating loss, young love, and life on the fringes. Sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. First dates, family drama, and new friends. The critically acclaimed debut novel from Stephen Chbosky, Perks follows observant “wallflower” Charlie as he charts a course through the strange world between adolescence and adulthood. Also a major motion picture starring Logan Lerman and Emma Watson, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a funny, touching, and haunting modern classic. Read the cult-favorite coming of age story that takes a sometimes heartbreaking, often hysterical, and always honest look at high school in all its glory.
