Wonder

By: R.J. Palacio

     Wonder follows the "not an ordinary ten-year-old kid" named August Pullman (Auggie) as he heads to a regular school for the first time (p. 3).  Not only is Auggie dealing with the normal transitional period of heading to a new school for his 5th grade year, but he also was born with a craniofacial anomaly that immediately isolates him from other people.  This book details his struggles, adventures, and the life lessons that he learns as he navigates middle school and the difficulties of trying to fit in.

     Palacio carefully crafts this story to allow readers to strongly identify with and connect to Auggie, despite his physical differences and past experiences with seemingly endless surgeries, through the depiction of his various interests and contemporary references (i.e. Star Wars, Xbox, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, etc.).  Palacio allows readers to see Auggie through his own eyes from the start of the book, in which Auggie states; "I think the only person in the world who realizes how ordinary I am is me" (p. 3).  Here, readers immediately begin to empathize with Auggie and understand that human desire to fit in and make friends that we can all relate to.  Additionally, Palacio chooses not to provide a detailed description of what Auggie looks like until much later in the story when Via's perspective takes over; this choice allows readers to identify more strongly with his character from the start without the distraction of unnecessary details that could distance readers.

    Throughout the book, Palacio takes advantage of narrative perspective to develop various characters.  The book is divided into eight parts, six of which are told from different characters' points of views.  These perspective shifts allow readers to gather a more holistic idea of the story, as well as the individual friendships that form between characters.  Furthermore, entering the minds of various characters allows readers to become exposed to other issues at play within the work, such as poverty and dealing with parent divorces, while keeping the focus on how Auggie has impacted each character's life.  By depicting these character changes, Palacio presents character growth and demonstrates the power of friendship and kindness that she constantly reinforces throughout the work.  Additionally, all of the characters have their own voice and style of narration; the most extreme example of this can be seen through Justin's perspective in part five.  In his section, no capitalization is used at all, which shows the attention to detail that Palacio worked with when crafting each character.

     I think one of the strongest elements of Palacio's writing style is her use of dialogue.  The dialogue quickly pulls readers into the scene and works to mimic the way that children speak to one another in the real world.  The use of various kid-friendly slang words (dude, lame, cool beans, etc.) creates an immediate connection with children, as they are reading the story in their own language.  Palacio even has a three-page demonstration of a conversation that occurred solely through text message, which is an accurate depiction of modern communication (p. 165-167).  Through dialogue and careful diction, Palacio utilizes humor and content that is relatable to children.

     True friendship and the importance of kindness are emphasized as major themes throughout the book.  One of my favorite aspects of the book was the use of Mr. Browne's first precept to frame the story: "When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind" (p. 48).  This message of kindness is repeated regularly throughout the work, and is even the main focus of Mr. Tushman's graduation speech.  The idea of kindness allows readers to focus on the universal aspects of humanity that allow all people to connect over the importance of internal beauty, as depicted through good character.  The classic theme of "don't judge a book by it's cover" is given a fresh perspective in this emotional tale of internal worth.  Readers will be pulled into the emotions of various characters in the story: anger at the bullies (including some parents and unintentional bullying), unease at feeling lonely and isolated, sadness at the death of the beloved dog (Daisy), hope at displays of true friendship and bravery, and so much more. 

     I was so excited to read this book because I had heard so many wonderful comments about it, and even saw five different children, in the classroom that I have been working in this summer, reading the book this past week.  All of these factors led to my high expectations of Wonder, and the book lived up to them.  Palacio creates a story that is relatable and important to all readers of upper-elementary age and above because it teaches such valuable life lessons.  This book would be great for use not only for teaching purposes within the upper-elementary school and early middle school classroom, but also for independent reading.