The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

It is revealed that Sam was sexually abused as a child, and she kisses Charlie to ensure that his first kiss is from someone who truly loves him. Charlie quickly develops a consuming crush on Sam and subsequently admits this to her. Patrick is secretly dating Brad, a football player, and Sam is Patrick's stepsister. Although he is a wallflower, Charlie is befriended by two seniors: Patrick and Sam. His caring English teacher, who encourages Charlie to call him Bill, notices Charlie's passion for reading and writing, and acts as a mentor by assigning him extracurricular books and reports. Throughout the 1991–1992 academic year, Charlie, the fifteen-year-old protagonist, begins writing letters about his own life to an unknown recipient addressed, 'dear friend.' In these letters, he discusses his freshman year of high school and his struggles with two traumatic experiences: the suicide of his only middle-school friend, Michael Dobson, and the death of his favorite aunt, Helen. The film boosted the novel's sales, and the book reached The New York Times Best Seller list. In 2012, Chbosky adapted and directed a film version starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, and Ezra Miller. Because of the mentioned themes, it was banned in some American schools for its content. The novel addresses themes permeating adolescence, including sexuality, drug use, rape, and mental health, while also making several references to other literary works, films, and pop culture in general. The novel details Charlie's unconventional style of thinking as he navigates between the worlds of adolescence and adulthood, and attempts to deal with poignant questions spurred by his interactions with both his friends and family.Ĭhbosky took five years to develop and publish The Perks of Being a Wallflower, creating the characters and other aspects of the story from his own memories.

Set in the early 1990s, the novel follows Charlie, an introverted and observant child, through his freshman year of high school in a Pittsburgh suburb. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a coming-of-age epistolary novel by American writer Stephen Chbosky, which was first published on February 1, 1999, by Pocket Books.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky