No one can forget the hell that was high school. Try as we might to block it out, it just ain’t happenin’.

New author Stephen Chbosky feels this all-too-familiar pain in “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.”

Charlie, 15, is just starting out in high school and is feeling the normal uncertainties that go along with being a freshman. And instead of talking out his feelings, he writes letters to an anonymous friend, telling him or her of his everyday experiences and feelings.

In one of Charlie’s first letters, he explains the purpose of his diary. He writes, “The reason I wrote this letter is because I start high school tomorrow, and I am really afraid of going.”

At first, Charlie seems to be a naive and confused youngster who is still suffering the pain of losing his best friend to suicide and his favorite aunt to a car accident early in life.

But soon, Charlie’s quiet intelligence is evident in his simple, yet profound observations of life.

Pondering the reason for his friend’s death, Charlie writes, “Maybe it was ‘problems at home.’ I wish I knew. It might make me miss him more clearly. It might have made sad sense.”

Charlie sees straight through to the way things really are.

Wondering why his friend Susan is so different from last year, Charlie says, “Now, she acts a lot dumber in the hallways, especially when boys are around. And I think it’s sad because Susan doesn’t look as happy.”

Soon, the freshman finds some true friends in a small group of seniors. They take him in as one of their own and introduce him to music, marijuana, LSD and cult showings of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

Charlie finds a sense of belonging in his friends and often describes them as “infinite.”

Throughout his first year of high school, Charlie does a lot of growing up and figures out why he is the person that he is. A lot of what he learns is good, and some is bad. But because of it all Charlie becomes stronger.

At first glance, Chbosky’s novel appears to be the same old coming-of-age story. But there is a lot more to Charlie and his life than there seems to be.

By using Charlie himself as a narrator, Chbosky offers a fresh approach to writing instead of the old, rehashed psychological insights. Chbosky truly gets into the mind of a 15-year-old and reminds everyone just what it was like all those years ago.

4 1/2 stars out of five

Kelsey Foutch is a sophomore in journalism and mass communication from Waterloo.