book review wonder r j palacio

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Moving tale of facially different boy with inner beauty.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Wonder's greatest lessons are more emotional or be

Wonder has a powerful way of reminding readers tha

Almost all of the adults in Wonder are strong role

Main character Auggie has a craniofacial condition

Auggie's friend Jack Will punches another boy. Som

Auggie's high school-age sister, Via, has a boyfri

No curse words, but a lot of hate speech and insul

Auggie and a couple of his classmates come across

Parents need to know that Wonder is about 10-year-old August "Auggie" Pullman, who has a genetic facial difference. After being homeschooled, he enters school for the first time in fifth grade and has to cope with a range of reactions to his unusual appearance, as well as a lot of typical middle school drama…

Educational Value

Wonder 's greatest lessons are more emotional or behavioral than academic. But the book does go into some detail about genetics and the probability of a child developing physical differences like Auggie's. The novel also offers a telling look at middle school life and curriculum and a bit of information about the differences between middle school and high school culture. One of the teachers, Mr. Browne, teaches his students about precepts, and they discuss a new precept every month. Many of these are great life lessons from authors, spiritual leaders, and philosophers.

Positive Messages

Wonder has a powerful way of reminding readers that beauty is only skin deep. The novel also offers lessons about the dangers of responding to peer pressure and the importance of simple human kindness. The precepts that Mr. Browne teaches his students also introduce various meaningful ideas.

Positive Role Models

Almost all of the adults in Wonder are strong role models for Auggie; his sister, Via; and their friends. Auggie's parents, in particular, are so loving, devoted, patient, and kind that their kids' friends wish they could join the Pullman family. Auggie's teachers and Mr. Tushman, the director of Beecher Prep, are caring educators who deftly ease Auggie out of some challenging situations but also let him find his own way socially. Auggie himself shows grace, as well as enough believable kid emotion to make him as convincing as he is admirable.

Diverse Representations

Main character Auggie has a craniofacial condition, and the book centers around his experiences. He's a complex character with realistic kid emotions and flaws. The rest of his family members provide great examples of how to support a loved one living with a visible disability. Though the novel stops short of endorsing disability hierarchy, it does unfortunately use casual ableism when Auggie yells, "I'm not retarded!" (It's never explained to Auggie that this isn't acceptable.) As written by female author R.J. Palacio, women in the book, such as Auggie's mom and sister, have important roles. Characters' ethnicities aren't made clear, but physical markers include Auggie's brown eyes, Via's "olive skin and the bluest eyes," and Mr. Tushman's "blue eyes with white eyelashes," and there are supporting characters with blond and brown hair. A minor character is named Mrs. Garcia.

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Violence & Scariness

Auggie's friend Jack Will punches another boy. Some seventh-grade kids pick on Auggie and his friends, and physically assault them. Kids are pushed, bruised, and scraped, and a child's sweatshirt is torn; the violence in this scene is preceded by verbal abuse, which makes the physical attack especially disturbing. A family experiences the loss of a beloved pet.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Auggie's high school-age sister, Via, has a boyfriend, and they kiss a few times.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

No curse words, but a lot of hate speech and insults. Other children call Auggie an "alien," an "orc," and a "freak"; they slip notes into his locker telling him to "Get out of our school," and they pretend he has a contagious disease that they call the Plague. Auggie himself uses discriminatory language when he yells "I'm not retarded!"

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Auggie and a couple of his classmates come across some seventh-grade kids whom they observe smoking. It's not entirely clear whether they're smoking cigarettes or pot.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Wonder is about 10-year-old August "Auggie" Pullman, who has a genetic facial difference. After being homeschooled, he enters school for the first time in fifth grade and has to cope with a range of reactions to his unusual appearance, as well as a lot of typical middle school drama. Some kids use hateful language, and some people suggest that Auggie is mentally deficient. These situations are upsetting, as are other hardships that Auggie's family endures, including the loss of a beloved family pet. But goodness wins out, and readers should find it inspiring and uplifting. A high school couple kisses a few times, and Auggie observes some seventh-grade kids smoking, but it's not clear whether they're smoking cigarettes or pot. The book was adapted for the 2017 film starring Julia Roberts , Owen Wilson , and Jacob Tremblay . The audiobook version, read by Nick Podehl , Kate Rudd, and Diana Steele, was named a 2013 Notable Children's Recording by the American Library Association.

