Wonder by R.J. Palacio

I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He’s about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you’ve ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie’s just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he’s just like them, despite appearances?

R.J. Palacio made me cry!*

That is all I need to say really, in Wonder I have found a story that made me laugh, it made me cry and it made me feel more for any fictional characters than I have for years.

Auggie’s story is told from his perspective and also the perspectives of those around him – his sister, his friends, his sister’s boyfriend and others. This works extremely well, as we obtain a bigger picture than we would if the story was told from Auggie’s perspective alone.

Wonder is a story about individuals, about families, friendship but mostly (I think) it is a book about seeing and understanding.

There have been many books written about vampires, werewolves, the undead and future worlds with characters fighting to survive, but none of these stories can compare to the horror of being a child and being different amongst other children.

I cannot write a long review, I mean I could but I won’t, I love the story, I love the characters and their development over the course of fifth grade and 313 pages. It would have been so easy to make this story grim and miserable, instead R.J. Palacio has woven a tale shot through with humour, bravery, loss and acceptance (also Star Wars, lots and lots of Star Wars!)

I urge everyone that reads this to believe me when I say that you should read this book – buy it, borrow it from your local library – if your library does not have it order it so they do and once you have read it make sure that other people you know read it too!

Wonder is now my favourite book of 2012!

* Pages 204 & 221

One Thought on “Wonder by R.J. Palacio

  1. Great review, following your tweets last night I’ve now requested it through my library and am really looking forward to reading it.

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