Personal information about the author

Stephen Chbosky was born on January 25, 1970 in Pittsburgh. He graduated from the University of Southern California’s Filmic Writing Program in 1992. Stephen writes mostly novels, but he is also a screenwriter. He wrote multiple screenplays, such as RENT orthe BBC television series Jericho. He is best-known for his coming of age novel, and movie (which he also directed), Perks of being a wallflower. This book was forbidden at most American schools at first, because the use of drugs and homosexuality was quite explicitly. Chbosky never intended The Perks of Being a Wallflower to be a novel for adolescents; however, its focus on adolescents has caused critics to view it as such. He recived of the Abraham Polonsky Screenwriting Award for his screenplay Everything Divided

Works:

Writing and Editing

The Perks of Being a Wallflower. New York: MTV Books,

1999.

Pieces: A Collection of New Voices. (Editor) New York: Pocket Books, 2000.

Sexaholic. (Co-editor and contributor) Rebel Productions, 2001.

Screenplays and Directing

 The Four Corners of Nowhere.

Rent

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh,

Co-creator, Executive Producer, and Writer of CBS television series Jericho, 2006-2008.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Chbosky

Summary

Charlie is a 15 year old genius, who is starting his first year of high school. This novel is written in letters to an anonymous person, explaining his experiences when they take place. In these letters you learn about his family and friends. He begins his letters by talking about his friend, Michael who has committed suicide. He describes how much he misses him, and about how he and another girl, Susan, used to be best friends. However, things change, and she stops talking to Charlie after middle school. Then he goes on to describe his family. His family consists of himself, his mom, his father, his brother, and his sister. His Aunt Helen was his favorite person in the whole world. However, she got in a terrible car accident and passed away. His father is a very proud and strong man. He has an attitude of whatever he says goes. His mother is usually very quiet and lets her husband handle problems.

 She is a bit emotional, and loves her children very much. His brother is a freshman at Penn State University, and loves cars and models. He is now a football player at school and can only be part of Charlie's life at big events, like family events, holiday dinners, etc. As for his sister, she and Charlie never seem to really get along. She is a senior in high school and has a secret boyfriend throughout the novel. Her boyfriend becomes a secret due to an incident with her boyfriend hitting her and her parents finding out. There is a specific memory that Charlie has when his family was watching the last episode of M*A*S*H and the feeling he got of how everyone was bonding and how much he loved it. He also explains how this bonding hasn't happened again until everyone gathered around the television to watch Charlie's brother play football together.

The friends of Charlie aren't exactly popular and are outcasts themselves. They are all seniors and often hang out at the Big Boy except Bob who doesn't go to school. Charlie meets Patrick through shop class, and approaches him and his sister Sam at a high school football game.

Charlie is the only freshmen of the group of friends and it is clear he has some depression issues especially around Christmas time, when he remembers how his Aunt Helen passed away. She went out to buy Charlie a birthday gift as she does every year, but this time, she got hit by a car and died instantly. He is also a very bright freshman according to his English advance teacher, Bill. Bill often gives Charlie books to read because he says Charlie is smarter than all the other kids and can handle more work. Charlie sees his English teacher as a friend. His teacher gave him as advice: ”we accept love we think we deserve”.Charlie also loves music very much and it shows all throughout the book, especially with his favorite song ''Asleep.'' There is a time when Patrick, Sam and he are in the car driving and he describes this feeling as being infinite. Throughout the novel Charlie learns much about himself, dealing with love, alienation, depression, and mental instability. By the end of the novel, a secret is revealed about Charlie's Aunt Helen. He comes to realize that he had been molested by her and that is why he ends up going back to the same hospital he was in when he was seven years old, around the time his Aunt Helen died.

His friends come to visit him, but he doesn't acknowledge anyone, not even Patrick. He eventually gets released, and when he gets out, he explains how he is who he is for a lot of reasons, and that his aunt Helen abused him at a young age.

 “.. and maybe he'll never know most of them, but even if he doesn't have the power to choose where he has come from, he has the power to choose where he is going from there.”

Literary terms

First person narrator the story is been told in the first person narrator, Charlie writes all his experiences in a diary, and we are reading it.

Perspective this book is written in the form of letters from Charlie to an anonymous recipient

Round character Charlie is a Round character, because in the beginning of the book he is very shy, and his only friend committed suicide. At the end of the book he is less shy, and he made a couple of friends

Main character the main character is Charlie, a genius, but he had no friends at all, and he is a bit of a loner. He goes to a new school, and he tries to make it the best time of his life, but he stays alone, until he meets his new friends, who change his life.

Plot Charlie is, in a word, special, because there is something delightfully off about his brain. In letters to a "Dear Friend," Charlie chronicles his life as a high school freshman, transforming the mundane into a miraculous honest and funny man. He begins the school year friendless and alone thanks to the suicide of his best friend, Michael, the year before. Charlie is determined to make a fresh start and escape the sadness that has threatened to consume him ever since the death of his beloved Aunt Helen. Luckily, he meets Patrick and Sam, a duo that usher him into a brand new world of new experiences, a magical mayhem bursting with possibilities, happiness and, most importantly, participation

Narrated time the whole story is been told in 1 school year

Flashback during the story Charlie has multiple flashbacks to his youth, with his aunt Helen. It’s not really clear what he means, until the end, when we found out that is aunt abused him.

Genres: Realistic Fiction, coming of age novel

Themes

Families

Friends and Enemies

Challenges and Triumphs

The Individual vs. Society

Love, Sex, and Romance

Rating

Vera told me to read this book because she had already read it, and she told me this was genuinely a book for me, so I read it.

I thought that the characters were very believable and easy to relate to. I found Charlie was quite a lot like me- not a loser exactly, but definitely not one of the popular ones. He had his group of friends with Patrick and Sam, and while I found it a little strange that he didn't really have any friends his own age, I actually really did enjoy his story.

The book is written in the form of many letters, written by Charlie, sent to no one in particular, a complete stranger. It was an interesting idea, and I found that it was easier for me to imagine writing to a complete stranger about everything that happened in my life, including the good, the bad and the awkward, than it would be to write to someone I knew and had to see on a regular basis. I felt that this way you learn a lot about him and the way that he thinks.

There was nothing particularly amazing plot-wise - it was just a story of a normal kid going through the normal process of growing up, and determining who he wants to be. I loved that it was so realistic! My only complaint was that it was kind of forgettable... There was nothing that had the wow-factor, for me, and if I had to describe the plot to someone, I'd have difficulty past just saying it's a coming of age novel... It most definitely wasn't boring or anything though!

The Perks of Being a Wallflower was a really good read that while not being particularly life-changing as I'd been promised it would be, it was extremely enjoyable, and I could recommend it to everyone!

I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars!