The Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

show spoilers

Summary edit see section history

Characters edit see section history

show spoilers

• Mary Elizabeth Charlie: Main character of this book. Charlie is a freshman at his school. He has an older brother who plays football at Penn State and an older sister who is a senior in high school.
• Sam: Charlie's best friend, whom he is in love with. She is Patrick's stepsister. She is a senior at Charlie's school.
• Patrick: Charlie's best friend and Sam's stepbrother. He smokes. Known as "Nothing" at the beginning of the book because he said "you call me Patrick or you call me nothing" - and the name "Nothing" stuck.
• Aunt Helen: Charlie's aunt who passed away.
• Mary Elizabeth: Becomes friends with Charlie after he is introduced by mutual friend Sam. Mary Elizabeth comes off as a very cunning and intelligent, but later we find out what she is really looking for. Mary Elizabeth loves to talk and is always trying to find someone to blabber to/about. She's one of the girls "with a tattoo and a belly button ring". Her tattoo symbolises Buddhism.
• Bob: He is a friend of Sam's and Patrick's who later also befriends Charlie. Holds multiple parties throughout the story. He's the group's drug dealer (pot) and is almost constantly high. His parents are almost never home. He showers every other day and believes in karma
• Brad: Star quarterback of the high school football team.
• Craig: Sam's boyfriend who has already graduated high school and is in college. He models for JCPenny and other things to earn his way. He is a good photographer.
• Alice: Mary Elizabeth's friend who accompanies Patrick to school dances.
• Dad: Charlie, the main character's, father.
• Mom: Charlie's mom, quiet character who gets what she wants from her children and is respected greatly.
• Charlie's brother: Older brother of Charlie. He goes to Penn State and plays football. Does not talk to the family much. His visits back home often get delayed or cancelled because of football. Currently is in the second string.
• Charlie's sister: Charlie's sister. Does not like to express feelings toward her brother and family. She is given the name Candace in the film adaptation. She is a senior.
• Bill: Charlie's English teacher who challenges him with extra essays and books. He has a girlfriend, and would like to go to NY to write plays. He thinks Charlie is very talented.
• Michael Dobson: Charlie's friend who committed suicide as of the start of the book, and sends Charlie through a maniacal depression.
• Peter: Craig's best friend. College guy whom we do not see a whole lot of in the book.
• Susan: Michael's ex-girlfriend (they called themselves best friends). She used to be a friend of Charlie but since the incident, she ignores him.
• Great Uncle Phil: Charlie's paternal great uncle.
• Mr. Small: Charlie's Driver's Education teacher.
• Michelle: A woman briefly mentioned in the novel whom Charlie calls and says he hopes that she is having a nice night. Michelle sells exercise machines.
• Kelly: Charlie's brother's cheerleader girlfriend at Penn State.
• Billy: Their limo driver who got them stoned on prom night
• Mr. Callahan: Charlie's teacher in shop class.
• Erik: One of the boys at Charlie's high school who dates Charlie's sister.
• Aunt Rebecca: Charlie's aunt who suffered being beaten by her former husband. She also had an abusive father who beat her up.
• Sean: A student at Charlie's high school. Charlie beats him up one day, and gets very sad about it.
• Lily Miller: A girl who is the center of a "legend" surrounding a mini-golf course and a picnic. Patrick tells this legend to Charlie.
• Nancy: Brad's girlfriend.
• Parker: Parker is the understudy to Patrick in the Rocky Horror Picture Show play.
• Dave: Add a description of this character.
• Carl Burns
• Harold
• Father Tracy: The Priest in the poem Charlie gifts to Patrick in the Secret Santa
• Sadie Hawkins
• Henry David Thoreau
• Santa Claus
• Peter Pan
• Frank 'n Furter
• Janet

Quotes edit see section history

• “Charlie, we accept the love we think we deserve”

  Bill

• “And I guess at that moment I really did love her. Because there was nothing to gain, and that didn't matter”

  Charlie

• “It is now my favorite book of all time, but then again, I always think that until I read another book”

  Charlie

• “It's like he would take a photograph of Sam, and the photograph would be beautiful. And he would think that the reason the photograph was beautiful was because of how he took it. If I took it, I would know that the only reason it's beautiful is because of Sam.”

  Charlie

• “I would give someone a record so they could love the record, not so they would always know that I gave it to them.”

  Charlie

• “There's nothing like the deep breaths after laughing that hard. Nothing in the world like a sore stomach for the right reasons. It was that great.”

  Charlie

• “I'll die for you. But I won't live for you.”

  Charlie

• “So I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.”

  Charlie

• “So this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be.”

  Charlie

• “I just want you to know that you’re very special, and the only reason I’m telling you is that I don’t know if anyone else ever has.”

  Bill

• “Sometimes, I look outside, and I think that a lot of other people have seen this snow before. Just like I think that a lot of other people have read those books before. And listened to those songs.I wonder how they feel tonight.”

