This is a touching and spot on teen coming of age story. It is compelling and at times, hard to read. Chbosky's epistolary novel takes us through 'Charlie's' freshman year as he figures a lot of stuff out. I ached for Charlie, worried for him, empathized with him, and hoped for him. It is books like this that are timeless and hopefully provide a beacon [maybe not of hope-- but maybe a beacon of understanding?:] for all teenagers struggling with normalcy.