The first time I read this book, I was in 11th grade and it was newly published. I felt I identified with it in some way. The next time I read it, I was 23 and teaching 9th graders (the main character, Charlie, is, of course, a 9th grader), and I felt that I understood it in a different way than I had when I was 17. I read it again as a 29 year old, bringing a more adult perspective to the book, and found it more heartbreaking than before.

The point is this: every time you read this book, you get something different out of it. The format -- the entire story is told through Charlie's letters to someone who is only identified as "Friend" -- is different, and we can all identify with that difficult "growing up" time in our lives (though hopefully not through the same struggles Charlie suffers).