At its best, Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a poignant, bittersweet portrayal of a teenage boy’s coming of age. Throughout most of the novel, however, it reads as a loosely connected web of teenage trauma that’s held together by an empty shell of a protagonist. The book follows Charlie, a shy, fifteen-year-old boy who recounts his life in letters to a never[1]identified friend. These letters take the reader through Charlie’s freshman year of high school and all the “firsts” that come with it (his first girlfriend, his first party, his first experience with substances, etc.). This format is part of what allows Chbosky to craft such an intimate narrative, because we as the reader are the ones who are receiving Charlie’s letters. However, in my opinion, this tool is sometimes underutilized and isn’t wielded to create a strong connection to Charlie’s emotional outlook. One of the main reasons this novel is regarded as so iconic is undoubtedly its many, many mentions of, and plot points created around traumatic social issues. I don’t want to spoil the plot for potential readers, so I won’t be explicitly referencing any of them here. Having said that, I would advise any potential readers who have experienced and/or are provoked by trauma to know what they’re getting into when they read this novel. For as short as the book is, it at times feels like Chbosky added some of these elements just to include them, because overall, they are followed by no introspection or analysis. This lack of examination further serves to make Charlie into a passive character: someone who things happen to, rather than one who makes things happen. Overall, I would give The Perks of Being a Wallflower three out of a possible five stars, as an acknowledgment for how beloved it is to so many people, as well as its shortcomings.