Arters AP Literature 2016-17 discussion

The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Review by: Sarah McHugh

“He's a wallflower. You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand.” This quote describes the life of young Charlie; And this collection of letters from a freshman in high school are what makeup Steven Chbosky's coming of age novel, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower. The story was published through Gallery Books, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc. The edition in review has 213 pages and an ISBN number of 978-0-671-02734-6. The sale price for this edition is USD $14.00 and $18.00 CAN.
Narrated and told through his letters to an unnamed addressee on the night before his first day of high school, these letters cover everything from mental health and LGBT issues to substance abuse and sexuality. Every letter is addressed “Dear friend”. We only learn selective things about this person throughout the story. Since this person is so ambiguous, the reader becomes emotionally connected to Charlie's letters and hopes that things will work out favorably for him. I believe the novel is intended to make the reader feel strongly for Charlie and the things that he has gone through so that by the end of the novel the reader very much feels as though they are the friend to whom he is writing. this is what enables the readers of the novel to imagine themselves as the addressee of these letters.
The story opens with Charlie learning to cope with the death of his friend Michael, who has committed suicide. He begins writing these unaddressed letters to his “friend” because he feels very alone and believes it is an attempt to help combat this feeling. On his first day, he meets an older boy in his shop class who asks to be called by a rather peculiar name. It is revealed soon after his name is Patrick, he goes on to become one of Charlie’s best friends as well as his stepsister, Sam. Sam and Patrick introduce Charlie to the rest of their friend group who allow him to feel welcome and more comfortable throughout the year. The trio attend school events like dances and football games, acclimating him to the school environment. Through the course of these events and the perspective of Charlie we begin to see the steady decline in his mental health and the toll it takes on his relationships. As he grows more intimate with certain characters, his obsessive love for his Aunt Helen is revealed more and more. After a breakdown left Charlie hospitalized he comes to terms with the sexual abuse that happened in his past. This brilliant novel ends with our narrator Charlie explaining that he no longer feels the need to write to us. He has started to believe that he has power in and over his own life and that his past does not define who he is anymore.
As Charlie attempts to navigate his way through high school, he makes three very important friends. From the start his advanced English teacher Bill is the first adult to see promise and prospect in Charlie socially and academically. As a result, he begins assigning Charlie papers outside of the classwork to further his enthusiasm for literature and creative writing.

By marking Charlie’s papers with low grades opposite to what he would expect, his passion for writing and literature as well as his talents increased. By assigning him other novels and texts to read outside of the class, Charlie begins to grow and mature through these assignments. The relationship between the two grows beyond academic as the story continues and Charlie begins to tell Bill more and more about his personal life. Bill's most famous advice from the novel, "We accept the love we think we deserve," is just one of the many memorable quotes from this compelling coming of age novel.
Asides from Bill, Charlie befriends two seniors, Sam and Patrick. Patrick is a flamboyant and at times eccentric character. Being that he is one of Charlie’s only friends, Charlie appreciates the attention from him immensely. Their relationship is strengthened when Charlie is entrusted with the secret, that Patrick is dating the school’s star quarterback Brad. It is soon after this that Charlie is first called a wallflower. In a toast to Charlie, Patrick says this because “You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand.” It is Patrick that reunites the friend group after a mistake that had been made and he is ultimately responsible for a positive change in Charlie’s life.
Charlie mentions that the relationship between the two seems one-sided, but he is still thankful for the attention. Patrick’s stepsister Sam is Charlie’s love interest in the story. From the beginning his infatuation with her is clear to see. In one of his letters he wrote "Sam has brown hair and very very pretty green eyes. The kind of green that doesn't make a big deal about itself". He has a “Charlie-esque” crush on her, as explained by Sam herself. She assists him in coming out of his shell come by making him feel welcome in her friend group and urging him to be an actor in their rendition of Rocky Horror Picture Show. In parallel to the abuse he has suffered from his Aunt Helen, she has been the subject of sexual abuse from a young age as well.
Sam and Patrick help Charlie through his first year of highschool. By introducing him to their friend group, a whole new world opens for him. This was a very well thought out move by Stephen Chbosky. They take him to his first party after his first homecoming dance, where he finds out things he shouldn’t. It’s here where he learns that Patrick is gay and closeted, and that his boyfriend Brad has a drinking problem. The topics of sexuality, sex, alcoholism, and LGBT issues are covered in this book in a way that other young adult novels cover them. They take a very prominent role in this novel and are treated like the adult topics that they truly are. I have never read another Young Adult novel that tackles such topics and handles them in such a sophisticated, adult way.
Although I praise Chbosky for his use of such adult topics in a Young Adult novel, I must give a warning for those reading this. This novel covers heavy topics such as suicide and self harm, drug and alcohol abuse, sexual, and physical abuse are all covered throughout this novel. The story could easily be mistaken for light hearted if those topics were not so widely covered. Due to the nature of these difficult topics, the book has been placed on the banned/challenged books list. If you’re sensitive to these heavy topics, I do not advise you read this novel. Despite being placed on the banned/challenged books list, I believe this should be required reading for freshmen and seniors. When I was first introduced to this story, I related heavily to Charlie.
Now as a senior, I relate more to his senior friends. Although the readers don’t hear much about how his friends feel about leaving him, I now understand this likely wasn’t an easy feat for them. Overall, I have high praise for this book. Unlike anything I’ve ever read whether it be YA or adult, this book is one of my favorite books of all time. The use of mature subject matter in a YA novel is something that Stephen Chbosky pulled off well enough to leave an impact on readers even after they’re done with the story. The way he uses the characters in his story to aid in the development of the central character is something I am very fond of and have not seen before. Charlie's character development and social advancements throughout the novel truly demonstrate the perks, as well as the pitfalls, of being a wallflower.