Wonder, by R. J. Palacio

Wonder, by R.J. Palacio

Hey all!
I just finished Wonder, by R.J. Palacio!
This book is definitely making it in my top 15 of this year! I’m so sorry for the pun, but it was wonderful!! 

Goodreads Blurb: 
"You can't blend in when you were born to stand out.

My name is August. I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.

August Pullman wants to be an ordinary ten-year-old. He does ordinary things. He eats ice cream. He plays on his Xbox. He feels ordinary - inside.

But Auggie is far from ordinary. Ordinary kids don't make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. Ordinary kids don't get stared at wherever they go.

Born with a terrible facial abnormality, Auggie has been home-schooled by his parents his whole life, in an attempt to protect him from the cruelty of the outside world. Now, for the first time, he's being sent to a real school - and he's dreading it. All he wants is to be accepted - but can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, underneath it all?

Narrated by Auggie and the people around him whose lives he touches forever, Wonder is a funny, frank, astonishingly moving debut to read in one sitting, pass on to others, and remember long after the final page.”

This book is a wave of feels. Not just a wave, actually, it’s a whole feel-tsunami. (a feelnami? nahhh) 

It is both sad and happy and comforting - it both gives hope for humanity and destroys it. Kids can be as mean as they can be sweet when they are confronted with something they don’t know, like August. 

August is an extraordinary character, all while being ordinary. I’m not saying that because he has a mutation that made his face mal-develop. He is genuinely a sweet and fun kid! He has a Star Wars addiction, a few good friends, a loving family, and a good sense of humor. But people judge the kid by his cover and treat him differently because of it. Some people bully him mercilessly, while others befriend him like a normal person. 

The book was written very simply, in a ‘he-said she-said’ way that made it a quick an easy read. It can really be read by anyone 10 and up, but with different understanding of the book, I think. 

One thing I loved was the fact that there were 8 parts, most of which were told by a different point of view. His friends, family, and acquaintances tell their story about how their lives entertwined with August’s, and how it changed them. (there was one part I didn’t like much, which was Justin’s, just because there were no capital letters or quotation marks... ;-; ) But they really each brought a new perspective to the story in a perfect way. 

All of the characters were so unique and well thought-out. However, their backstories weren’t what was important for any of them, it was really who they were as a person that was brought to attention the most. The little things they did for August, the way they acted with others, who they were as individuals... and I think that that’s the main message form this book - people may have different looks, stories, and experiences, but it’s who they are on the inside that matters most. 

I’m so giving this a 5/5 feathers! 

Have you read Wonder? What did you think about it? Let me know! :D