Wonder discussion

The world can be a very judging place. Lots of people have trouble accepting different people. Those who are different might seem like freaks to others. They can face difficulties in their everyday life. For example, they could have a harder time finding a job or be bullied when they go to places because people are not used to people born looking different. They could also pick on people just to boost themselves up and make them feel good because they might be insecure about themselves, they find someone who would be easy to pick on as an easy target which is never fair to the person being picked on.



“Wonder” written by “R. J. Palacio” is a book for kids it was published on February 14, 2012, “R.J.” who is the author was already known for illustrating books for other authors before she wrote her book “Wonder” we can come along on the journey of a boy named Auggie who was born with a rare medical condition, and how he learns that a world can be a very judging place. People might not accept you for who you are. We also see how other kids react to him and how he reacts to it. This book covers 3 genres which are Novel, Fiction, and Children’s literature. It is not hard to tell that it is fiction when you notice the character's actions, moods, and overall storyline. I would rate this book 3 stars. Although the storyline is good there are so many characters that it is easier to lose track of. Since this book is for children having so many characters might confuse the younger readers and harm the storyline. It was also very predictable in so many of the stories I have read over the years the new kid comes into the school, and everyone hates them, but then they make a few friends and then the whole school likes them at the end. It would be nicer if there was a plot twist, or if it were less predictable. Even when I first read it, I was able to predict what would happen and his reaction to the bullies, but the characters are very original. Their names are also not too common but also not rare. Do you think this book is right for you?


This book takes place at a school called Beecher Prep, which is the new school that Auggie goes to. One of the main themes that the story showcases is friendship. He learns what true friendship is and meets new people. Although lots of people fear him at first and nasty rumours about him spread around there are also some nice people. Auggie spends the year trying to fit in. Auggie has to learn to tell the difference between real friends and fake friends. Many kids become friends with Auggie because they feel bad for him or because the teacher just told them to. Auggie then gets into conflicts with his so-called friend Jack when he gets caught saying to his friends, “Tushman asked me to hang out with him at the beginning of the year, and he must have told all the teachers to put us next to each other in all our classes or something. The thing is that he always follows me around what am I supposed to do” (77 Palacio). He is only friends with Auggie because Tuchman, a teacher, asked him to do so. The book also has Auggies older sisters' point of view who is named via. She is dealing with her own problems with friends.

I thought the theme was great. I liked how the book was based on the theme friendship because it makes it easy to relate to. Auggie ran into some fake friends, but he also ran into people who wanted to be friends for who he was. It makes it so easy to relate to because most people reading that book are school- age and have dealt with good friends and bad friends. They can relate to Auggies experience not the exact story but same base. For example, at first Auggie was being bullied lots of kids in school got bullied or teased in school before. So, they can relate to that they might not be getting bullied maybe not the exact same thing as Auggie, but they might have been bullied for their own reasons. One of the lines that I really liked and inspired me was, “It is not a contest about whose days suck the most. The point is we all must put up with the bad days.” (115 Palacio). This quote covers the theme of acceptance because Via is trying to help Auggie accept that we all have bad days, but it is important not to let that get in our way and move on. Just because he had a difficult day at school and people bullied him, he does not have to pay attention to them, and he can ignore them instead of letting them take over his day. I also found it easy to relate to it because we all have bad days sometimes not every day in your life is going to be sunshine and gold sometimes it's cloudy and rainy, but you must ignore it, put up with it, and find that sunshine in your day. Something that I was not a fan of was the author's writing style. “R. J. Palacio” tends to write books from lots of different points of view. Although some people may like it, I am not a fan of that, because it can get confusing when suddenly that character is not telling the story, and now it is another one. The transition to each character's point of view is also very confusing for example at the end of Auggies point of view he says, “So I had the whole weekend to think about everything. I was sure I would never go back to school again” (80 Palacio). Then suddenly Via’s point of view starts off as “August is the sun.” (82 Palacio). This can get very confusing. It would be less confusing if they continued Auggies’ problem with Via’s point of view Because it threw me off a little bit. The characters are good and are well-developed and easy to relate to. Via is your typical teen who has her own teenage problems which other teens can relate to. But they could be a bit more original with their personality. Although it makes it easier to relate to lots of the characters in other books are very similar. If they had a little more of their own touch, then that would be great. The life lesson in this book is not to judge a book by its cover. Lots of people judge Auggie just because he was different. They thought he was a freak, but Summer saw through his face and realized he was a great person. I really liked this storyWonderWonderline because it is great to teach people about that. Nobody looks the same as each other, some may look more different than others, but it is important to not define them by their looks.

Overall, the book is not worth reading. The storyline is very predictable and once you have read a certain number of books like that storyline you know what is going to happen before it even happens. The book also had opportunities in the book where the author could have added something more fun to make the storyline more interesting because, for the whole book, Auggie is always the victim and getting bullied. It would be interesting if Auggie fights back or gets revenge on his bullies. That would be exciting because there would be drama. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a laid-back book with not a lot of action or someone who is looking for inspiration, because they have some great quotes in there that might change your point of view. An age group that might like it is around 10-14 years old because it can get a little confusing in some parts of the book. So, if a younger reader reads it, they might have a harder time understanding some things. But someone older might figure it a little boring because there is not that much drama and action to it, but for me, I would not read this again because I prefer more action and this book did not fit my reading preference.