Genre: Children's literature
Pages: 310
Ratings: 4/5 Stars
In a world where humankind expects everything to be held according to an unspoken, set standard, August Pullman falls a little short. Auggie isn't your typical ten year old little boy. He suffers from a gene malfunction called mandibulofacial dysostosis, aka Treacher Collins Syndrome. This syndrome causes Auggie to look a bit, uncommon. In Wonder by R.J Palacio, Auggie walks us through his life for a little more than a year. Giving everyone a chance to see what the world looks like, & feels like for a boy who doesn't fit into society the way the world says he should. Will this syndrome stop Auggie from living his life? Can he fight his way through challenges of daily life? Will kindness overcome the impossible standards that humankind has set before us?
Wonder isn't an easy book to read. I'll be upfront about that. I don't mean that it is a super complex book that will force you to pull out your handy dandy pocket dictionary. No. I mean that it is a hard book to read emotionally. Wonder is a book written for juniors. Young children in middle school or elementary school. It's simple in that aspect, but even as a young adult (me being 21), I cried. It was hard reading about a society that forced this child into what one sees as "hiding" for the first several years of his life. It made it even harder when I was made aware that R.J Palacio wrote this novel based on a real life experience. A real child who got stared at. A real child who had people trembling in its wake. So, yes. Wonder is a tough novel to read but it is worth every single tear, every single "omg" or shocking moment of realization. And it's wonderful.
R.J Palacio has a nice writing style. It's easy to read and is written in short chapters so it doesn't drag on for long periods of time. Not that you would ever want to put this novel down. I must warn anyone who is a grammar freak like me, there's one portion that is written in Justin's point of view, where there is practically no grammar. The i's are lowercase and the punctuation is tragic. Other than that, the writing is a lot like something you would tend to expect in a younger generations book collection. Again, you wont need a degree in college to read this. Just your basic reading skills will do.
Wonder is a massive eye opener. As a society, we tend to overlook the cruelness that we all give. We don't think twice about that shocked look we give to strangers on the street. Humans don't tend to regret their negative thoughts toward another human. We just...move on. As if we wouldn't mind those same thoughts, looks, or even comments, being made to us as individuals. As humans, we don't suffer together. Auggie knows this firsthand. He has experienced the looks and comments. Yet, he still chooses kindness. A little lesson that we can all take to heart.
Everyone on Earth should read and get to know Auggie Doggie Pullman & the people in his life. Wonder may be a children's novel, but it is an everyone story, I recommend Wonder to anyone who has a heart beating. Experience the world through the eyes of a little boy who has never been considered "normal" because his looks don't fit into a "well crafted' vase. He is all but societies normal & he is wonderful! As Isabel Pullman says to Auggie one night, "you don't need your eyes to see". Sometimes the most beautiful things about a person can't be seen, but only felt. As in, you can feel Auggie's heart, even through 310 pages of a novel.
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