  Charlie

• “You can't just sit there and put everybody's lives ahead of yours and think that counts as love. You just can't. You have to do things.”

  Sam

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

  Charlie

• “And she started to cry. And she said something that I won't forget. Ever. "I know that you know that I like Craig. And I know that I told you not to think of me that way. And I know that we can't be together like that. But I want to forget all those things for a minute. Okay?" "Okay." "I want to make sure that the first person you kiss loves you. Okay?"”

  Sam and Charlie's dialog and the kiss they share.

• “This moment will just be another story someday.”

  Charlie

• “That's why on the back of a brown paper bag he tried another poem And he called it "Absolutely Nothing" Because that's what it was really all about And he gave himself an A and a slash on each damned wrist And he hung it on the bathroom door because this time he didn't think he could reach the kitchen.”

  Charlie

• “Enjoy it. Because it's happening.”

  Charlie

• “Not everyone has a sob story, Charlie, and even if they do, it's no excuse.”

  Charlie's Dad

• “"I hate you" "No, you don't." My dad can be very calm sometimes."He's my whole world""Don't ever say that about anyone again. Not even me." That was my mom.”

  Charlie's Dad, Charlie's Mom & His sister

• ““I hate you." My sister said it different than she said it to my dad. She meant it with me. She really did. "I love you," was all I could say in return. "You're a freak, you know that? Everyone says so. They always have." "I'm trying not to be." Then, I turned around and walked to my room and closed my door and put my head under my pillow and let the quiet put things where they are supposed to be.”

  Chalie & his sister.

• “After the song finished, I said something. "I feel infinite." And Sam and Patrick looked at me like I said the greatest things they ever heard.”

  Charlie

• “I said no to having a beer. I once had a beer with my brother when I was twelve, and I just didn't like it. It's really that simple for me.”

  Charlie

• “I don't know if you've ever felt like that. That you wanted to sleep for a thousand years. Or just not exist. Or just not be aware that you do exist. Or something like that. I think wanting that is very morbid, but I want it when I get like this.”

  Charlie

• “And I wonder if anyone is really happy.”

  Charlie

• “And I thought about how many people have loved those songs. And how many people got through a lot of bad times because of those songs.”

  Charlie

• “Just tell me how to be different in a way that makes sense. To make this all go away. And disappear.”

  Charlie

• “To tell you the truth, I've just been avoiding everything. I walk around the school hallways and look at the people. I look at the teachers and wonder why they're here. If they like their jobs. Or us. And I wonder how smart they were when they were fifteen. Not in a mean way. In a curious way.”

  Charlie

• “But because things change. And friends leave. And life doesn't stop for anybody”

  Charlie

• “I wanted to laugh. Or maybe get mad. Or maybe shrug at how strange everyone was, especially me.”

  Charlie

• “I think that if I ever have kids, and they are upset, I won't tell them that people are starving in China or anything like that because it wouldn't change the fact that they were upset. And even if someone else has it much worse, that doesn't really change the fact that you have what you have. Good and bad.”

  Charlie

• “Things are supposed to be used and people are supposed to be loved. The world is in chaos because people are being used and things are being loved.”

  Charlie

• “I don't know how much longer I can keep going without a friend. I used to be able to do it very easily, but that was before I knew what having a friend was like.”

  Charlie

• “I don't want to be someones crush”

  Sam

• “He didn't ask me why I was crying. He just let me hear what he had to say in my own way and let things be. That was probably the best part.”

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Pittsburgh
• Pennsylvania
• Ohio

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Music: Music is a big part of this story. Charlie, being a wallflower, really connects with music through the entire story. He is particularly affected by the song "Asleep" by The Smiths
• Love and Friendship: This book centers around love. Family love. Friend love. Boyfriend/girlfriend love.
• Theme, mptif, and symbolism: Describe this theme.
• Adolescence: A large part of this book is centered around discovering yourself as a person and coming to terms with what it means to mature.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Stephen Chbosky (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• YALSA Best Books for Young Adults

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PS3553.H3469 P47 1999
• Dewey: 813.54

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Lots of sexuality (including homosexuality and rape), and drug abuse.Reported by NPR (5/14/13) Glen Ellyn School District 41, an Illinois school district, has the young adult novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower from its library and classrooms after parents complained about its discussions of sex and drug use.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › Classics
• Books › Teens › Social Issues › Being a Teen
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Classics
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Literary
• Books › Teens › Social Issues › Homosexuality › Fiction
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary
• Books › Gay & Lesbian › Literature & Fiction

Movie Connections edit see section history

• The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) (IMDb): "Tells the story of an introvert freshman named Charlie who is taken on the wings by his friends Sam and Patrick, who welcome him to the world of sex, drugs and complicated relationships."

More Books Like This edit see section history

Books That Cite This Book edit see section history

Books Cited by This Book edit see section history