The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Title:  The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Author:  Stephen Chbosky

Publisher:  MTV Books

Publication Date:  1999

Pages:  256p

ISBN:  0-61-0274-4

Summary/Review

 

The Perks of Being a Wallflower tells the story of a 16-year-old teenage boy , Charlie ,who writes letters to an anonymous friend, sharing his heart and soul, almost like he is writing his letters to us, his readers.  He writes about how it is like to grow up in high school, how he hated  going to his first day in school and how he navigates his way out of the awkward stages of adolescence.

Charlie, the main character, is described by other people as too shy,  socially  awkward, and an unconventional thinker, hence the “wallflower” title. Wallflower is someone who is too awkward or too bland to be worthy of noticing, going through life like a bystander. A lot of teenagers could  relate and connect to Charlie, feeling like wallflowers. 

The novel captures the confused and bemused life of an adolescence and all the things that come with growing up. The author explores briefly topics such as suicide, drugs, smoking, molestation,  and friends.  The plot takes place in the suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the 1991-1992 school year, when Charlie is a freshman in high school.

I can attribute the popularity of this novel to the story’s theme which is full of teachable nuggets and  life lessons. Examples: 

“Things change, and friends leave. Life doesn’t stop for anybody.”(page 145)

“But even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there” (page 211)

                    

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian By Sherman Alexie

Title: The Absolutely Diary of a Part Time Indian

Author/s: Sherman A Slexie; Illustrated by Ellen Forney

Summary/Review

 This is a heartwarming story of Arnold Spirit Jr., a fourteen -year old Native American young man, who grew up in in the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Wash. Most of the people who live at the reservation are terribly poor.  As Arnold narrates, “My parents came from poor people, all the way back to the very first poor people.”When he opens his first geometry book at school, Junior finds the name of his mother written on the flyleaf, “…so poor and sad that we had to study from the same day books our parents studied from,” Junior says.

Junior was born with water on his brain that caused him a series of physical problems resulting from brain damage. He is skinny, with one farsighted eye, another nearsighted eye, he has to wear “ugly, thick, black plastic” eyeglasses. Junior has enlarged head, huge hands and feet. Because of his handicaps, this causes him to stutter and lisp, which makes him the object of ridicule and teasing and being picked on by his peers.

Following the advice of his math teacher, Mr.P, he transfers to Reardan High, 22 miles away and full of wealthy white kids, equipped with computers and chemistry labs. In his new school, in spite the fact that he is the only Indian, he wins the heart of the beauteous white girl Penelope.

Back at the reservation, Junior is considered a traitor. When Reardan plays Wellpinit High in basketball, the Indians throw so much abuse on Arnold and a riot nearly breaks out. His ex-best friend Rowdy, described as “red-necked” punches him on the face. To avoid being ridiculed and beaten up regularly, he spend a lot of his time in his room, reading books and drawing cartoons.

Junior’s toughness helps him overcome all these obstacles. He learns that though he is poor, he still has his education and his new friends. He soon earns their respect as well as a spot on the varsity basketball team.

  

The book recounts the trial of a Native American teenager, Arnold “Junior” Spirit, during his freshman year on an Indian Reservation. Sherman Alexie uses humor to soften the difficult and full of emotional high and lows of  Arnold’s story.

The story explores the struggle to survive between the Indians and white worlds. It touches on poverty that borders on racism, “It sucks to be poor, and it sucks to feel that you somehow deserve to be poor because you’re stupid and ugly. And then you start believing that you’re stupid and ugly because you’re Indian. And because you’re Indian you start believing you’re destined to be poor. It’s an ugly circle and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Junior’s story is told by his first-person perspective. His optimism and hope shines through all the pages of the book. It teaches you to never give up, always have hope , and dream big dreams.