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 has written a spare, warm, uplifting story that will have readers laughing one minute and wiping away tears the next. With wonderfully realistic family interactions (flawed, but loving), lively school scenes, and short chapters, Wonder is accessible to readers of all levels.

August Pullman is aware of how different he looks! So many surgeries did nothing to change his face, and he will have to live forever with looking different. Little kids can be scared, adults can find him repulsive, but kids his age have the power to be more hurtful than others.

That’s why, after so many years being homeschooled, he is not looking forward to starting middle grade. Crossing the gates of the school is like welcoming every stare he knows he will get. But for his so loving family and to stand for himself, Auggie will do it.

Wonder made me tear up since the beginning. Told from different point of views, from his sister to his (new) friends, the book touches the life and the appearances that made Auggie be who he is. Always trying to be positive, always full of an innocence and sincerity, he give us some well put phrases and needed lessons. Why do we judge what we see?

August needs to overcome bullying, the certain he will always be like he is, the fear of the future, prejudice and everything that comes with it. He needs to prove himself so much more than the other, all because he looks kinda different. How is it fair?

The way his family close around him, the way people feelings about August were put in the narrative, made this the most sensitive book I’ve read in a long time. It’s impossible to contain the tears at the end (in my case, I had bouts of crying since the beginning), because main lesson in this story is that it doesn’t matter if the world doesn’t accept you: if you do, all is right!

Auggie, just a kid, teached me about so many things, and maybe that’s because something we should remember lessons we had as a kid, and forgot as we grew up.

Author: R.J. Palacio
Country: United States
Language: English
Genre(s): Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Knopf
Publication date: February 14, 2012
Pages: 315
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