The Perks of Being a Wallflower

by Stephen Chbosky

MTV Books, $12 paper

High school lasts only a few years, but it seems to take a lifetime of books, movies, and songs to get over it. Not surprisingly, MTV Books has something to add to the healing process. In The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Chbosky, a filmmaker by trade, gives us the story of an outsider who slowly works his way into high school life. Presented as a series of letters from Charlie to an anonymous friend, this book goes back 10 years to a boy in the midst of a group of friends desperately trying to hide the fact that they are lost. Perks is not overly shocking, but it lays in front of the reader something sad, yet somewhat hopeful, and by the end, very satisfying.

This article appears in October 15 • 1999.

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