We Are Infinite

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Stephen Chbosky

Emily Plummer

Everyone goes through a difficult time in their life. New experiences can freak many people out especially if they went through a traumatic experience. In The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, we are introduced to the main character Charlie who is telling the story by writing letters of what’s happening around him to his unnamed friend by starting off the letter as “Dear Friend.” Due to him writing letters to his “friend” you can instantly tell that he is going through something based on the fact that he’s writing letters to his friend. From the beginning it’s explained how Charlie is a loner and doesn’t have many friends. Throughout the story you go through the journey of Charlie trying to make new friends and trying to fit in, but also discuss his mental health issues.

When Charlie entered high school, he was going in alone, and throughout the first couple days of school, he really struggled trying to fit in with the other kids. It wasn’t until he decided to go the school football game that’s when he saw “Nothing”: Nothing is the name of the boy in his shop class, “now, normally I am very shy, but Nothing seemed like the kind of guy you could just walk up to at a football game even though you were three years younger and not popular” (19). In this moment, Charlie was able to break out of his shell and actually talk to someone. Charlie was also known for being really strange around other people because he didn’t know how to act around others. When he hung out with his what will become his new friends, “this made them laugh because they knew I meant it honest, not show-off” (20). As Charlie spent more time with his new friends, he went to his first ever party and this was the first time he felt any sort of belonging in a really long them, “and the whole group said, ‘To Charlie.’ I didn't know why they did that, but it was very special to me that they did” (38).

I chose this book because I originally watched the movie first because I didn’t know it was a book at first. I loved the movie and I decided to give the book a chance. I do recommend this book to anyone who likes stories that involve teenage dramas. The story moves kind of fast and sometimes there will be random information thrown that doesn’t really make sense but it’s supposed to fill in what's going on throughout the story. My recommendation of the book doesn’t change based on that little thing. It’s still a great book and deserves the recognition.