Summary

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is told through a series of letters from the narrator, Charlie, to an unknown recipient. The letters begin at the start of the 1991 school year. Charlie explains that last year, his only middle school friend, Michael Dobson, committed suicide. He also explains that he loved his late Aunt Helen, who had a difficult childhood.

Charlies starts high school, but he doesn’t like it and has no friends. His English teacher, who asks Charlie to call him “Bill”, gives him extra reading and assignments to do. One evening, he sees his sister’s boyfriend hit her across the face, and later accidentally sees them having sex. His sister tells him not to tell their parents. 

At a football match, Charlie meets Patrick and Sam, who are stepbrother and stepsister and who are three years older t...