On February 1, 1999 bloomed a new book called The Perks of Being a Wallflower. This young adult novel was written by Stephen Chbosky. Young Chbosky was born in the suburb of Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania. Chbosky wasn’t an only child; he had a sister named Stacey. When Chbosky got older he grew to like a blend of the classics, horror, and fantasy. After graduating from high school Stephen met Stewart Stern, who is a screenwriter. Stewart was a mentor and friend of Stephen. What really influenced Stephen to write the Perks of Being a Wallflower was when he was writing a completely different book. Chbosky says that when he wrote the line, “I guess that’s just one of the perks of being a wallflower.” That’s when he realized that he was writing the wrong thing and he began writing The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Stephen also says that he can relate to Charlie but at the same time his high school life was very different.
I think the characters in this book are very advanced, and portray actual individuals very well. Charlie, the main character, is very sweet and confused teenage boy who is a freshman in high school. He doesn’t understand why people do certain things and that makes him very innocent, but then Samantha and Patrick (two seniors who become Charlie’s best friends) introduce Charlie into their crazy high school life. All of that includes parties, love, and alcohol. Without them Charlie would have never become who is he is in the book. I think that the way the three main characters rely on each other really draws the reader into the plot. The book starts out with Charlie’s problem socializing in high school and then once he meets Patrick and Sam he starts going through drama with girls and personal family problems. When I put it that way it sounds like any other ordinary book but Charlie the character really changes the story completely.
I would recommend this book to any high school student. It is a good read and I think that anyone who picks this book up will enjoy it. I do have to warn you, you will become emotionally attached and it isn’t even a series. Anyone in high school can somewhat relate to what Charlie is going through. That might be why most young adults like the book. You can easily picture yourself in that situation. It was a good book and I would give it five stars. We can all learn something from the characters form this book, and at the end it really leaves you thinking about it. It lingers in your mind and makes you want to read it over and over again. So if you are looking for time to kill pick up The Perks of Being a Wallflower.