The Perks of Being a Wallflower Review and Discussion Questions

It's a small review this month.  Please enjoy and feel free to add your own feelings on the book or answer any of the discussion questions in the comments section below.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is about the freshman year of a boy named Charlie.  Over the course of that year, he makes new friends, experiments with drugs, experiences literature and film, gains and loses a girlfriend, and most importantly, learns about himself.  It's a deeply touching book.  Since everyone has been a teenager, you can relate in some way to Charlie's story.

I'm also adding this article from A.V. Club about how Perks holds up with adult readers.  I think it's well written, although with a little salty language, and does a much better job with the review than I could.

Discussion Questions

• Did you like that the book was written as a series of letters?  How do you think the book would have been different if Chbosky had written it in first or third person?
• Why do you think that the letters are addressed as "Dear Friend"?
• As the book goes on, we find out that Charlie is mentally ill.  Does this make him unreliable as a narrator?
• Which character do you most identify with?
• Does anyone in this book feel good about themselves?
• Charlie's English teacher pushes him to read more and to work on his writing.  Have you ever had a teacher that did that for you?
• Which references to literature, film, and music did you enjoy the most?
• Aunt Helen seemed to be a positive in Charlie's life.  How did you react to the truth about her character?
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower deals with a tumultuous time in every person's life.  Did you like how it deals with being a teenager and growing up?
• At the end of the book, Charlie is left alone again, since all of his friends graduate and move away.  How do you think Charlie will handle this?
• A fun question- what songs would you put on a mix tape for your best friend or significant other?