Rating: 
Summary: Decent emotional arc marred by grating stereotypes
Review: Although Chbosky's debut novel remained fairly engaging--mainly because of its quick pace and simplicity--the characters all fell into familiar types, rather than being specific and emotionally moving. This flaw unfortunately ruins much of the book considering it tries to pass as a character driven story. Part of the problem comes from the book's narrative form--it's written in epistolatory form by a 9th grader. Although Chbosky mimics a 9th grader's language well, he shoots the story in the foot because the description of characters and situations usually come from abstractions and generalizations, which takes away from the characters significantly because they don't come across as specific humans, but rather as general character formulas.Take Charlie's love interest Sam (female). She's a senior whose main function in the story is to look pretty and be sensitive to Charlie's obnoxious naivity (he's 16 and his naivity fluctuates at Chbosky's will for no reason). Or take Sam's brother, Patrick, a young man who conforms to every gay cliche possible, making him infinitely vague and stereotypical (gay cliche's including his love for The Village People and Blondie, his public performances as a drag queen in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and his nightly adventures in "the local park" where gay men annonymously meet for sex. Anyone halfway educated about gays know that "the local park" cliche is laughably dated and unrealistic). Charlie is like an expanded description of how uneducated straight America views the gay community, which is odd considering this novel's potential popularity with teens. Anyway, the rest of the characters are flat as well--the brooding father, the perfect football-star older brother, the nice English teacher who sees the "real" Charlie. "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" attempts to be smart by bombarding the reader with all too familiar teenage angst. All in all, the book was a quick, easy read, but left me without lasting images due to Chbosky's timidity with round characters and original storytelling.
Rating: 
Summary: **wonderful book for all ages**
Review: I found this book, while looking online one day. I read the reviews and it sounded wonderful... I read the entire book in two days!
This book is a wonderful "Story" told by a freshman in high school, Charlie. Charlie is quite timid about entering high school, and after his best friend commits suicide soon after the first days of school, Charlie is left friendless. Charlie soon meets Sam and Patrick (who are brother and sister) and they become his best friends. This is a story of Charlies freshman year in high school, his troubles with his family and his friends. This book is truley wonderful and all of my friends are in line waiting to borrow and read it. I will be a senior next year in high school and this is a fantastic book for anyone in high school or college.
Rating:
Summary: Great read
Review: I rarely read adolescent fiction, but this one really got me. I think Chbosky did an remarkable job of covering all of the touchy adolescent bases without making his motivations too obvoious or cliched.
Charlie, the disturbed 14 year old main character, is endearing and I appreciated how his point of view differed from "reality" and how the other cast of characters see things. Chbosky did a great job with the language and putting dialogue into the letters.
I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Great First Novel!
Review: This novel is a sensitive and touching portrayal of a troubled young man's search for a connection to the world through friends, music, and love. His story is revealed through a series of letters that he writes to an anonymous friend. He puzzles through the same problems that many other high schoolers face; drugs, suicide, sexual identity, and relationship problems. Ultimately he finds his own unique answers to those problems, and to other universal questions about life. The story is sweet and sad, humorous, and ultimately hopeful. A truly great first novel!
Rating:
Summary: In a Boy's Mind
Review: This was a facinating story of a very innocent minded boy, named Charlie, who writes letters to an annoymous person. The reader nor Charlie knows this person. This is simply a person he heard would understand him. He writes his most intimate details of his experiences with family, drugs, sex, crushes, hormones, and just trying to be a part of a group. It is one year in the life of a teenage boy that will keep you reading from cover to cover. The book is easy to read in the letter format. Very good for struggling readers, it would give them the sense of accomplishment finishing letter by letter. If the title of the book isn't enough to read this book maybe just wondering what is in his letters would be enough. Curiosity of reading someone's private letters is intriguing. This is a must read, it will take you back to your teenage years and all the drama. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: Not Recommended for Anyone
Review: I really didn't like this book. The main character was emotionally disturbed and he was really hard to relate to. He was practically a social outcast, and this book made me cringe because he was so naive. Charlie was so immature and stupid, but the book tries to make him seem gifted.
This book was just really strange, and I don't recommend it for anyone. I read half of it, and I wish there was some way I could remove it from my memory.
Rating:
Summary: Profound
Review: When i first started reading it I didn't flow with it very well. Then after a friend loaned it to me I gave it an honest try and read the entire book in one sitting. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is an absolutly profound story of adolescence. The main character is Charlie and the book is a collection of letters we writes to "a friend". You don't know who the friend is because its apparently someone he doesn't know either. Just somebody-told-me-you'd-understand. He writes each letter and reveals all of his secrets his passions, pain, guilt, and his soul. Its a remarkable book. Im amazed it hasn't gotten better aclaim. I think anyone who has ever grown up alone, an outsider, or soemone who struggles with their own inner emotions in that constant battle that plays out in private moments, would greatly benefit from this book. Stephen Chbosky does what few writers can: he pulls you along side the characters and you feel their pain and share their moments of joy... In a surprisingly short novel the reader will expirence about a year in the life of a young boy, a life that one some level, we can all relate to. I am deeply moved by this book,
Rating:
Summary: One of my favourites
Review: It takes a lot for a book, movie or CD to earn five stars from me. This book was very unique and I could totally relate to Charlie, the main character.
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower is about a boy named Charlie who is starting his freshman year of high school. He doesn't think he'll like it, because he'll be starting without his friend Michael, who shot himself that spring.
Charlie doesn't like high school at all until he meets Patrick and Sam, stepsiblings who are seniors. They become friends and Charlie finally feels that he fits in somewhere. Then he falls in love with Sam, and that's about all I remember except when he gets stoned at that party (that was pretty funny, the milkshake business).
Some parts were kinda graphic, but it's an excellent novel in all. I'd recommend it to anyone over the age of twelve. Or around that age.
Rating: 
Summary: great despite some faults
Review: i would really give this book a 5 because its quite honestly the best book i've ever read (or at least most enjoyed). it was the first time i can remember really caring about the characters or crying from a book when i wasn't doing it just because it seemed like i should be crying. it was recommended to me by some friends who have both read and re-read it. neither they nor i have ever been huge readers but my friends who are really into books say it isn't all that great, that its good but there is better.
the one thing in the story that did bother me (and hence why i could not give it all 5 stars) was that the narrator creates a character who seems to be extremely out of touch, even for the outcast he is. the high school freshman boy doesn't know what masturbation his and although he is so well read he often talks like a small child, not a freshman in high school. the second part may be on purpose as i can see some intent, but these two factors took away from charlie's believeability ever so slightly, enough to distract me at times anyways. overall though it was a great book. i borrowed it from my friends and just bought 2 copies through amazon. one i'm going to read at least once more and give it to my friend as a present (giving the used book is part of the story) and the other i will keep until i want to read it again.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: Excellent book that explores the mind of a teenage boy through a very innocent perspective. This books deals with love, lust, hate, drugs, sexuality, and sex. I hightly reccomend it!
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