Sitting there and putting everybody’s lives ahead of yours does not always count as love. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is a young-adult novel that explores a teen boy’s progression of mental health through themes of family, identity, and observance as he navigates being a high school freshman. Within the unique epistolary writing style, Chbosky highlights the character’s mental journey through the blossoming of vulnerability. Set in Pittsburgh, Charlie, a 15-year-old boy finds himself writing letters to the reader addressing them as a “friend.” The reader will follow along as he recovers from the traumas of losing two people in his life, his best friend Michael and his Aunt Helen only to find himself an outcast for the first few weeks of a new school year. Being observant of everything around him, his letters become diary entries— recording himself meeting new friends, experimenting with lucidity, making mix tapes representing his mood, dealing with bullies, and repressing spiraling trauma. Within discovering his identity, he finds himself having the label of a “wallflower,” becoming a witness of his friends’ secrets and lives, making an effort to mend his relationship with his siblings, and essentially deflecting how to cope with his anxiety. The nostalgic nature of Charlie as he tries to reinvent himself with a persona speaks volumes to a common theme of main characters in coming-of-age novels trying to fit into a particular label. Although his trials of containing the romantic feelings that surround him towards his best friend, Sam, are not conventional, he tries to search for closure with what is reality and what is in his head. Chbosky’s writing gave me a sense of empathy for teens that may experience the misplacement of self-discovery but find acceptance in the process. The imaginative language when Charlie had flashbacks instantly transported me to how he feels when he is not in control of his scattered mind. The realistic dialogue appears when Charlie remembers what the people in his life say as if he were having a conversation with them. Despite the connotations of negative themes of the novel such as depression, friendship breakups, and mental health, the author brings some positive aspects to Charlie’s realization of why being a “wallflower” is not always the best option for what life offers as excessive selflessness has its consequences. Additionally, his small lessons of participating in life rather than watching it pass by hold great value to any audience of readers. Many teens of this current generation will find this novel to be a reality check for the theme of maturing and validation. Overall, this novel deserves a 5/5 star rating and will always be a favorite of mine.
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