The Perks of Being a Wallflower

A sweet, sensitive rite of passage YA novel, featuring that most magical of places to be a teen: Pittsburgh. Seriously. This is speaking from experience: and fellow Pittsburgher Chbosky likewise tics the boxes of a 1990s Pittsburghese teendom - the Rocky Horror midnight showings, the beautiful and profound experience of driving out of Fort Pitt tunnel to see the city at night (“I feel infinite” indeed!), its rich and varied cultural scene. And, of course, the vibe of living in a (post?) working class steel town. I love it. Chbosky loves it. And Chbosky tender narrator, Charlie, loves it too.

Written in the form of confessional letters that Charlie sends to an anonymous “Friend”, we learn about his first year in high school. The usual torments of being a freshman are compounded by Charlie's particular, personal tragedies: a friend who recently committed suicide, a beloved aunt who was killed in a car accident years ago. Like Holden Caulfield or the kid from “A Separate Peace” (two novels which are both featured in the story and act as obvious genre predecessors), Charlie is sensitive - he suffers keenly. Unlike Holden Caulfield - and refreshingly - Charlie is a lot less narcissistic/obsessed with authenticity/being cool. Charlie is almost saintly in his other-oriented ego: he is constantly empathizing. In fact, my only critique of this wonderful book is that Charlie seems almost unbelievable... plus, he made me feel like a jerk.

Indeed, if Charlie's empathy-machine-like abilities are a subversion of the more selfish Holden Caulfield paradigm, then the book takes even larger (and more important) swipes at other cherished (but damaging) teen myths. For example, the Crush - usually treated reverentially in youth fiction, here it's quickly dismantled by Charlie's crush, Sam, stating that she doesn't want to be anyone's crush. A crush is fantasy, a projection. She wants to be liked/loved for who she really is. Other pearls of wisdom - “We accept the love we think we deserve...” - as well as a generally humanistic, progressive and compassionate attitude toward all the characters and all issues make this book a gem, something that soothed even my supposedly-past-this, nearly-30something heart. These are truths that we need to hear, even when we're older. Highly recommended!