Thursday, August 1, 2013

Wonder: A Review


I'm late to the Wonder party, but I'm so glad I still came. This book is fantastic! I had heard that it was great, and I was happy to see it on the Texas Bluebonnet List.

Told from various points of view, readers take a journey with ten-year-old Auggie (real name August) as he journeys to school for the first time. Born with facial disfigurement, Auggie is prepared for people to stare at him, but school turns out to be harder than expected---not just for Auggie but for his family and friends.

What I find amazing is that the author captures so many different characters perfectly: their voice, their feelings, their background. Each character is unique and adds to Auggie's story while telling their own.

Add them all together, and you get a beautiful story of friendship and triumph and, most of all, acceptance.

I'm going to promote this book at school this coming year and encourage teachers to use it in their classrooms. The book's theme of choosing to be kind is one that is much needed in today's society for both the young and the old, and Palacio shares that lesson in a thought-provoking, wonderful way.
 
 

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