The Perks of Being a Wallflower

by Stephen Chbosky
PRMS paperback 213 pages
genre: YA coming of age

I finally read this! It is almost always checked out from my media center. The movie looks pretty interesting.

Charlie seems to be so incredibly naive to the point of being stupid. His identity is formed based on his relationships to other people. In fact, his young English teacher encourages him to think for himself - to be a filter and not a sponge.

Liked:
- Character development, especially siblings Patrick and Samantha
- True-to-life scenarios from high school
- Vivid descriptions

Didn't like:
- OLD technology! Published in 1999, it's hard to believe that Chbosky included mix tapes and darkroom developing . . . have things really changed so much in 16 years? I wonder if kids even know what mix tapes are.
- casual drug use

I was surprised by Charlie's revelation toward the end of the book. It completely changed the story for me.