The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Below are the ratings and reviews for The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky:

"The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a coming-of-age novel about Charlie, a super sensitive new freshman who writes anonymous letters full of emotional spirals, mixtape recs, and deep thoughts no one asked for. He somehow befriends a group of seniors, gets pulled into their chaotic world of parties, secrets, and heartbreak, and basically learns how messy growing up really is, all while overthinking everything." – Anonymous

"Send those letters back." – Nika Radonjic-Dordevic

"The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a book I never really saw myself picking up—mainly because I had no interest in it. But thanks to this book club, I had the opportunity to read it. For starters, I was thrown by the format after reading the first part. I expected a more traditional narrative to follow, maybe shifting between a few other characters' perspectives, but this book sticks with Charlie and his letters.

I get that the point is to see the world through Charlie’s eyes, but I’m not sure Charlie is the most reliable narrator, and he's not particularly great at describing things. Sometimes I felt like I needed another character to step in and tell me what was actually going on. His lack of social awareness makes it hard to grasp a clear picture.

Considering how popular and beloved this book is, I have to admit—I was expecting more. That said, I’m still curious about the movie. Maybe with visuals and dialogue that doesn’t come filtered through Charlie’s fog, the story might land better for me." – Arionna Nue´Vala Grab

"I didn't quite like the format of a book full of letters, made it harder to keep track of eerything and when everything happens. For Charlie the only thing I can say is that his overthinking and analysis of everything, could be very annoying at times and would make the book harder to follow. But overall I give the book 3/5 stars since it was still a good story you could follo even if it was a bit messy at times." – Cecilia Göhran

"The Perks of Being a Wallflower was a very emotionally honest read. I liked how it dealt with difficult themes like mental health and identity in a natural way. Charlie’s perspective felt very authentic and the letter format was interesting to read." – Anonymous

"The Perks of being a Wallflower details Charlie's freshman year at high school. Charlie is an unusual and very talented teenager, who has been encouraged to participate by his English teacher Bill. In my opinion, there is too much of the high school and too little of Charlie. Chbosky has great ideas for a coming-of-age story, but he gets stuck in the details of uninteresting side characters and plots. I finished The Perks of being a Wallflower wishing Charlie's most interesting characteristics were more fleshed out." – Morten Bäckström Ounsted

– Shasini Muthuraja Vijayalakshmi

"Perks of Being a Wallflower was an enjoyable book. As the book progressed, it became more and more entertaining.

Reading Charlie’s thoughts and getting used to his thought process really fostered a connection because I witnessed all his personal moments through such an exclusively introspective lens. This happens in many books, though for this book, it felt highly personal and like you were part of it, which I think is due to the unique epistolary format.

Charlie is certainly different, which was indirectly characterized, leading to you having to discover how he truly thinks. His uniqueness led to many unusual situations and many mistakes; and while strange at times, it made the book a little more unpredictable and interesting. Despite the poor decisions, it’s clear he possesses an honesty and altruism that is really sweet, which made it nice to follow his progression. The final message was also equally as sweet, and since it was about the relatable issue of teenage introversion, it hit home." – Viggo Larsson Annerstedt

– Katarina Nugent

– Anzhelika Kunakh