Where to Read

Community reviews.

• Parents say (57)
• Kids say (272)

Based on 57 parent reviews

Read this! It’s awesome!

What's the story.

August "Auggie" Pullman is a fifth-grade boy with a craniofacial condition. His loving parents and sister have shielded him from many outside influences before WONDER begins, and he's been homeschooled up until that point. But at the start of the book, his mother has decided that it's time for Auggie to brave a group schooling experience. Auggie is upset and afraid to face the other kids' reactions to his appearance, but there's also part of him that wants to do "normal" things. The director of his new school, Mr. Tushman, introduces Auggie to a small group of students before school starts, thinking this will help ease the transition. While some of the students Auggie meets are accepting and kind, others are a bit put off by him, and still others are downright cruel. The novel follows Auggie's first year of middle school from beginning to end. It's a year in which Auggie experiences the best and the worst of human nature and a year of tremendous emotional growth for him.

Is It Any Good?

Auggie himself is a very convincing and poignant character -- definitely not just a device -- and his story is extremely moving and uplifting. Author R.J. Palacio writes Wonder in multiple voices, including Auggie's, some of his friends', and his sister's. The different points of view are mostly very well-realized and show the inner feelings of the different characters -- though a couple of aspects of Wonder don't ring fully true. Auggie's parents are almost too perfect to be believed, and the main mean kid in the novel is a bit too easily dispensed with.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about peer pressure and how it's portrayed in Wonder . Sometimes we feel pushed to reject someone -- even a friend -- because others don't like that person. How would you handle the situation that Jack Will faces?

Why do you think some people are cruel to Auggie?

If you wrote a precept -- like Mr. Browne's class does -- what would it be?

Do you think Auggie's parents did the right thing in sending him to school? Why, or why not?

In what ways does Wonder encourage compassion ? Which characters seem the most compassionate to you? Why is this an important character strength ?

Book Details

• Author : R.J. Palacio
• Genre : Coming of Age
• Topics : Brothers and Sisters , Friendship , Great Boy Role Models
• Character Strengths : Compassion
• Book type : Fiction
• Publisher : Alfred A. Knopf
• Publication date : February 14, 2012
• Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
• Number of pages : 320
• Last updated : November 9, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Facing Up to It

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By Maria Russo

• April 6, 2012

Born with several genetic abnormalities, 10-year-old August Pullman, called Auggie, dreams of being “ordinary.” Inside, he knows he’s like every other kid, but even after 27 surgeries, the central character of “Wonder” bears facial disfigurations so pronounced that people who see him for the first time do “that look-away thing” — if they manage to hide their shock and horror.

“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse,” he says of his face as the book begins. He’s used to the stares and mean comments, but he’s still terrified to learn that his parents have gotten him into middle school at Beecher Prep and want him to go there rather than be home-schooled. But they persuade him to give it a try — and by the time this rich and memorable first novel by R. J. Palacio is over, it’s not just Auggie but everyone around him who has changed.

Stories about unusual children who long to fit in can be particularly wrenching. At their core lurks a kind of loneliness that stirs primal fears of abandonment and isolation. But Palacio gives Auggie a counterweight to his problems: He has the kind of warm and loving family many “normal” children lack. Among their ­— and the book’s — many strengths, the Pullmans share the, um, earthy sense of humor that all kids love. Over the years his parents, Nate and Isabel, have turned the disturbing story of Auggie’s birth into high comedy involving a flatulent nurse who fainted at the sight of him, and they persuade him to go to Beecher by riffing hilariously on the name of the school’s director, Mr. Tushman. It also helps that the Pullmans’ world — they live in a town house in “the hippie-stroller capital of upper Upper Manhattan” — is the privileged, educated upper-middle class, that hotbed of parents who hover and micromanage the lives of their perfectly fine children. It’s somehow weirdly satisfying to see what happens when something actually alarming enters this zone of needless anxiety. Palacio carves a wise and refreshing path, suggesting that while even a kid like August has to be set free to experience the struggles of life, the right type of closeness between parents and children is a transformative force for good.

