Wonder by R. J. Palacio - BOOK REVIEW

Title:  Wonder
Author:  R. J. Palacio
Publisher:   Alfred Knopf Books for Young Readers, a division of Random House
Release Date:  February 14, 2012
Hardcover, 320 pages
ISBN 10:    0375869026
ISBN 13:  9780375869020
The Book Depository / Amazon

Goodreads description:

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?

R. J. Palacio has written a spare, warm, uplifting story that will have readers laughing one minute and wiping away tears the next. With wonderfully realistic family interactions (flawed, but loving), lively school scenes, and short chapters, Wonder is accessible to readers of all levels.

My Take: 

What a wonder of a book!

First sentence:  I know I'm not an ordinary ten-year-old kid.

August (Auggie) is 10-year-old born with a cranio-facial abnormality that, in spite of who he is inside, makes him stand out in a crowd.

This is the story of his first year in school, told in the first person through various viewpoints - Auggie, his sister Olivia(Via), her boyfriend Justin, her friend Miranda, and Auggie's friends Jack and Summer.

I love how this story is told in a realistic, "that's just the way it is" fashion - even Via, who is a teenager, pretty much rolls with the fact that most of the attention goes to Auggie - with all of the surgeries that he has had, that's just to be expected.  She's always stuck up for him, and never, until this first year of her going to a new high school, felt at all ashamed of his appearance.

Auggie?  Well, he's just a great kid - a Star Wars fan, an XBox-playing, joke-making, pretty smart little dude who loves his family and their dog Daisy, bought off of a homeless guy for $20 by Auggie's father.  He has a loving and imperfect family, he doesn't feel sorry for himself (much), and seeing the world through his eyes made this reader even more grateful and appreciative.

Of course we run into the casually (and not so casually) cruel kids and adults, but Auggie, who wasn't too keen on the idea of going to school, manages to make some friends, and, if he doesn't blend in, at least people get used to him.  Then a boy he thought was his friend seems to turn against him, and we all feel the hurt.  Another boy starts a bullying campaign, and here is where we see Auggie's true strength come to the fore.  His friendships are tested, and his friends make the reader proud.

At the end of this book, and throughout the last pages, I was wiping away tears, the kind of tears inspired by hope and a touch of the happy.

This book is geared to middle readers (8-12 years old), but is definitely one that everyone should read.  Teachers, homeschoolers, parents, and even adults - pick this one up - you will love it as much as I did.

And you will LOVE Auggie!  This one will definitely be showing up on my "Best of" list for 2012; it's a winner all around.

QUOTES (from an ARC; may be different in final copy):

Auggie:  I know ordinary kids don't make other ordinary kid run away screaming in playgrounds.

Auggie:  I think it's like the Cheese Touch in "Diary of a Wimpy Kid".  The kids in that story were afraid they'd catch the cooties if they touched the old moldy cheese on the basketball court.  At Beecher Prep, I'm the old moldy cheese.

Summer:  So I just went over and sat with him.  Not a biggie.  I wish people would stop trying to turn it into something major.
He's just a kid.  The weirdest-looking kid I've ever seen, yes.  But just a kid.

Writing:  5 out of 5 stars

Plot:  5  out of 5 stars

Characters:  5 out of 5 stars

Reading Immersion:  5  out 5 stars

BOOK RATING:  5  out of 5 stars

BLOGGERS:  Have you reviewed this book? If so, please feel free to leave a link to your review in the comments section; I will also add your link to the body of my review.

Read an excerpt

BUY IT:  At Amazon, The Book Depository, through the publisher's website,  and through other on-and-off-line booksellers.

One of my listed titles for the 2012 150+ Reading Challenge

Disclosure:  I  received a  complimentary eGalley of this title from the publisher through Netgalley to facilitate my review.  No other compensation was received and I was not required to post a positive review.