The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a coming-of-age epistolary novel by American writer Stephen Chbosky, which was first published on February 1, 1999, by Pocket Books. Set in the early 1990s, the novel follows Charlie, an introverted and observant child, through his freshman year of high school in a Pittsburgh suburb. The novel details Charlie's unconventional style of thinking as he navigates between the worlds of adolescence and adulthood, and attempts to deal with poignant questions spurred by his interactions with both his friends and family. Chbosky took five years to develop and publish The Perks of Being a Wallflower, creating the characters and other aspects of the story from his own memories. The novel addresses themes permeating adolescence, including sexuality, drug use, rape, and mental health, while also making several references to other literary works, films, and pop culture in general. Because of the mentioned themes, it was banned in some American schools for its content. In 2012, Chbosky adapted and directed a film version starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, and Ezra Miller. The film boosted the novel's sales, and the book reached The New York Times Best Seller list. Plot Throughout the 1991–1992 academic year, Charlie, the fifteen-year-old (later sixteen-year-old) protagonist, begins writing letters about his own life to an unknown recipient addressed, "dear friend." In these letters, he discusses his freshman year of high school and his struggles with two traumatic experiences: the suicide of his only middle-school friend, Michael Dobson, and the death of his favorite aunt, Helen.