But it’s Auggie and the rest of the children who are the real heart of “Wonder,” and Palacio captures the voices of girls and boys, fifth graders and teenagers, with equal skill, switching narrators every few chapters to include Auggie’s friends and his teenage sister, Via, who wrestles with her resentment, guilt and concern. “We circle around him like he’s still the baby he used to be,” she observes ruefully. And we see the vicious politics of fifth-grade popularity played out as the class bully targets Auggie and starts a campaign to shun him, culminating in an overnight school trip that turns scary and shuffles the social deck in ways no one could have imagined.

While I sobbed several times during “Wonder,” my 9-year-old daughter — who loved the book and has been pressing it on her friends — remained dry-eyed. She didn’t understand why I thought Auggie’s situation might upset her. “I like kids who are different,” she said. I realized that what makes her cry are stories in which children suffer because they have missing or neglectful parents and no one to take care of them. Perhaps Palacio’s most remarkable trick is leaving us with the impression that Auggie’s problems are surmountable in all the ways that count — that he is, in fact, in an enviable position.

By R. J. Palacio

315 pp. Alfred A. Knopf. $15.99. (Middle grade; ages 8 to 12)

Maria Russo is a frequent contributor to the Book Review.

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Reviews of Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Summary | Excerpt | Reviews | Beyond the book | Read-Alikes | Genres & Themes | Author Bio

by R.J. Palacio

Critics' Opinion:

Readers' Opinion:

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• Mid-Atlantic, USA
• New York State
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• Parenting & Families
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• Physical & Mental Differences
• Top Books of 2012

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About this Book

Book summary.

Wonder is a spare, warm, uplifting story that will have readers laughing one minute and wiping away tears the next.

Winner of the BookBrowse 2012 Best Book for Younger Readers Award

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. Ages 8+

Ordinary I know I'm not an ordinary ten-year-old kid. I mean, sure, I do ordinary things. I eat ice cream. I ride my bike. I play ball. I have an XBox. Stuff like that makes me ordinary. I guess. And I feel ordinary. Inside. But I know ordinary kids don't make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. I know ordinary kids don't get stared at wherever they go. If I found a magic lamp and I could have one wish, I would wish that I had a normal face that no one ever noticed at all. I would wish that I could walk down the street without people seeing me and then doing that look-away thing. Here's what I think: the only reason I'm not ordinary is that no one else sees me that way. But I'm kind of used to how I look by now. I know how to pretend I don't see the faces people make. We've all gotten pretty good at that sort of thing: me, Mom and Dad, Via. Actually, I take that back: Via's not so good at it. She can get really annoyed when people do something rude. Like, ...

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Media Reviews

Reader reviews, bookbrowse review.

Wonder rings its bell, and the note that reverberates in the air slips effortlessly into the reader's body. It hangs there, and the reader can't help but be changed. It is a meditation of a novel. A story that asks the reader to feel her way into kindness, empathy, and openness. And without a doubt, the reader, upon experiencing it, responds with a deep, resounding yes . Wonder is recommended for middle grade and young adult readers. It is a perfect book to open up discussions between students or book club members... continued

Full Review (602 words) This review is available to non-members for a limited time. For full access, become a member today .

(Reviewed by Tamara Ellis Smith ).

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Beyond the Book

R.j. palacio's inspiration for wonder.

Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse. This is Auggie's statement on page one of Wonder about the appearance of his face. R.J. Palacio (whose real name is Raquel Jaramillo... Palacio is her mother's last name) makes a very conscious choice not to explore Auggie's disfigurement head-on, and I think it's a good one. Instead, she allows the reader to create her own images and then, very slowly and from a slanted sort of angle, Palacio gives details. Because at the heart of issue is, well, Auggie's heart, and that is all that matters. I don't want to dishonor Palacio's choice, but I will give you a bit of information about Auggie's condition. He has something called Mandibulofacial Dysostosis , which is more typically known as ...

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Awards & Accolades

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New York Times Bestseller

by R.J. Palacio ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 14, 2012

A memorable story of kindness, courage and wonder.

