The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. MTV Books/Pocket Books, 1999. 213 pages. ISBN-10: 0671027344. ISBN-13: 978-0671027346.

Plot:

15-year-old Charlie is afraid to start his freshman year of high school. His best friend has committed suicide, his brother is away at college, and he and his sister are no longer as close as they once were. On top of this, Charlie has emotional problems that make it difficult for him to relate to people. To cope with everything, he begins to write letters to an anonymous recipient that he heard was a good listener. Charlie’s letters detail his experience with his family, friends, and the new people he meets. He writes about his Advanced English teacher, who gives him extra reading and encourages him to share his ideas. He reveals information about his family’s past and how it affects who they are now. He writes about learning to “participate” in life and his difficulties with doing so. Perhaps the biggest focus of his letters is his new friendship with two seniors, Patrick and Sam. He loves them both and they are an important part of helping him deal with his life, as well as figure out where he fits in. Charlie changes a lot throughout the course of his letters, but he is faithful in relating every experience along the way.

Critical Evaluation:

The most interesting aspect of this book is the format in which it was written. By choosing to write it as a series of letters to an anonymous recipient, Chbosky personalizes the story in a way that traditional narrative or even journal style could not. It allows readers to truly feel as if Charlie is speaking directly to them. Chbosky also chooses to eschew proper grammar and sentence structure in many instances, but it’s obvious that this is a stylistic choice meant to convey a more authentic teenage voice rather than simply a mistake or poor writing.

There is a sinister undercurrent to this book, which really shows Charlie struggling with emotional issues due to the death of his aunt and (as we later find out) her sexual abuse of him. Charlie seems much younger than his actual age. He’s shy and unconventional, but also socially and emotionally delayed in many ways. Though the content is more appropriate for older teens, Charlie is a character to which younger teens could probably more easily relate. Despite being written almost more than a decade ago, most of the characters could easily have been created today. The parties, friendships, relationships, and other experiences Charlie has ring true.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower has been considered a modern young adult classic since its publication in 1999. It’s the epitome of a coming-of-age novel. Just as my generation loved it when it was published, current and future generations will enjoy and relate to it, as well.

Reader's Annotation:

15-year-old Charlie relates the ups and downs of his freshman year of high through letters written to an unknown recipient.

Author Information:

Stephen Chbosky was born January 25, 1970 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He attended public school in St. Clair, Pennsylvania at a high school that is a three times nominated Blue Ribbon school. He then attended the University of Southern California as part of their screen writing program. He has worked as a screen writer on a handful of films including Rent, the television series Jericho, and his first film The Four Corners of Nowhere, in which he also acted and directed.

Though he has written several screenplays and edited a collection of short stories, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is his only novel. It is semi-autobiographical and also deeply influenced by Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. His writing is also influenced by the works of Tennessee Williams, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Stewart Stern, the screen writer for Rebel Without A Cause.

Genre:

Realistic Fiction

Curriculum Ties:

English: Writing Style, Journaling

Booktalking Ideas:

• Discuss who you think Charlie is writing to and if it really matters.
• Discuss whether their situation determines the person or the person determines their situation.
• Introduce Charlie and the book plot in letter form.

Reading Level/Interest Age:

15 and older

Challenge Issues:

Depiction of homosexuality
Profanity
Sexual content
Drug, alcohol and tobacco Use
Suicide
Molestation
Rape

Challenge Defense Ideas:

• Require the challenger to fill out a written challenge form with clear reasons stated and examples given.
• If not already familiar with the content, become familiar.
• Refer the challenger to the library's collection policy.
• Refer the challenger to reputable reviews of the books, as well as reviews by those in the book's target audience.

Reasons for Selection:

This is one of the more well-known YA books of modern times. It is also being adapted for a film in 2011.

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

Dessen, Sarah. Dreamland. Penguin, 2000. 256 pages. ISBN-10: 0670891223. ISBN-13: 978-0670891221.

Plot:

Caitlin has always been second to her older sister Cass, but that never stopped Caitlin from loving her. When Cass runs away, on Caitlin’s birthday, her family is turned upside down, especially Caitlin. In order to make things seem a little more normal, Caitlin decides to join the cheerleading squad and take a photography class with her mother and neighbor, both of which turn her mother’s attention a little more towards her. Something is still missing, however, and Caitlin thinks she’s found it in Rogerson, a dark and mysterious drug dealer who becomes her first serious boyfriend. At first, everything is great. She and Rogerson have fun together, he introduces her to a new set of friends, and she loves being with him. Then the beatings start. Caitlin stays with him, trying desperately to do anything to avoid being hit and to hide the bruises when she is. She withdraws more and more from her family and friends and school as she becomes more wrapped up with the relationship and her fear. She begins using drugs and sex and her love for Rogerson to escape from the physical and emotional pain his anger and abuse is causing. Everything escalates until the day Rogerson decides that she does something unforgivable and he reaches a level of anger and violence he never has before.

Critical Evaluation:

Those who have never been in an abusive relationship often wonder how a person can stay in one. Dessen does a fantastic job of showing the reader just exactly how a smart, normal girl can end up in a situation she feels she can’t escape. She shows us Caitlin’s emotional state and the progression of their relationship in such a way that we can feel the same shock and disbelief that Caitlin feels when Rogerson turns abusive. Her love for him and her fear of him are both vivid in their presentation. Though the reader may not fully understand why Caitlin doesn’t seek help – and most certainly wishes for her to do so – the escalating situation is such a believable one that it’s easier to understand how so many people end up in relationships such as these. The ending does seem a little too neatly tied and somewhat unrealistic, but perhaps that is exactly the type of ending that can give the reader hope.

