Review: Wonder (2012)

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

I've had a soft place for this book my entire life. I first learned about this when I was in the fifth grade. Towards the end of the year, my teacher made the decision to read this book. And since it was the year's end, we were never able to complete it! Fortunately for me, though, I was in an English class that chose to study this when I started middle school, and I was really enthusiastic. I adored it when I finished reading it for the first time. And the second, third, fourth, and perhaps fifth occasions. I can't recall.

Either way, every time I've read this, I enjoy it more and more. It is a heartwarming tale about a youngster named August Pullman, also known as Auggie, who struggles to have a typical childhood despite having a deformed face. I thought it was absolutely wonderful and extremely smart that the story was told from various points of view. A great moral lesson from this book is to never judge someone by how they look but rather by what they do with their hearts.

This book is known for its storytelling. Author R.J. Palacio wrote one big story to be told, not only through Auggie's point of view. The story is told from six perspectives August, Via, his older sister, Summer, a friendly caring peer, Jack, a student leader who struggles in his role as a friend, Miranda, his sister’s best friend and a close family friend, Justin, Miranda’s boyfriend, plus a bonus chapter from Julian’s point of view, Auggie’s nemesis. It's kind of unfortunate how we didn't get the parents' perspective, but then again, the characters we did get was more interesting, to say the least.

"Wonder" is a great children's novel that can be enjoyed by adults as well.