After being home-schooled for years, Auggie Pullman is about to start fifth grade, but he’s worried: How will he fit into middle school life when he looks so different from everyone else?

Auggie has had 27 surgeries to correct facial anomalies he was born with, but he still has a face that has earned him such cruel nicknames as Freak, Freddy Krueger, Gross-out and Lizard face. Though “his features look like they’ve been melted, like the drippings on a candle” and he’s used to people averting their eyes when they see him, he’s an engaging boy who feels pretty ordinary inside. He’s smart, funny, kind and brave, but his father says that having Auggie attend Beecher Prep would be like sending “a lamb to the slaughter.” Palacio divides the novel into eight parts, interspersing Auggie’s first-person narrative with the voices of family members and classmates, wisely expanding the story beyond Auggie’s viewpoint and demonstrating that Auggie’s arrival at school doesn’t test only him, it affects everyone in the community. Auggie may be finding his place in the world, but that world must find a way to make room for him, too.

Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2012

ISBN: 978-0-375-86902-0

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2011

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING

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BOOK REVIEW

by R.J. Palacio

by R.J. Palacio ; illustrated by R.J. Palacio with K Czap

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More About This Book

by Louis Sachar ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1998

Good Guys and Bad get just deserts in the end, and Stanley gets plenty of opportunities to display pluck and valor in this...

Sentenced to a brutal juvenile detention camp for a crime he didn't commit, a wimpy teenager turns four generations of bad family luck around in this sunburnt tale of courage, obsession, and buried treasure from Sachar ( Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger , 1995, etc.).

Driven mad by the murder of her black beau, a schoolteacher turns on the once-friendly, verdant town of Green Lake, Texas, becomes feared bandit Kissin' Kate Barlow, and dies, laughing, without revealing where she buried her stash. A century of rainless years later, lake and town are memories—but, with the involuntary help of gangs of juvenile offenders, the last descendant of the last residents is still digging. Enter Stanley Yelnats IV, great-grandson of one of Kissin' Kate's victims and the latest to fall to the family curse of being in the wrong place at the wrong time; under the direction of The Warden, a woman with rattlesnake venom polish on her long nails, Stanley and each of his fellow inmates dig a hole a day in the rock-hard lake bed. Weeks of punishing labor later, Stanley digs up a clue, but is canny enough to conceal the information of which hole it came from. Through flashbacks, Sachar weaves a complex net of hidden relationships and well-timed revelations as he puts his slightly larger-than-life characters under a sun so punishing that readers will be reaching for water bottles.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998

ISBN: 978-0-374-33265-5

Page Count: 233

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2000

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S MYSTERY & THRILLER

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From the school for good and evil series , vol. 1.

by Soman Chainani ; illustrated by Iacopo Bruno ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 14, 2013

Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.

Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.

Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and  her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).

Pub Date: May 14, 2013

ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2

Page Count: 496

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013

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Wonder by R. J. Palacio: Book Review By Jess Lahey and Her Son, Ben

Wonder is a transformative book. Our reviewers, Jess Lahey, author of the forthcoming The Gift of Failure and a frequent contributor to the New York Times and The Atlantic , and her son, Ben, a sophomore at St. Johnsbury Academy in Vermont, tell us why it is a must read.

Previous review: Book Review For Teens: John Green Looking for Alaska

TEEN REVIEW | Ben Lahey

August Pullman, the main character of Wonder by R. J. Palacio, is only 10 years old, but his story engages readers of any age. August was born with a severe facial deformity that leaves him unable to attend school, until the fifth grade, when his family decides it’s time for him to try to give up homeschooling .

Wonder tells the story of August’s first year of school through his own eyes, as well as the eyes of four other characters. The narrators range from fifth graders to high schoolers, with different points of view that flesh out not only their individual personalities, but also how August touches the lives of those around him. Even though the story is told from different perspectives, it’s never confusing; August always remains the book’s focus and is never overshadowed by their insights and observations.

Palacio uses few details to describe August’s deformity, but those that he does use are shocking. With only our imagination to complete the picture, we are left with a shocking image in our minds. August himself says, “I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.”

