Critical response was mixed; "Publishers Weekly" called the novel "trite", dealing with "standard teenage issues" in which "Chbosky infuses a droning insistence on Charlie's supersensitive disposition." Although "Kirkus Reviews" said it had "the right combination of realism and uplift", the reviewer criticized Chbosky's "rip-off" of J. D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye". Although other reviewers made similar comparisons, Chbosky said he "was not trying to mimic [Salinger's] style as a writer"; he saw "how readers could compare Charlie to Salinger's Holden Caulfield, but "they are very different people with unique problems and perspectives". More positive was Francisca Goldsmith of the "School Library Journal", who said the novel "cleverly" makes the readers the recipients of Charlie's letters, and it "will engage teen readers for years to come." Common Sense Media's Kate Pavao praised its relevant themes for teenagers: "Readers will find themselves quickly feeling sorry for the protagonist and worrying about him throughout his transformative journey." For "The A.V. Club", Marah Eakin wrote that although for an adult ""Perks" suffers from an overabundance of pure, raw angst ... unlike some more arrested development-friendly young adult fare like "Harry Potter", "Perks" speaks to a more specific age range and does it well."