Read this when
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
For everyone who's always watching the party from the wall. 'We accept the love we think we deserve.' 💌
Who it's for
Charlie's letters to an unnamed 'friend' put the reader in the position of the one person he confides in, which creates unusual intimacy and lets a quiet, over-feeling reader recognize their own inner voice.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Stephen Chbosky's epistolary novel is told through letters that Charlie, a shy, sensitive teenager starting his freshman year in a Pittsburgh suburb, writes to an unnamed 'friend'. Still affected by a middle-school friend's suicide and the death of his beloved Aunt Helen, he finds a mentor in his English teacher Bill and belonging with two seniors, Sam and Patrick.
Where to find it
In print; widely available from libraries (Libby/Hoopla, where held) and as an audiobook. Not public domain. Also adapted as a 2012 film.
Before you start
Heads up: Child sexual abuse and a suicide.
Age: Ages 14+
You smiled and talked to me of nothing and I felt that for this I had been waiting long.Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds, no. 42
