The Perks Of Being A Wallflower is a truly moving story about Charlie, a freshman in high school, who is by no means popular. He is very shy, but that all comes down to a mental issue that occurred because of something that happened when he was younger, which you will get the gist of later on in the book. The author, Stephen Chbosky, has plotted this story very well. It isn't your average book set up - Charlie writes letters to an anonymous reader known as 'Friend'. Charlie tells this person everything he does and feels, who he meets and loves. Charlie meets two outgoing outsiders that are much cooler than him, but they accept him and he finally feels included. Patrick, a gay, happy and outgoing teen, and Sam, a beautiful young woman, introduce Charlie to a new world filled with sex, drugs and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. They also show Charlie the power of music and Charlie becomes more and more music savvy. He particularly likes The Smiths and the song ‘Asleep’. Charlie goes on a rollercoaster ride full of emotions, and learns that he has the greatest friends he could wish for. If you read this story you will laugh, cry and keep reading on. It is not to be missed. Charlie will show you that high school can be enjoyed if you have the right friends and becoming a teenager isn't as scary as you think, even though it seems that way. Although, I could not relate to any of the characters in the book, it was interesting to learn about what other people might be going through. This book really opened my eyes, and made me realize that people might seem fine on the outside, but there are often bigger things going on in their lives. Charlie's story touched me, because I feel like many authors don't like to talk about the things that Charlie went through as a kid. It was a refreshingly new way of writing. I would most definitely recommend this book to a friend because I think that everyone would enjoy reading this book. If I could change something about this book, I wouldn’t change anything. Although some parts were sad, I think that the book wouldn't be half as good if anything was changed in it. All in all, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is an easy and fun read, and I highly recommend picking it up.
