This summer I read Stephen Chbosky’s
the perks of being a wallflower, and I found it charming and
complex. I decided to teach it this fall, and my freshmen loved it,
too. A friend told me I was trending on tumblr because my students
were discussing the book so much. It isn’t flashy
in terms of literary devices; however, it is a humble, coming-of-age
story about a group of friends set during the early nineties. My
students laughed when the characters gave each other mix tapes. (Most
of my students were born in 1994, so there’s that…)
We also enjoyed the film adaptation of perks. I suppose that it
is a rare treat to connect with students on a shared turf. I cherish
this book because it enabled us to discuss diversity, depression,
friendship, music, literature, Rocky Horror Picture
Show, bullying, The Smiths, politics and even abortion. A lot of
reviewers refer to it as a modern
Catcher in the Rye, but I think the act of comparing it to anything else strips it of its funky-freshness. Check it out, yo!
