11. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Synopsis:
August Pullman was born with a facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face.
Wonder begins from Auggie’s point of view, but soon switches to include his classmates, his sister, her boyfriend, and others. These perspectives converge in a portrait of one community’s struggle with empathy, compassion, and acceptance.
My Review:
There are several changes coming into Auggie's life, the main one being in going back to school after being homeschooled all his life. School can be a challenge for anyone - not just the schoolwork, but being accepted and when you're different from everybody else, bullying. And as Auggie expected, it gets off to a rough start as his classmates aren't used to seeing someone like him and give him a hard time. Throughout this story, August challenges his classmates to look beyond his differences and see that underneath it all, he's just like everybody else. I did appreciate the added change of views from other characters, so you could see their perspective at different points of knowing Auggie. You can understand their views before getting to know him, as well as how they came to accept him as a friend, as normal. The transformations of not only Auggie, but his classmates and family members alike, are awe-inspiring.
Change can be hard, but it can also be good. Before going back to real school, Auggie hid his face with an astronaut helmet. Whether or not he believed it at first, going to school and taking off his protection from the outside world was courageous and brave. He became vulnerable, but with that vulnerability came acceptance at the end. He became a one-of-a-kind character.
Everyone knows the old adage to not judge a book by its cover. Wonder spread the same adage except with a person. So just like books shouldn't be judged by its cover, people should not be judged by what they seem on the outside. It matters who they/we are on the inside.
Happy Reading and Keep on Writing!
~Meg~
Change can be hard, but it can also be good. Before going back to real school, Auggie hid his face with an astronaut helmet. Whether or not he believed it at first, going to school and taking off his protection from the outside world was courageous and brave. He became vulnerable, but with that vulnerability came acceptance at the end. He became a one-of-a-kind character.
Everyone knows the old adage to not judge a book by its cover. Wonder spread the same adage except with a person. So just like books shouldn't be judged by its cover, people should not be judged by what they seem on the outside. It matters who they/we are on the inside.
Happy Reading and Keep on Writing!
~Meg~
