The Perks of Beign a Wallflower

The story begins with a quiet, sensitive, 15-year-old boy named Charlie writing letters about his life to an unknown recipient. Charlie chooses that person because he said that he heard he was nice and thought that this person would not be judgmental. He discusses his first year at high school, grappling with two traumatic experiences from his past: the suicide of his only middle-school friend, Michael, a year before, and the death of his favorite aunt, Helen, during his early childhood.
His English teacher, Mr. Anderson, notices Charlie's passion for reading and writing, and acts as a mentor by assigning him extracurricular books and reports. Although he is a wallflower, Charlie is befriended by two seniors: Patrick and Sam. Patrick is secretly dating Brad, a closeted football player, and Sam is Patrick's stepsister. Charlie quickly develops a crush on Sam and subsequently admits his feelings to her. It is revealed that Sam was sexually abused as a child, and she kisses Charlie to ensure that his first kiss is from someone who truly loves him.
In parallel, Charlie witnesses his sister's boyfriend hit her across the face, but she forbids him from telling their parents. He eventually mentions the occurrence to Mr. Anderson, who tells Charlie's parents about it. Charlie's relationship with his sister rapidly deteriorates and she continues to see her boyfriend against her parents' wishes. Eventually, he discovers that his sister is pregnant and agrees to bring her to an abortion clinic without telling anyone. His sister breaks up with her boyfriend, after which her and Charlie's relationship begins to improve significantly.
Charlie is accepted by Sam and Patrick's group of friends and begins experimenting with tobacco, alcohol and other drugs. As Charlie engages with his new friends he can control his flashbacks of Aunt Helen, who died in a car crash on her way to buy him a birthday gift. Eventually, Mary Elizabeth, a member of the group, invites Charlie to the...