Reader's Annotation:

Caitlin has spent her life living in the shadow of her perfect older sister, Cass. When Cass runs away, Caitlin finally has a chance to find herself, but she's looking in all the wrong places.

Author Information:

Sarah Dessen was born June 6, 1970 in Evanston, Illinois, but spent most of her life in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Her parents were both professors and she credits her love of reading as being a result of their influence. She studied creative writing and English at the University of North Carolina, where her parents taught. Three years after graduation, she published her first book. A year after that, she was offered a position as a teacher. She took the job, but continued to write.

She has published 9 books for young adults and has another due to be published in May of 2011. She hadn’t intended on becoming a young adult author, but her agent felt she had a strong teenage voice. Much of her inspiration for writing comes from the close group of friends she had in high school as well as continuing to live in her home town, which she says makes it hard to leave high school behind. Her books have won numerous awards.

Genre:

Realistic Fiction: Abuse

Curriculum Ties:

Psychology: Healthy Relationships, Family Dynamic
Health: Drug Abuse

Booktalking Ideas:

• Discuss Caitlin’s use of photography as a way to hide.
• Speak as if it were a letter from Caitlin to Cass about the effect Cass‘s leaving had on her.
• Discuss the downward spiral of Caitlin and Rogerson’s relationship.

Reading Level/Interest Age:

Age 14 and older

Challenge Issues:

Abusive relationship
Drug use
Sexual content

Challenge Defense Ideas:

• Require the challenger to fill out a written challenge form with clear reasons stated and examples given.
• If not already familiar with the content, become familiar.
• Refer the challenger to the library's collection policy.
• Refer the challenger to reputable reviews of the books, as well as reviews by those in the book's target audience.

Reasons for Selection:

I was drawn to the realistic portrayal of the progression of an abusive relationship.

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Scott, Elizabeth. Living Dead Girl. Simon Pulse, 2008. 176 pages. ISBN-10: 1416960597. ISBN-13: 978-1416960591.


Plot:

When the narrator was 10, a man named Ray kidnapped her, sexually assaulted her, and then took her home with him. He told her that she would now be known as “Alice,” that she was replacing his previous Alice, and that he would kill her family if she ever left him. Five years later, the now 15-year-old Alice has reached the age where Ray tired of her predecessor and killed her. The current Alice knows that she is living on borrowed time. She doesn’t fear her imminent death, however. After 5 years of sexual and physical abuse and starvation designed to maintain her childish appearance, she welcomes an end to her suffering.

When Ray asks Alice to help him find her replacement, she complies, knowing that it will hasten her demise. The years of abuse have numbed her emotions to the point that she gives very little thought to the fate of her replacement but instead looks forward to her own escape. It’s only when a series of complications arise that Alice begins to consider the girl she once was and wonder if there is any of her left inside.

Critical Evaluation:

In this chilling account of an abused kidnapping victim, Scott answers the question so often asked of victims: Why didn’t you run? She opens the story with two opposing views, allowing the reader to see both the publicly presented view of Alice’s life and the actuality of her situation. Though the book is primarily written in first-person, using second-person in the opening of the story sets the tone by grouping the reader in with the rest of the world in refusing to see what is really happening to Alice. By doing so, she emphasizes exactly how hopeless Alice’s situation is.

Scott writes Alice as a numb and detached narrator, really lending credence to her portrayal of an incredibly emotionally scarred child. Her almost unemotional treatment of such appalling events serves to heighten the horror the reader feels as the story unfolds. She manages to keep Alice from being a completely static character, however, and at times even presents her as a monster, herself. Living Dead Girl is a book that the reader will simultaneously want to stop reading and yet be unable to do so.

Reader's Annotation:

Five years ago, Alice had a home, friends, parents, and a different name. Now all she has is the hope that her abusive kidnapper will finally end her nightmare by killing her, but she doesn’t realize that he has worse fate planned for her.

Author Information:

Elizabeth Scott was born in 1972 in a small town in Virginia. Her parents were both school teachers and her town was small enough that she often ended up in classes taught by one or the other. She attended college and graduated with a major in European studies. Prior to becoming an author, she held several jobs including editor, office manager, and salesman. She now lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband, whom she met in college.

She has published eight books for young adults. Though many of her books are what would be considered romance, she does often include serious subject matter and several of her novels cover dark subjects. Young adult novels hold a special place in her heart and she has stated that doesn’t see herself ever writing anything else.

Genre:

Realistic Fiction: Abuse

Curriculum Ties:

Psychology: Victim Mentality, Reactions to Abuse, Emotional Deterioration
English: Narrative Structure

Booktalking Ideas:

• Focus on Alice’s claim that no one notices or cares what’s really going on.
• Discuss the implications of Alice gladly helping Ray look for her replacement.
  

Reading Level/Interest Age

16 and older

Challenge Issues:

Sexual abuse
Violence
Kidnapping

Challenge Defense Ideas:

• Require the challenger to fill out a written challenge form with clear reasons stated and examples given.
• If not already familiar with the content, become familiar.
• Refer the challenger to the library's collection policy.
• Refer the challenger to reputable reviews of the books, as well as reviews by those in the book's target audience.

Reasons for Selection:

My younger sister recommended it. I was intrigued by the premise and insight into victim mentality.