Are you misunderstood every day, and feel like you’re alone in a dark world? Unable to understand why everything horrible happens to you? Well The Perks of Being a Wallflower describes this exact feel. A gunshot is what took Charlie’s only friend away from him, and ultimately leaves Charlie on his first day of high school, alone. Due to Charlie being helpless and alone, he decides to focus on the idea of “participating.” With the extra load of depression from his friend committing suicide, he still needs to deal with the same problems usually every teenager must go through their first years of high school and this can be from teen angst, drugs, sex, cliques, and the all-powerful mind of women.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is in the form of letters that are written by Charlie, the main character. This form was extremely interesting to me because I felt like I knew Charlie as a close friend towards the end of the book. Every letter in the book transitions greatly to the next, so that you are not confused and left misdirected. This style of writing a novel is better because it stands out amongst other books, instead of the same page after page transition that mostly all books contain.

The images that this novel creates are greatly detailed. “When we got out of the tunnel, Sam screamed this really fun scream, and there it was. Downtown. Lights on buildings and everything that makes you wonder” (page 39). The descriptive words in these brief sentences give me the image of downtown, and the lights that fill the night sky, while this group of friends take in the enjoyment of their high school life. This is only a taste of how well Stephen Chbosky can indent the visual perspective of Charlie throughout the book.

If you are trying to find a new book to read, pick this one. It describes to you the challenges that a misunderstood teenager goes through. By the end of the book you create a lifelong bond to Charlie and his life. You are able to witness firsthand the action and events that occur in Charlie’s freshman year and understand who he really is. This book will cause you to “gasp” several times, make you short of breath, but will not let you put it down.