I heard about this during banned books week, as it was banned and I try to read banned books when I can. Most YA problem novels generally pick one or two issues teens deal with--like alcohol use, drug use, suicide, family dysfunction, mental illness, domestic violence, homosexuality, child molestation, teen pregnancy, and abortion--to concentrate on but Chbosky seems to go for the jackpot. I think the only problem the brilliant but troubled protagonist of this novel doesn't have to deal with directly or indirectly is divorce. "Wallflower" Charlie is a high school freshman, but he's a year older because his mental problems as a child have left him behind in school. He makes friends with Patrick--who is gay--and Patrick's stepsister Sam, who Charlie is in love with. His sister is involved with a boy who has hit her. As the year progresses, Patrick is outed and beaten, Charlie seems to temporarily lose his friends over a mis-judgment, Charlie is an unexpected source of support for his sister, and at the moment when Charlie appears to be finally getting somewhere, traumatic memories that explain so much resurface--but Charlie is unable to cope with them. This was a good book but it was almost painful to read.