A fresh look at coming-of-age

Few people would trust MTV to publish a thoughtful novel, but that is exactly what happened when the same network that produces Total Request Live published The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. The novel is a glimpse at teenage pop culture-ridden life, set in the early 1990s. The result is similar to the techno remix of a classical masterpiece, offering its own fresh perspective to an old favorite. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is similar to your classic coming-of-age story; however, it revives this tired genre through a vivid portrayal of modern adolescence.

The individuality of this book is obvious from the first page. Its unusual form of narration reveals the plot through a series of letters to an unknown recipient. Charlie, the individual who writes these letters, begins them with the introduction, "Dear friend." This cryptic opener, which is never fully explained, adds a personal touch, strongly tying the reader to the protagonist and his emotions.

Charlie candidly admits everything, including his confused and emotionally-charged thoughts and the reader is instantaneously immersed in Charlie's introspective world.

Charlie, a high school freshman, is a wallflower because he stays on the sidelines of social interaction. Both sensitive and shy, he prefers reading books and observing others to the development of actual personal relationships, and his only friends are upperclassmen. Charlie is every bit as mature on an intellectual level, but na??ve when it comes to social interaction. Not knowing how to be honest with people, he ends up dating a girl who he doesn't like at all, having a crush on a girl he never confronts, and letting a boy kiss him, even though he feels no sexual or romantic interest in the same sex.

Despite Charlie's social naivety and status as a wallflower, he has a fascinating social life. He attends The Rocky Horror Picture Show weekly, where his friends dress up as the film's characters and act out the zany roles of the story. He experiments with drugs, tests the waters with girls, and makes his own mix tapes. From the novel's first page to its last, Charlie undergoes strong character development and learns more about the subtle world that surrounds him.

Charlie is a multifaceted character, one in which everyone can see a portion of themselves. He is certainly not the most popular kid in school, but then again, he's not the biggest loser either. Charlie is a young adult who is somewhere in between being popular and unknown, trying to find his place in the bewildering world of high school.

In his first letter, Charlie writes, "So this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be." This image is a potent one and symbolic of the novel as a whole -- Charlie's life as a restless youth is nostalgically priceless.