In 1999, Stephan Chbosky wrote a young-adult novel which critics hailed as our generation’s Catcher in the Rye. The Perks of Being a Wallflower told the hauntingly real story of a high school outsider, dealing with the struggles of high school society.

For many students who read this novel, it changes their lives. Chbosky has stated on his website that he has received letters from teenagers who said this book saved them from making an irreversible choice to end their lives.

For a book so personal and deep, fans feared the novel wouldn’t transfer well from written work to screen. Critics have given the film mixed reviews, but Chbosky doesn’t mind. The author, who also wrote the screenplay, says the teenage opinion is the only opinion that matters to him. “My hope is that if kids feel alone in the world, they can go to this movie and realize that so many emotions that they’re feeling, other people have them, too.”

This movie surpassed my expectations. The characters were well developed; the plot was as haunting in the film as in the book, and the screenplay kept many of the ties between the two mediums.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, starring Logan Leerman, Ezra Miller, and Emma Watson, is showing in select theaters in Columbus. While I strongly suggest students read the novel, the movie adaptation is a strong supplement to an outstanding book.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aog8680PVmU

Written by Peri Kahraman’13