Tags
book, book review, bullying, face, face deformities, humor, school, sickness, treacher-collins
Wonder (2012)
by R.J. Palacio
Hardcover Edition
Publication Date: February 14th, 2012
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
buy a copy via Amazon.
synopsis via Goodreads.
Book Trailer:
I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.
August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He’s about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you’ve ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie’s just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he’s just like them, despite appearances?
My Thoughts:
I’m usually not a middle-grade reader, but the cover caught my attention since the beginning of the year. I’ve seen a couple glowing reviews for it, but I didn’t think much about it until I saw it in the library last week, and I was like “why not?” I read the first few pages to test the book out, and I somehow ended reading thirty pages…and I still wasn’t sure what’s up with the main character, Auggie: from the first few pages, I knew he had something that set in apart, but I didn’t know what exactly–so I borrowed the book to sate my curiosity. And boy am I glad I did.
Wonder is the fascinating, inspiring story of Auggie who is born with a severe Treacher-Collin’s syndrome, making his face almost hideous to strangers. He attends school for the first time in fifth grade, and he struggles to fit into the school environment. But he is not the only one with problems as his friends and family also struggle to adapt to him. The story, theme may be predictable, but it’s the execution that makes Wonder special. Each character has their own engaging, heartfelt story to tell. Wonder is definitely one of my favorite, thought-provoking reads this year. It opens itself to many discussions, and I wish I read it when I was in fifth grade.
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Posted by Lilian @ A Novel Toybox | Filed under Book Reviews, Grade A
