“And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.”

There are several classic books that I still have yet to read, so I’ve been trying to find some of those literary works of art lately to read in between all the thrillers and horrors that I typically like to review. This weekend, I grabbed a copy of one that I’d been referred to for years, and it was so good I had to binge-read it in one go. That book is Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower. 

Set during the 1991–1992 school year, we follow 15-year-old Charlie, who’s nervous about starting high school. After the death of his only close friend in middle school, Charlie is lonely and adrift. In a quiet act of reaching out for human connection, he begins writing anonymous letters to a stranger – a person he only heard mentioned in passing, someone described as a “good person.” The stranger’s identity is never revealed, and the story unfolds entirely through Charlie’s letters to this unnamed “friend,” creating a deeply intimate tone that makes you feel like Charlie is writing directly to you.

Charlie navigates building friendships with older students and trying his best to fit in, despite being a wallflower. He is very much in his own head with some kind of anxiety disorder, and as the story unfolds we learn that much of his anxiety comes from his repressed memories of childhood trauma. This read will require looking at some trigger warnings, as it does entail mental health struggles, drug use, suicide, and sexual and relationship abuse. Many (if not most) of us have dealt with at least one of these heavy topics in the past, so there’s really something heartwrenching to relate to for most readers, but Chbosky writes about these things in a beautiful, immensely caring way that reminds us that hope is not lost for a better future.

One of my favorite aspects of this book is how rich it is with countless references to literature, music, and art. From classics like The Catcher in the Rye (my own high school favorite) to pop culture like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and music like Asleep by The Smiths, this book feels like a mixtape of everything that made the teenage years emotional, beautiful, and sometimes unbearable. Charlie would’ve fit in perfectly with the people I loved hanging out with back then.

Sometimes you really need a book that you can emotionally latch on to and really feel your way through. This one brought me back to the feeling of being 15 or 16, and having had a lot of similar experiences to Charlie, it was powerful to reflect on that age from where I am now, a decade later. This book just felt healing in a way, and I know I’m going to want to read it again and again.