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Charlie is your average “wallflower” in THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER by Stephen Chbosky, but everything changes when he meets some older kids at school. For the first time, he experiences true friends, young love, the glory that is The Rocky Horror Picture Show and some truly difficult aspects of growing up.

A coming-of-age tale that’s been hailed a “modern classic” and was on the bestseller list for more than a year, THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER was also the 10^th most banned book from 2000-2009, most often for being sexually explicit and having offensive language.

Still though, there are many diehard fans that believe this book should not be banned by any means, including author Ava Dellaira [LOVE LETTERS TO THE DEAD] and Teen Board members Janine C. and Dally M. Below, the three of them discuss their own reactions to THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER, and why it means so much to each of them.

Do you remember when you read this book for the first time? How old were you? Did you read it for school or for pleasure?

Ava Dellaira: I actually first read THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWERwhen I was 26; I had recently moved to L.A. and was trying to find my way in a new city. I had the luck to get an interview to be Stephen Chbosky’s assistant, and I devoured the book before meeting him. I fell in love with it, and was ready to do anything possible to get the job!

Janine C.: I read THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER for fun during my sophomore year of high school while my sister had the book checked out from the library to read for her English class.

Dally M.: The first time I read this book was for English class when I was 15. The theme of the semester was mental illness, and we could choose any book we wanted that went with the theme.

What do you like about this book, and how would you persuade somebody else to read it?

AD: When I was reading PERKS, it felt like Charlie’s voice got stuck in my head, the way that a favorite song would. I could write an essay as long as the book itself on everything I love about it, but one of the things I love most is how unassumingly honest it is. I think that’s why so many people at different points in their lives can relate to it so strongly. One of the book’s many great messages that resonates for me is this: Even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still chose where we go from there. And Charlie’s journey to arrive at this realization reflects every ounce of its truth. At the time I first read PERKS, that message was an incredibly powerful and important one for me.

JC: I really liked the main character of the novel, Charlie, because I could relate to his quiet nature and how he feels like he is an outsider. Anyone who has ever felt shy or alone can relate to Charlie, who gradually comes out of his shell and makes friends with upperclassmen who are a little outside of what society considers normal. The fact that Charlie’s friends are outside the norm presents many interesting situations, and Charlie, who begins the novel seeming very innocent, has entertaining reactions to these situations. This novel also discusses many topics that teens struggle with in a relatable way, such as sexuality, depression and drug use, while it is also an engaging read with a fast-moving plot and a shocking ending.

DM: What I liked --- rather loved --- about THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER was that it was very honest. The way the story was told made it all seem so relatable and believable. If I had to persuade someone to read the book, I would try and emphasize the gritty reality of the story. It’s always refreshing and enlightening to know the other half of someone’s story.

A parent in Tampa, Florida, wanted to ban THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER from the incoming freshman reading list because "it deals with sexual situations and drug use." If you had the chance to respond to that quote, what would you say?

AD: Not only is it important for teens to read books that reflect the realities of some of the dangers they will face, but it’s also important for young people to have access to stories that speak to their experiences in honest ways. PERKS does deal with sexual situations and drug use. It also deals with friendship, literature, family, music and universal realities about finding oneself and growing up. It is a book that has --- sometimes literally --- saved lives. In Chbosky’s own words, it’s “a blueprint for survival,” and one cannot write a story about hope without also acknowledging darkness.

One of the many important things that literature does is create dialogue. By pushing tough issues aside and refusing to confront them, we give them more strength. Silence is one of our worst enemies when it comes to empowering young people.

JC: I would say that those incoming freshmen are likely to be exposed to both sexual situations and drug use during high school. Being exposed to these themes in a novel, first, creates a safe space for both students and teachers to have an open discussion about them. Even if students feel uncomfortable talking about these topics with their parents, there is now an opportunity to create healthy discussion between peers guided by an adult that students respect. In addition, students have probably already been exposed to sexual situations and drug use in the media, possibly worse than what is presented in THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER. THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER. Also, because it deals with topics such as sexual abuse, domestic violence and suicide, it offers comfort to students who worry they are alone in dealing with these issues. Besides, if the book was banned from the freshman reading list, students may have a sudden urge to seek it out to read on their own. It is better to cover books in class with content that may seem shocking, so students are able to process and digest this content with guidance from a teacher.

DM: I honestly believe that there are parents that intend to shelter their kids from the world. “Curiosity is the breeder of misery” is an old saying my mother would always tell me. Allowing students to explore these worlds through literature allows children and teenagers to learn about the dangers of sex and drugs through novels. This can even scare and ward off children from trying these things if they get a chance to get informed. This information is even better portrayed when the messages are incorporated into such a well-written and riveting storyline.

You need to give the protagonist of this book a book recommendation. What would you recommend, and why?

AD: Charlie’s English teacher, Bill, recommends many of the great classics for him. In keeping with Bill’s theme, I’d suggest MRS. DALLOWAY [by Virginia Woolf], THE GRAPES OF WRATH [by John Steinbeck], WUTHERING HEIGHTS [by Emily Brontë], BELOVED [by Toni Morrison] or THE AWAKENING [by Kate Chopin], all books I fell in love with in my own high school English classes.

JC: I would recommend that Charlie read UGLIES by Scott Westerfeld. UGLIES is the first of a science fiction series set 300 years in the future, where all citizens receive an operation when they turn 16 to turn them from uglies, who are viewed as unimportant, into pretties. Tally, the protagonist from UGLIES, struggles to understand how to fit into society, like Charlie. However, Charlie is not desperate to conform to society’s expectations like Tally, and I think he would find it interesting to read from the perspective of someone who is so different from him. In some ways, though, Charlie and Tally are also similar, such as how they would both do anything to protect their friends. Charlie, who often feels like he is not special, would also find UGLIES interesting because the teens in UGLIES must all have an operation in order for everyone to become similar. This novel would help Charlie understand that he is indeed special, and that there are often times more important things in life than society’s unrealistic and sometimes dangerous expectations.

DM: If I could give Charlie a book recommendation, I would recommend a book on music or a biography on a musician. I cannot give a specific example, but because Charlie loved music and a lot of my memories of the book relate to songs, I feel that this would be the most appropriate gift I could give Charlie.