The characters don’t deal with August’s deformity easily. Even months after first meeting him, August’s classmates are still not used to his face. The class becomes split between August’s friends and the kids who still bully him. Every character is written convincingly, and the sides they take earn either our empathy or judgment.

And Palacio doesn’t shy away from showing how parent-teacher politics play into this “war,” as August calls it. It’s easy to hate the parents and their kids who are so uncomfortable with August that they want him removed from the school. It’s equally as easy to love those kids who befriend August.

Wonder’s  emotional moments work because the reader is so fully attached to the characters. Palacio makes every moment of August’s life seem real. Even the hardships that most of us will never have to face. Wonder  comes close to making us understand what the life of someone with a deformity such as August’s would be like, and that is no small feat.

ADULT REVIEW | Jess Lahey

Despite his first-sentence assertion, “I know I’m not an ordinary 10-year-old kid,” August Pullman is just that. He’s a gloriously, spectacularly, and reassuringly ordinary 10-year-old kid. Sure, this central character in the coming-of-age novel, Wonder  by R. J. Palacio, may not look like most kids his age, but he sure sounds a lot like them. And this is the genius of Palacio’s storytelling.

I’ve never been a fan of shifting perspectives, mainly because the narrative style feels like a cop-out, as if the author does not possess the storytelling chops to deliver the story’s nuances through a single narrator. This is August’s story, after all, and August is the only person who understands what it’s like to face the big, bad world when all the world sees is his disfigured face. The story is rightly his to tell, from his unique perspective, in his distinctive voice.

How wrong I was.

Tweens and adolescents tend to believe that they are the sole arbiters of the truth. Palacio demonstrates this by using five characters—August, Jack, Summer, Via, and Justin—to narrate their own version of August Pullman’s fifth grade year.

While Wonder  is August’s story, Via, August’s sister points out that his gravitational pull influences everyone. “August is the Sun. Me and Mom and Dad are planets orbiting the Sun. The rest of our family and friends are asteroids and comets floating around the planets orbiting the Sun.”  August may be at the center of this book’s universe, but he’s certainly not alone. As I progressed through the orbiting accounts of August’s year, I began to understand that Palacio’s use of multiple perspectives does not separate the experiences of these children. It unites them.

To paraphrase Beecher Prep Middle School Director, Mr. Tushman, the attraction of August’s heart, and the people he carries up and holds in orbit around it, are the stars of this story. When the story came to an end, and I fully appreciated what had, at first glance, been invisible to me. I was happy to have been drawn in to Palacio’s expansive vision.

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Book Review

• R.J. Palacio
• Coming-of-Age , Contemporary , Drama

Readability Age Range

• Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, a division of Random House Inc.
• School Library Journal, Top 100 Children's Novels, 2012; Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth, 2012

Year Published

Wonder by R.J. Palacio has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine .

Plot Summary

Like hundreds of other students in Manhattan, August Pullman is starting fifth grade. But August is no ordinary 10-year-old. He’s had 27 surgeries since birth, all on his face. August was born with a severe craniofacial abnormality. Despite his many surgeries, he doesn’t — and will never — look normal. Children (and sometimes adults) who catch a glimpse of his face either stare or turn away quickly in shock and horror. This year will be August’s first at a mainstream school. His mom thinks the experience will be good for him, but his dad disagrees. He says that sending August to school is like leading a lamb to the slaughter. August isn’t sure what that means.

Before school begins, August’s mom takes him to his new school, Beecher Prep, to meet the principal and get a tour from three of his new classmates — Jack, Julian and Charlotte. Jack and Charlotte are nice, but Julian asks August if he was burned in a fire. When school begins, Jack sits beside August in every class, and the two boys quickly become good friends. August also makes friends with a girl named Summer, the only student in the whole school brave enough to sit with him at lunch. And while only Julian is deliberately mean, August still has to cope with hundreds of secret stares and watch his peers elbow each other and whisper about him from behind cupped hands.

When August has a birthday party, he invites everyone in his class, but only six of them come. He also learns that nobody wants to touch him, and if someone does accidentally brush up against him, they run away quickly to wash their hands. Even the parents get involved — Julian’s mom photoshops August out of the class photo and distributes copies to other parents.

