0671027344.
Charlie is a fifteen year old who is just starting high school because he was held back a year. He is deeply troubled by his best friend�s recent suicide and the accidental death of his aunt years earlier. As he makes it through this first year of high school, we see how he grows and learns about himself and the importance of friends and family.
The plot is similar to a lot of young adult novels, in that Charlie is just starting high school and is worried about making friends. What is unique about the plot is Charlie himself and the multitude of problems him and his friends have. The main conflict of this story involves Charlie battling his own personal demons. There are other conflicts too though. There is relationship conflict between Mary Elizabeth and Charlie, Sam and Craig, and Brad and Patrick. There is also the internal conflict Charlie faces over his sister�s abusive relationship and then her pregnancy. These are just two examples of the many conflicts that arise in this story. The climax to the main conflict occurs when Charlie has a mental breakdown towards the end of the book. Then the resolution occurs when he writes that his Aunt Helen had molested him as a child and that he�s been in the hospital, but is better now and isn�t going to write anymore.
This book has extremely rich characterization. We can identify with Charlie even if we don�t have any of his problems. He is extremely sensitive and willing to do anything for his friends and family. He is revealed through his thoughts, actions and dialogue with other characters. While this is typically a strength, it can also be seen as one of Charlie�s weaknesses. For instance, Charlie lets Patrick kiss him and watches as Patrick develops a drinking problem, but does nothing to stop him. He doesn�t confront Patrick because he�s trying to be a good friend, but he doesn�t realize that he�s not being a good friend by letting Patrick hurt himself. The story has a large and important supporting cast as well. There is his English teacher, Bill, who sees Charlie�s genius and encourages and challenges him. There�s Sam and Patrick, "bright bohemians with ego-bruising insights and, really, hearts of gold" (School Library Journal). They really help him discover himself and teach him about how to interact with others. There are other minor characters such as Charlie�s sister, Mary Elizabeth, Bob, and others.
The story takes place in a suburb in western Pennsylvania in the early 1990�s. It�s not extremely crucial to the story. Charlie and his friends hang out at each other�s houses and the local burger place, for lack of anything better to do.
The main theme of this story really seems to be just the power of friendship. Charlie has a lot of problems and so do his friends, but they get through everything with each other�s help. This theme is conveyed through the character�s actions and dialogue. We see how his sister can be so mad at him that she�s refusing to talk to him one minute, and the next minute has told him secrets that nobody else knows. We see how patient Sam is with him. It�s obvious that Charlie�s friends and family love him and this is what gets him through his tough times.
This story is told in first person point of view from Charlie�s perspective. It�s written in an interesting style. Charlie is writing letters to some unnamed person about what�s going on in his life. Charlie doesn�t even know the person, but heard from someone at a party that this person had the chance to sleep with someone at a party, but didn�t. Charlie feels that this makes them a good person who wouldn�t mind getting letters from him. The tone varies throughout the story. Sometimes it�s very serious such as when Charlie reads the depressing poem to his friends at the Christmas party and Bob tells them that it is a kid�s suicide note (Chbosky 70). Other times it is simply happy and joyful like when Charlie is in Sam�s truck in between Sam and Patrick and he says he feels infinite (Chbosky 33). Charlie often writes in a very descriptive manner that really draws the reader into the story. When he describes what it was like at Sam and Patrick�s house at Christmas, he says �The outside lights were on, and it was snowing, and it looked like magic. Like we were somewhere else. Like we were someplace better� (Chbosky 65). Many young adults can identify with this feeling. I know I did when I first read this story at the age of sixteen. Charlie also uses figurative language. He describes the air outside on a humid day by saying it felt �like a warm bath� (Chbosky 42).
"The novel has the disjointed and almost dreamlike quality of a music video" (Voice of Youth Advocates). It has a lot of rough subject matter in it. It�s has abuse, molestation, rape, drug abuse, teen pregnancy, abortion, and more. But despite all this, I still think that at it�s core, it�s a story about the power of friendship. This book certainly isn�t for younger teens, but many older teens will understand and identify with Charlie and his friends and the love they have for each other.
School Library Journal. 1999. School Library Journal. In Books in Print [database online]. Available from http://www.booksinprint.com/bip. Accessed 3 October 2004.
Voice of Youth Advocates. 1999. Voice of Youth Advocates. In Books in Print [database online].
Available from http://www.booksinprint.com/bip. Accessed 3 October 2004.
