The Perks of Being a Wallflower
by Stephen Chbosky
List Price:
Our Price: $5.80
You Save: $8.20 (59%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Stephen ChboskyEdition: Paperback
Published: 1999-02-01
ISBN: 0671027344
Number of pages: 224
Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: MTV
Book Reviews of The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Book Review: 31 years old, loved it.
Summary: 5 Stars
"...but even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there."
i was suprised upon this book's arrival to read on the jacket that it had one a few young reader awards, but i didn't let that phase me (as i usually would) bc the of the reviews on here. I am glad for that bc this book really resonates with me. i read the entire book on a dallas to san fran flight. (it's not a page turner, it's just brief). i thnk i just also particularly enjoy coming of age novels and memoirs. if you need more of a plot, you may not enjoy this as much.
Summary of The Perks of Being a Wallflower
What is most notable about this funny, touching, memorable first novel from Stephen Chbosky is the resounding accuracy with which the author captures the voice of a boy teetering on the brink of adulthood. Charlie is a freshman. And while's he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. He's a wallflower--shy and introspective, and intelligent beyond his years, if not very savvy in the social arts. We learn about Charlie through the letters he writes to someone of undisclosed name, age, and gender, a stylistic technique that adds to the heart-wrenching earnestness saturating this teen's story. Charlie encounters the same struggles that many kids face in high school--how to make friends, the intensity of a crush, family tensions, a first relationship, exploring sexuality, experimenting with drugs--but he must also deal with his best friend's recent suicide. Charlie's letters take on the intimate feel of a journal as he shares his day-to-day thoughts and feelings:
I walk around the school hallways and look at the people. I look at the teachers and wonder why they're here. If they like their jobs. Or us. And I wonder how smart they were when they were fifteen. Not in a mean way. In a curious way. It's like looking at all the students and wondering who's had their heart broken that day, and how they are able to cope with having three quizzes and a book report due on top of that. Or wondering who did the heart breaking. And wondering why.With the help of a teacher who recognizes his wisdom and intuition, and his two friends, seniors Samantha and Patrick, Charlie mostly manages to avoid the depression he feels creeping up like kudzu. When it all becomes too much, after a shocking realization about his beloved late Aunt Helen, Charlie retreats from reality for awhile. But he makes it back in due time, ready to face his sophomore year and all that it may bring. Charlie, sincerely searching for that feeling of "being infinite," is a kindred spirit to the generation that's been slapped with the label X. --Brangien Davis
Standing on the fringes of life...
offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.
This haunting novel about the dilemma of passivity vs. passion marks the stunning debut of a provocative new voice in contemporary fiction: The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
This is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We may not know where he lives. We may not know to whom he is writing. All we know is the world he shares. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course through uncharted territory. The world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends. The world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite.
Through Charlie, Stephen Chbosky has created a deeply affecting coming-of-age story, a powerful novel that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller coaster days known as growing up.
Fiction Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Books I've Read Cover to Cover
The Memory Keeper's Daughterby Kim Edwards
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2006-05-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.97
Price in other shops:
The Bell Jarby Sylvia Plath
Bantam Books; Published: 1972; Paperback; Book
Best price: $23.00
The Perks of Being a Wallflowerby Stephen Chbosky
MTV; Published: 1999-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.94
Price in other shops:
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (Oprah's Book Club)by Carson McCullers
Mariner; Published: 2004-04-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.50
Price in other shops:
It's Called a Breakup Because It's Broken: The Smart Girl's Break-Up Buddyby Greg Behrendt, Amiira Ruotola-Behrendt
Broadway; Published: 2006-09-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops:
Great Expectations (Penguin Classics)by Charles Dickens
Penguin Classics; Published: 2002-12-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.26
Price in other shops:
The Great Gatsbyby F. Scott Fitzgerald
Scribner; Published: 1999-09-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops:
The Joy Luck Club By Amy Tanby Amy Tan
G.P. Putnam's Sons; Published: 1989; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.00
Saving Fish from Drowning: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle)by Amy Tan
Ballantine Books; Published: 2006-09-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.98
Price in other shops:
The Kitchen God's Wifeby Amy Tan
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2006-09-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.29
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
The Truth About Foreverby Sarah Dessen
Published: 2004-05-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.94
Price in other shops:
No One Belongs Here More Than You: Storiesby Miranda July
Scribner; Published: 2008-05-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.94
Price in other shops:
Smackby Melvin Burgess
HarperTeen; Published: 1999-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.87
Price in other shops:
Impulseby Ellen Hopkins
Simon Pulse; Published: 2008-05-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.63
Price in other shops:
Go Ask Aliceby Anonymous
Simon Pulse; Published: 2005-12-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.85
Price in other shops:
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifestoby Chuck Klosterman
Scribner; Published: 2004-06-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.95
Price in other shops:
Cutby Patricia Mccormick
Push; Published: 2002-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.99
Price in other shops:
Crankby Ellen Hopkins
Simon Pulse; Published: 2004-10-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.38
Price in other shops:
Speakby Laurie Halse Anderson
Puffin; Published: 2006-04-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.00
Price in other shops:
Piecesby Stephen Chbosky
MTV; Published: 2000-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.88
Price in other shops: