The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky

Charlie was always different and he seemed even more of an outcast after Michael died. He had no friends at school. When he meets Sam and Patrick, they encourage him to "participate" in life. They show him what having friends is like. Charlie is able to make a new life for himself in high school and learn some of the reasons, he is the way he is.

I read this book in 8th or 9th grade and I remember liking it a lot and then more recently it's gotten all this hype because it was made into a movie so I decided to read it again. The book is written through letters that Charlie writes to an anonymous friend. The identity of the friend is irrelevant. It is a quick read and it's one of those stories that just sort of touches you. I'd definitely recommend it. I haven't seen the movie yet, but from talking to friends and family it seems like the movie stuck fairly close to the book, but that the portrayal of characters was different.  It was also very difficult to find original cover art for the book because they now made the movie book cover version.