What a wonderful read! Set in a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER is a spectacular coming-of-age story starring Charlie as the titular wallflower. The story is told in a series of letters that chronicles his experiences during his freshman year in high school that he writes to an unnamed friend. At the novel’s opening, Charlie is very much alone and unpopular. It is his unique way of thinking that draws special attention from his English teacher and a few older students who proceed to teach Charlie about the ways of the world.

When Charlie meets Sam and her gay stepbrother Patrick, his world is effectively rocked. The already well-read Charlie begins to experience music and film like he never has before. Along this journey he experiments with alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes, and sexuality and learns the lessons associated with first loves. The reader is relayed images of the confusion often accompanying adolescence and the burgeoning freedoms it endows. His budding romance with Sam comes to a head just before she leaves for college when she initiates a sexual encounter with him—his first.

Chbosky’s lush high school setting paints very vivid pictures of adolescents who—as a result of their environments and own unique perspectives on the world—grow up far more quickly than is expected. As an adult reader, THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER provides a nostalgic feeling of longing and a desire to accomplish the dreams of our teenage selves. As a youth coming of age, the novel provides a spectacular window through which to view a world unadulterated by expectations and regret. While our lives may not be perfect, we should all strive to let our cares melt away, spread our arms wide, and feel infinite.