Wonder Paperback – International Edition, January 1, 2013

I read this book because my daughter was reading it for school. Not long into it, I realized I was reading a masterpiece, one of the finest books I had read of any kind for some time.One mark of a true classic is that it seems somehow like it always must have existed, in precisely the form that one encounters it. That's the way I felt while reading this -- it read so easily, almost inevitably, as though somehow the story arose from some universal shared unconscious.Wonder is the story of Auggie Pullman, who suffers from manibulofacial dysostosis, a rare condition of abnormality in the bone development of his face. The story begins with his family's efforts to finally shift him from home schooling to a real middle school, which to date he has been prevented from attending on account of his time spent recovering from various surgeries. The tale is told through various perspectives starting with Auggie's, who shares with us how he has had to become accustomed to the look of shock that comes over even kind people's faces when they first see him. The parents are naturally anxious about how he will be received by the other students, and wonder whether he will be able to experience true friendship.Wonder is a brisk, accessible read because it is presented in the form of the thoughts of the characters, with no extended, meandering narration to wade through. A couple of aspects struck me as making it an especially remarkable book.One is how the book doesn't dwell solely on Auggie's struggle alone. Of course Auggie has the roughest time of it. But it's of course also very rough for his parents for obvious reasons, and also on his sister, for the perhaps less obvious reason that she has had to receive less of her parents' attention than she otherwise would, due to Auggie's needs. She finds herself in the awkward situation of many of her own needs not being fully met, and feeling the reality of that, but also not feeling that she is entitled to resent it.Another aspect that makes this book a treasure is how much one can't help but love several of the characters. Auggie's drawn an unlucky hand in life, but he's also been dealt some advantages: he is a smart, capable student, and has a sharp sense of humor that delights those who bother to get to know him. He also is lucky for some of the remarkable people around him: his parents, his sister Via, the remarkable middle school director Mr. Tushman, his English teacher Mr. Browne, Via's friend Miranda who adores Auggie, and two wonderful friends from school, Summer and Jack Will. Jack Will in particular grabbed my heart - a boy of modest means amid more affluent classmates, who suffers socially for his friendship with Auggie. Sometimes the book seems to depict an almost unrealistically good world, in that the fortitude of so many brave, kind people overcomes the hostile social forces surrounding Auggie. Realistic or not, it's certainly a compelling world.Finally, the book is filled with moments of wonderful insight. Jack Will's mother is sacrificing enormously to send him to an expensive school, but the only thing that seems to truly trouble her is when she fears for a moment her children would be less than kind to someone else. Via helps Auggie to understand that, however great his challenge, he cannot live a truly fulfilling life until he realizes that other people too have problems that, if not as great as his, are nevertheless worth his compassion. Mr. Browne presents words to live by that are for the reader's benefit as much as Auggie's. And I so wish every school could have a Mr. Tushman as its head. He shrewdly understands the dynamics surrounding Auggie, and applies a subtle, yet powerful loving hand in helping Auggie triumph over adversity.Wonder is a book that, once read, will never leave your heart and memory.

As a sixth grade teacher, I struggle daily with the challenge of encouraging my students to sympathize and empathize with one another and show each other kindness. When I heard the NPR author interview with RJ Palacio, I knew I needed to read this book right away. I could not be more thrilled with my purchase, which I whole-heartedly intend to use in my classroom as soon as possible.As other reviewers have said, Wonder is chiefly about a boy named Auggie Pullman who has a cranio-facial abnormality. He's been home schooled up until fifth grade by his doting, if a bit overprotective, mother. Now he is starting school--but not just any school... middle school. You know--the number 1, most feared and reviled period of any person's life. Auggie encounters fear and bullying, but also kindness and friendship.The story is told from several different points of view, each which add to the richness of the book and create a three-dimensional view of what tween-dom is really like. We hear from Auggie, who is our hero but also the victim of cruelty and bullying. We hear from his sister who feels abandoned by her mother and friends as well as resentment toward her needy brother. There is the voice of the child who does the "right" thing when witnessing how cruel the other kids are. Then we hear the point of view of the kid who stood idly by and even partook in the bullying so that he wouldn't be ostracized. Each character's experience rang true to me and as I was reading I was actually thinking about individual students of mine who might connect with each character.The real draw of the story is that it is masterfully written and totally engaging. It is funny at times, but I also cried at least twice while reading. I read the entire book in one sitting. Palacio does a great job of building the characters in the book and making you care about them. It isn't preachy, though the moral is very clear right from the start. Occasionally the mother character read to me as being a little heavy-handed in doling out "the right thing to do," but that is certainly not a criticism worth throwing the book out over. This is also a book that is written in a style that would be easy enough for upper elementary school to read, but has content that is engaging for middle school students. I was certainly engaged and (this is my super secret) I don't really like most "middle school" books.If there is a drawback to this book it might be the "geek culture" references, which are very topical. The Star Wars talk might be here to stay, but references to specific video games and some of the kid slang ground this book to a very specific time period. Mad props for the Magnetic Field and Polyphonic Spree references, which I imagine are more there for the adults reading than the kids. I also recognize that this is a book about a pretty specific group of kids--private schooled, New Yorkers-- which might seem to be from another world to my rural students.Still, I can not think of a single one of my sixth graders who would not benefit from reading this book. I see so many connection to my students lives through the characters of Auggie, Via, Jack, Summer, Miranda, Justin and the rest of the group. There's enough humor and pathos that I think that most of my students would enjoy this book. I'm going to have to wait until it's in paperback to get a class set, but I am going to HIGHLY recommend it to them.