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.

Chbosky took five years to develop and publish The Perks of Being a Wallflower,[1] creating the characters and other aspects of the story from his own memories.

The novel addresses themes permeating adolescence, including sexuality, drug use, rape, and mental health, while also making several references to other literary works, films, and pop culture in general.

Despite positive reviews from critics, the book has frequently been banned and challenged in the United States according to the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom.

Throughout the 1991–92 school year, Charlie, the fifteen-year-old (later sixteen-year-old) protagonist, begins writing letters about his own life to an unknown recipient addressed, "Dear Friend."

In these letters, he discusses his freshman year of high school and his struggles with two traumatic experiences: the suicide of his only middle-school friend, Michael Dobson, and the death of his favorite aunt, Helen.

Their friend Mary Elizabeth is impressed and asks Charlie to the Sadie Hawkins dance and they enter into a desultory relationship.

As the school year ends, Charlie is anxious about losing his older friends—especially Sam, who is leaving for a summer college-preparatory program and has learned that her boyfriend cheated on her.

Charlie begins to realize that his sexual contact with Sam has stirred up repressed memories of him being molested by his Aunt Helen as a little boy.

Charlie shows signs of PTSD from the incident and the revelation of his abuse helps the reader understand his views of relationships and love.

[11] By using a series of letters from Charlie to an anonymous character, Chbosky found "the most intimate way" to talk directly to the reader.

[8] He thought the letters would help him keep the story cohesive, "to convey the highs and lows of being young – one day, you're on top of the world and you've had the greatest of times.

"[13] Marty Beckerman of Word Riot said that The Perks of Being a Wallflower connects with young people because its scenes are "so universal, and happen to so many teenagers.

[15] The book dispassionately addresses a range of themes, which include drugs,[14] friendship, body image, first love, suicide, eating disorders, and sexuality.

[13][17] The book makes literary references to This Side of Paradise, On the Road, Peter Pan, To Kill a Mockingbird,[3][18] The Stranger, and Walden.

[20] It became the subsidiary's best-selling book with 100,000 copies in print as of 2000,[20] and was included on school reading lists and gathered a cult following.

'[23] Critical response was mixed; Publishers Weekly called the novel "trite," dealing with "standard teenage issues" in which "Chbosky infuses a droning insistence on Charlie's supersensitive disposition.

"[26] Common Sense Media's Kate Pavao praised its relevant themes for teenagers: "Readers will find themselves quickly feeling sorry for the protagonist and worrying about him throughout his transformative journey.

"[27] The Perks of Being a Wallflower has appeared seven times on the American Library Association's (ALA) list of 10 most frequently challenged books for its content: 2004 (5), 2006 (8), 2007 (10), 2008 (6), 2009 (3), 2013 (8), 2014 (8),[28] 2022 (5),[29] and 2023 (4).

[7] After the publication of the novel, the author said he received film offers, refusing them because he "owed the fans a movie that was worthy of their love for the book.

[40] With the announcement of a film adaptation, the novel received more attention; its sales increased from 88,847 copies in 2011 to 425,933 in 2012,[41] and it reached the New York Times bestseller lists.

[42] It entered the Children's Paperback Books category on the June 23, 2012 list,[43] and had 1.5 million copies in print in November 2012.