Teacher Guide

The Perks of Being a Wallflower Lesson Plan

Relationship to Other Books

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is rife with literary references. All of the books that Bill assigns to Charlie, from Hamlet to The Fountainhead, share some themes with The Perks of Being a Wallflower; at the very least they explore a concept that Charlie is thinking about in real time. Perhaps no book is more universally regarded as the quintessential coming-of-age novel than J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye; there's a reason why both Bill and Charlie's mom give him a copy. Like The Catcher in the Rye, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is the story of a teenage boy, told in his own words. Both books have also come under fire for their controversial subject matter, including sex,...

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