Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Palacio, R. J. Wonder. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2012.

Lexile Level: 790L

To be honest, I was a little lukewarm on Wonder at first. It felt like it was kind of meandering, jumping from story to story. But the book, at least for me, really comes together when we start to see the story from the point-of-view of the other characters as well. Being able to see the insights and experiences from multiple perspectives really helps to humanize all of the characters. Each character has their own unique voice that really helps to sell the idea that their are multiple characters narrating the story, especially with little details like how Justin only speaks in lowercase letters. The multiple point-of-view mechanic is also very effective in that when the point-of-view character is speaking about another point-of-view character, we as the reader have special insight into how the point-of-view character's perspective could be off base or skewed. In terms of the story and message of the book, I really appreciated how R.J. Palacio tackled a very sensitive and complex set of issues. The story is both heartwarming and gut-wrenching. More than anything else, it feels like an honest portrayal of how all of these characters would experience this story. Overall, I can definitely understand why Wonder seems to have been so successful.

In order to augment this book, I would like to see some more informational literature about Auggie's condition and situation. Auggie mentions several times that he was born with a cleft palate. I wonder how many students will know exactly what that entails, both in terms of the initial condition, as well as the grueling process that must be endured to try and correct it, so perhaps some non-fiction literature pertaining to that aspect of the story. There's also the larger scope issues of bullying that run throughout the story, something that would certainly benefit from being addressed via multiple avenues with other texts. I'd love to pick up Mr. Browne's idea of the monthly precepts, they worked well both as a story framing device, and as an excellent idea to be embraced in real life.

Tags, Contemporary Realism, 790L.