Troy Terwilliger’s Reviews > The Perks of Being a Wallflower > Status Update

“It’s okay to feel things and be who you are about them.”

That's Bill, his English teacher! Bill is such a crucial anchor for Charlie throughout the book.
When Bill gives Charlie extra reading assignments—like To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, and The Catcher in the Rye—and keeps validating how deeply Charlie understands them, it's one of the few times someone in an authority position truly sees Charlie's potential.

The memories with the psychiatrist.. Charlie reading Ayn Rand is amazing.

Mary Elizabeth is such a vibrant, distinct presence when she enters the story! She’s the ultimate 90s alternative girl—a passionate, opinionated feminist, Buddhist, punk/goth, who edits the zine Punk Rocky and plays Janet in their shadow-cast productions of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Seeing how many characters are quietly carrying profound, invisible scars really underscores the book's central core: "We accept the love we think we deserve." Almost every character in the book is navigating what happens when abuse distorts what they believe they deserve.

“But. He’s my whole world!” • “Don’t ever say that about anyone. Not even me.” Mom said.

Stephen Chbosky never explicitly states or diagnoses Charlie as autistic in The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
However, whether Charlie is neurodivergent is a very popular topic of discussion among readers. Textually and clinically, Charlie's behavior is primarily framed around Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD), severe depression, and dissociative tendencies stemming from childhood abuse and grief.

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