#3 in Contemporary fiction
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
- 231
- Pages
- about 4 h
- Reading time
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Our view
Told through letters, this novel lives on Charlie’s voice: shy, observant and so convincing that the letters seem to come from a real teenager. It is quick to read yet reaches into dark territory, and some readers find it moving and recognise themselves in it. Others are left cool by the narrator’s oddness, especially after years of praise, and its early-1990s American references will not land for everyone.
Worth knowing Published in 1999 by MTV Books, it is told in letters from Charlie, a high-school freshman in suburban Pittsburgh, to an unnamed friend. It has been among the most frequently challenged books in American schools for its treatment of sex, drugs and abuse. Stephen Chbosky wrote and directed the 2012 film himself, with Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a 1999 young adult novel by American author Stephen Chbosky. Set in the early 1990s, the novel follows Charlie, an introverted and observant teenager, through his freshman year of high school in a Pittsburgh suburb. The novel details Charlie's unconventional style of thinking as he navigates between the worlds of adolescence and adulthood, and attempts to deal with poignant questions spurred by his interactions with both his friends and family.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.2 across 2,504 ratings. With that many, the reader vote carries 94% of the weight and the score stays at 8.2 — the Contemporary fiction average of 7.7 barely moves it.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.6 | 110 | 4% |
| Hardcover | 8.2 | 2.4K | 96% |
Frequently asked
What age is The Perks of Being a Wallflower for?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower sits on the Young adult shelf in the sources we use, which by convention means roughly ages 13 and up. This is a guide from the book’s category, not a publisher’s age rating. It has 231 pages — shorter than 94% of the ranked books in Contemporary fiction.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Contemporary fiction — with scores between 7.6 and 8.4, closest to this book.
