The Perks Of Being A Wallflower By Stephen Chbosky

Wallflower (noun)

INFORMAL

a person who has no one to dance with or who feels shy, awkward, or excluded at a party.

"I felt like a miserable wallflower at a boisterous party."

I don't know why I read this book. But I guess I'm glad I did.

Charlie is a Wallflower. He's different, but normal at the same time. He is caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it. In his freshman year of high school, he tries to navigate the rough life of a teenager in the 1990s. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is an interesting moving coming-of-age story, when all you needed was that perfect song, on that perfect drive, to feel infinite. Charlie has a deep connection with music in this book, and this shows throughout the book. Charlie has

Charlie often faces the complicated emotions that comes with being a teenager. One of the most beautiful moments in this book is when Charlie sat in the back of his best friend's truck, (Sam and Patrick) and they fly through the tunnel in their town with the radio blaring through the speakers. The Perfect song was all they needed to forget all their struggles and concerns. “And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.” Charlie writes this quote as the fly down the tunnel, and I think this means that in that moment he feels free, rather than restrained by the constant pressures and trauma of his past and memories. This suggests that Charlie relies on music as he also creates many mixtapes that he shares with friends, his favourite song is "Asleep" by The Smiths, a song which he first listens to as a freshman when he was struggling to make friends. I think he uses music to escape the pressure of high school and forget all his troubles at home. “Things change. And friends leave. Life doesn't stop for

At the start of the book Charlie writes to dear friend for the first time. "I am writing to you because she said you'd listen and understand..." "please don't try and figure out who she is, because then you might figure out who I am." He wrote this letter on the 25th of August 1991, a few months before he started high school. I think it's interesting how Stephen Chbosky uses this way of writing throughout the book. We never find out who "dear friend" is or who "she" is. I think that by writing to someone who knows nothing about him, Charlie feels like he can't be judged and can pour out everything he feels without fear of criticism. His best friends Sam and Patrick also help Charlie through things, and he is with them. Charlie's sister helps him realize the importance of family. She does this when Charlie is having trouble with his relationship with Sam, she tells Charlie that Sam has low self-esteem; and says the same thing about Mary Elizabeth, this might have helped Charlie better understand how to interact with the two, and this then leads to many important plot points. Charlie stands on the fringes of life, but now it's time to see what life's like on the dance