Wonder: By R.J. Palacio

        10-year-old August Pullman, aka Auggie, was born with several genetic abnormalities that have lead him through 27 surgeries. But despite his bravery, his facial disfiguration leaves Auggie dreaming of being nothing more than ordinary. Auggie, who has been home schooled his whole life, spends everyday dealing with people doing “that look-away thing”—afraid to look at him or see him as the average kid he wants so desperately to be.

      August and his family have not had it easy. His big sister Via is very protective and gets angry when people stare at her brother. Auggie’s parents want the world for their son, but cannot agree whether sending him to public school is the right way to give this to him. They finally decide on sending August to middle school at Beecher Prep, which is very scary for August, but they convince him to give the school a chance.

      Juvenile realistic fiction novel, Wonder, sheds light on a brutal reality that is often over looked: a child who wants to be nothing more than ordinary, but can’t simply because of the way he looks. But despite the heartbreaking circumstances that have befallen our main character, Palacio gives the reader a fall back to the situation: Auggie’s hilarious and caring family. It is the close bond with his parents and sister that serves as Auggie’s foundation for facing the challenges at his new school. We see Auggie rises above the challenge of fitting in presented by his deformity and that the sense of love from his family helps him to flourish in his new school, make the honor-roll, make friends, and be the average kid he has always wanted to be. Auggie's story leaves us refreshed and inspired, helping us to remember the good things in life and that being ordinary is sometimes the most extraordinary thing of all. 

      Palacio approaches the story in a very straight-to-the-point manner that really helps heighten the reader's interest in Auggie's story, making it appealing to a wider audience, with varying reading interests. As a young reader Auggie is highly relatable because despite the challenges he has to overcome because of his looks, he is just an ordinary 10-year-old kid. Throughout the story Auggie experiences normal 10-year-old challenges and drama, which helps bring forth key issues of identity and how we treat others. As an adult reading this book there were places where I couldn’t help but be sad for Auggie’s situation; however, with diversity in schools becoming more and more the norm, your typical child reading this book will see Auggie as someone who is relatable to peers they encounter at school everyday, just ordinary kids. I highly recommend this courageous and engaging novel for young readers ages 9-12 as Auggie’s story has a lot to offer in terms of quality reading, relate-ability, and concepts of diversity.  

Picture Source: http://www.amazon.com/Wonder-R-J-Palacio/dp/0375869026