Wonder is a fiction book by R.J. Palacio first published in 2012. This 316-page book is categorized under Young-Adult and Contemporary fiction. It is a story of August Pullman (Auggie), a 10-year-old boy, who is born with facial deformities and has gone through 27 surgeries but they aren’t able to correct his face. All this prevented him from going to mainstream school so her mother homeschooled him. Now he starting the 5th grade in Breecher’s prep school and just wants to be treated like a normal kid without being stared too much. But maybe he wasn’t ordinary at all.
If I could recommend one fiction book for non-readers, ‘Wonder’ would be it.
Book tells the story of August and people around him. It is about his journey of the first year in the school. Where he gets bullied a lot, other kids in school get scared of his face and make fun of him. The book begins with the perspective of Auggie, switches to his classmates, his sister, her boyfriend, and others. It shows all those different perspectives/stories which revolve around August.
What made me pick the ‘Wonder’ book
I came to know about this book via a google search. I was looking for some fiction book which shows a story in the perspectives of different characters. This book showed up in top results. I read the synopsis of the book on Goodreads and it instantly caught my attention. Additionally, this book got high ratings on Goodreads. I started reading the Kindle version of the book because I couldn’t wait for the paperback to be ordered and delivered.
Book Title: Wonder
Author: R. J. Palacio
Published: February 14, 2012
Pages: 316
Genre: Fiction, Young Adult, Contemporary
Rating: 5/5
Goodreads Link: Click here
Check out my blogs on How I rate a book to see my book rating system and How to write a book review – A step by step guide to see how I review the books.
Critical Comments
This book definitely went way beyond my expectations. My purpose for reading the book, to understand the perspectives of different subjects in the same story, was accomplished. Technically, it is a children book but it doesn’t feel like it. In addition, the story is so touchy that it gave me tears many times while reading the book. Some books can impact the lives of the readers deeply and this book definitely has the potential to do that. The writing style of the author is very clear and effective.
I loved the way the contents of the book are laid out. It started with the perspective of Auggie, then switches to others and back to Auggie. This was an easy read because a small chapter was created out of every event which makes it easy to read. There is one part of the book, the story between Auggie’s sister Olivia and her friend Miranda. That could be better because I found that this little part of the story doesn’t blend in with the central story properly.
Favorite quotes
- When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind.
- It’s not enough to be friendly. You have to be a friend.
- Funny how sometimes you worry a lot about something and it turns out to be nothing.
- Don’t try too hard to be cool. It always shows, and that’s uncool.
- I think there should be a rule that everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their lives.
- It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.
- Kinder than is necessary. Because it’s not enough to be kind. One should be kinder than needed.
- It’s what you’ve done with your time, how you’ve chosen to spend your days, and whom you’ve touched this year. That, to me, is the greatest measure of success.
About the author: R.J. Palacio
R.J. Palacio was an art director and a graphic designer for more than 20 years. She lives in Brooklyn, NYC. Wonder was her debut novel published in 2012 and in addition to it, she published 365 days of wonder, Auggie & Me, The Julian Chapter, Pluto & Shingaling. Recently she has published We’re all wonders in 2017. All of these are related to her first book. In my opinion, It would be interesting to read a new story by the author.
Wonder: Book or Movie
You read the book slowly over many days and get into the story, understand each and every character deeply. A movie cannot do such a thing, it has to show the entire story in the matter of a couple of hours. There is a movie on the same name “Wonder” featuring Julia Roberts, Jacob Tremblay, and Own Wilson released in 2017. The book is definitely better than the movie but the movie is good as well. The movie took the utmost care to show the same story. But some part of the book has been skipped and manipulated in the movie. Even with all manipulation, the mid of the movie appears to be a bit slow.
I would say that the movie didn’t really meet my expectations but I enjoyed watching it. I recommend watching the movie after reading the book. You can watch it on youtube.
Recommendation
If I could recommend one book to my child, this would be it. If I could recommend one book to a non-reader, this would be it. And if I could recommend one book to any parent or teacher, this would be it. I really loved this book. I rate it 5/5 stars.
Rating: 5/5 Star
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