In this amazing book, Wonder
(R.J. Palacio, 2012), we meet Auggie, a boy born with a rare form of
extreme facial deformity. Auggie had to
go through so many surgeries (27!) and health problems since birth that he had
to be homeschooled for the first 10 years of his life. When people first meet him, they gasp and
only say, “whoa!” That’s how bad he
looks.
So Auggie, whose favorite holiday is Halloween because he
can hide his face behind a mask, goes to school for the first time at a small
private middle school in Manhattan. Some
kids in school are really mean to him calling him names behind his back and considering
any contact with him as the “plague” (like the “cheese touch” in The Diary of a Wimpy Kid)! Still, Auggie makes friends with Summer and Jack;
also his older sister Via, Via’s friend Miranda, and Via’s boyfriend Justin are
all very nice to him, too. Despite his
problems and emotional turmoil, Auggie keeps a good sense of humor and optimism,
and most of all, courage.
This book was written with multiple points of view (POV),
meaning that we get inside the head of more than one person. So we get to see the same events from the
viewpoints of Via, Summer, Jack, Justin, and Miranda as well as Auggie’s. And that’s how we get to understand why they
acted the way they did, even when they seemed thoughtless or cruel. Through these POVs, we learn that it’s not
just Auggie who has problems. Everyone
has vulnerable spots he or she wants to hide.
The author has so much understanding and compassion for all the
characters that, even with the meanest boy, I could sort of see why he is that
way, after seeing what a horrible person his mother is. We all have difficult situations at times,
but we try to make the best of them and understand others. Although I cried much reading their stories,
by the time I finished the book, I was filled with joy, love, and hope. It was the best children’s book I read this
year so far!
Recommended for: ages 10-14
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Pages: 313
This book review was written by Youth Services Librarian, Flora Kim.
