Personal Choice #2: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

 

Author: Stephen Chbosky

Title: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Genre: Bildungsroman

Bibliographic Data in MLA format: Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Thorndike Press, a Part of Gale, Cengage Learning, 2020.

Recommended Grade Level(s): 9-10

Number of Pages: 224

*Brief, concise plot description (no more than one paragraph): 

This is the story of Charlie, a high school wallflower who writes entries to an unknown friend in a diary, which is the basis of the storyline and format. He makes friends with Patrick and Sam, who, along with Charlie, have gone through a wide array of sensitive and dangerous hardships. This story tells the life of these kids and how they cope with real-world issues like sexuality, abuse, suicide, drug abuse, and more. 

Possible Teaching Concerns (may refer back to the text(s) used in class): 

This book has pretty much all of the "bad things" according to some parents in it. There is sex, rape, hard drugs, abortion, abuse, suicide, violence, homosexuality, and more. I can see why this might be a tough one to read in the classroom, which is why I would maybe offer it as supplemental reading. 

Personal Reaction to/and/or Evaluation of novel: 

This novel made me feel alive. All of the pain and tears along with the joy and humor and freedom of youth made me feel like life was coursing through my veins. There are so many beautiful metaphors in this story and so many realistic characters that have so much life behind them, which means that I felt like I had a lot to observe and learn from each one. 

Canonical work with which to juxtapose this novel & a brief (one paragraph) description of the rationale to connect the 2 works: 

I would compare this work with The Scarlet Letter because both of the protagonists deal with a sense of guilt and shame over their past. In the Scarlet Letter, the past behavior is sexuality and is condemned by society, whereas in this novel, Charlie has shame about his aunt's death and insecurity about himself. Both characters learn to embrace it, which is how they connect.