Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower
jai avatar reviewed on + 310 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 10


This book is a series of letters written to an unknown friend by Charlie - a quiet young man who lives mostly in his head. These letters span about a year from the start of his freshman year in high school, as Charlie starts to learn how to "participate" in life instead of watching. He makes friends with some seniors who take him under their wing and seem to be understanding about his innocence. Charlie is a very unusual character - quiet, observant and thinks a lot about what he sees, seemingly highly sensitive and prone to crying, and unsure about how to interact with people comfortably. He seems very intelligent and yet strange. I had a feeling like.. something is up here, something I don't know, so I had to keep reading not only to find out about his high school experiences (which were hilarious, sad, crazy, unexpected and wonderful all wrapped up in one), but also to figure him out. I really had a good time reading this book - Charlie feels like a sweet kid everyone knows and is fond of, and I just zipped through this, but I want to go back and revisit.