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Book Review By Chris Parker
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

This book is a sequence of letters that a boy is writing someone. The twist is that we do not know who the person he is writing is. In fact we don't even know the boys true name, for he has covered up his name and the names of every and anyone whom he mentions in his letters. He does this because he says that he would rather the person he is writing not know who he is and never find out.
Charlie lives in Pennsylvania with his mother, father, and sister. His brother is a football player at Penn State. His father is very stern and is not keen on touching, his mother is very quite, but when she does talk she usually gets what she wants. His sister is a senior in High school, as are most of Charlie's friends.
Charlie tells of his first year in high school and of how different things that have happened in his life before high school are affecting him. He tells of how he changes through out the year because of his new friends. He tells of times spent at a local restaurant, going to his first party, getting high, the rocky horror picture show, and most of all the girl he loves, Sam.
Charlie is a very gifted person. The one person who actually sees how extremely smart Charlie is, is his English teacher, who gives him extra books to read, and tells him to write essays on them. Although Charlie is very smart, he is burdened with some emotional instability. He often cries, for what most people who see as "stupid reasons".
Charlie is trying to figure out the world, and how everyone works. He tends to sit on the side lines and just watch people, wondering what is going on in there life. He does this until his teacher tells him that he should try to participate, in stead of just observing. When Charlie meets his new friends, Sam and Patrick, he tries to participate more, and observe less. Though he does begin to participate he continues to observe people and figure out their lives and how they feel. This is Charlie's main struggle through out the book.


Plot & Themes
Time/era of story - 1980's-1999
Kids growing up/acting up? Yes
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Age group of kid(s) in story: - high school
Wild kid(s)? - druggie culture (& crime)

Main Character
Profession/status:
Age: - a teen
Ethnicity/Nationality

Main Adversary
Identity: - none

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 3 ()
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast

Writing Style
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references only - touching of anatomy - impregnation/reproduction - two guys doing it
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
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