Review: Wonder by R.J Palacio

Plot: 

I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.
August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances?

R. J. Palacio has written a spare, warm, uplifting story that will have readers laughing one minute and wiping away tears the next. With wonderfully realistic family interactions (flawed, but loving), lively school scenes, and short chapters, Wonder is accessible to readers of all levels.


(See the book trailer HERE!)

My Review: 

This is a unique and heart warming book that every child should read. 

The characters of this book were amazing. Our protagonist August, Auggie to his close friends and family, was one of the most unique and honest voices I've read in a childrens story. August goes through a lot of stick because of the way he looks. He has a facial deformity and has had many surgeries to try and make him look as "normal" as possible, meaning he has not attended school before. Seeing him enter a school environment and reading about the other childrens reactions was really interesting and also sad when they were mean to him. But Auggie just laughed most of it off. He was such a brave boy and he even admitted that if he was them he would stare too- it is human nature. Reading about Auggie dealing with this in such a mature way and joking with people about his facial deformity to break the ice really made me love is character. TimelordsAndWizards on Youtube described him as a "Wise old soul in a young boys body", that is the best description of him. 

His sister Via was also one of the best characters. She was so strong and independent. Although for a lot of her life, she has taken the backseat in her parents eyes because of how much time they have to put into looking after Auggie, she really doesn't mind too much. She is very mature and always looks after her little brother. She sounded like the best sister he would have. 

I really enjoyed that the book was told from different POV's (Point Of Views), five in total. Firstly from Augusts perspective, then Summer, Jack, Via and Via's boyfriend. Although some of them were a little boring and bland. For example I thought that Via's boyfriend and Summers POV's were a little flat. I didn't really feel that they were strong characters . A lot of the time I felt the characters merged together as Augusts was the only strong enough voice to stand out. I did like that the different POV's were able to show us the reasoning behind different characters actions and their emotions, for example there is a part in the book that makes you hate a character but you find out the reasons behind this action. 

Overall I really enjoyed the book. It did fall a little flat for me in places, but now I know why it has been receiving such rave reviews. If you liked The Curious Incident of The Dog In The Night Time by Mark Haddon, you should give this book a try.  (I also hear rumours of a movie-which would be awesome!)

Rating: 

Four Stars 

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