Fortunately, one of August’s favorite holidays, Halloween, is approaching. He plans to dress up like a Star Wars character, but at the last minute, he changes his mind and wears another costume instead — the Bleeding Scream. When he arrives at school, no one knows it’s him under his mask, and he overhears Jack telling Julian that he only hangs out with August because the principal asked him to, and that if he looked like August, he would kill himself. August feels nauseous after hearing this and goes home sick. He tells Summer and his sister, Via, what happened but swears them to secrecy and refuses to talk to Jack for more than a month.

Meanwhile, Via is having troubles of her own. Via has always felt defined by August, and she was looking forward to attending a new high school where people would call her by her real name, Olivia, and where no one knew her family — except for her two best friends, Miranda and Ella. But on the first day of school, Via realizes that her “friends” have created a new image for themselves over the summer — one that doesn’t include her. They ditch Via as soon as possible to pursue their quest for high school popularity. Because Miranda has always acted like a big sister to August, this creates tension between Via and August, especially when Miranda calls August to say hello but refuses to hang out with Via at school.

When Via learns about what Jack said about August, she consoles August and talks him into trick-or-treating with her.

Summer is also paying the price for being August’s friend. One of the popular girls invites Summer to a Halloween party — but when she arrives, everyone wants to quiz her about why she hangs out with August. They tell her that if she didn’t hang out with him, she would be popular, too — and Julian might even ask her to be his girlfriend. Summer leaves the party early but stays friends with August. When Jack asks her why August won’t talk to him, she gives him a hint: “Bleeding Scream.”

It’s true that the principal asked Jack to befriend August at the beginning of the school year. At first, he was reluctant to agree. But after getting to know August personally, Jack realizes that August is the best friend he would have chosen for himself anyway. So when August stops hanging out with him, he wonders why. Although Jack enjoys his increased popularity, he doesn’t really like Julian and his crowd. He doesn’t fit in because their families are much wealthier than his, and his grades drop without August there to help him. In science class, the teacher assigns a project for the upcoming science fair, and Jack imagines his face screaming on the inside. Suddenly, he remembers Summer’s hint (Bleeding Scream) and realizes that August is mad at him because of what he said on Halloween. After class, Julian calls August a freak. Jack punches Julian in the mouth and knocks out a tooth.

Since there are just a few days before the Christmas holidays, Jack is suspended until January. A flurry of emails are sent, and Julian’s parents express their concern that perhaps August shouldn’t have been admitted to Beecher Prep and that it was too much pressure to expect Jack and Julian to befriend August back in September. Mr. Tushman, the principal, and Jack’s parents disagree with Julian’s parents. Jack re-friends August on Facebook, and he apologizes for what he said on Halloween. After asking if Jack really punched Julian, August accepts his apology, and the two boys become better friends than ever.

In January, Charlotte tells Jack that the entire fifth-grade male population is at war. It’s Jack and August versus Julian and his two sidekicks, Miles and Henry. Most of the boys are on Julian’s side, but there are a handful of neutral boys. Jack learns for the first time what it’s like for people to treat him as if he doesn’t exist. Julian puts mean notes in Jack’s and August’s lockers, and they respond by putting fake love notes in his locker.

At August’s house working on their science project, Jack and August meet Via’s new boyfriend, Justin. They think his fiddle case looks like it might hold a machine gun, and they think it’s funny that he plays in a Louisiana-style band when he’s from Brooklyn. On his way home, Justin sees Julian and his friends making fun of Jack. Jack tells Justin about the war. After Jack leaves, Justin holds his fiddle case menacingly and tells Julian not to mess with Jack or he and his friends will be sorry.

The tricks Julian plays on Jack become meaner, and fifth-graders start becoming tired of the war. Even Amos, one of Julian’s friends, stops Julian from emptying his pencil shavings into Jack’s backpack. When Julian spreads a rumor that Jack has hired a hit man to get him, people start laughing at Julian behind his back. By springtime, only Miles and Henry are on Julian’s side, and more of his classmates are being nice to Jack and August. They don’t even tease August about the hearing aids he has started to wear.

But at home, Via and August are fighting because Via didn’t want to tell August about the school play Justin and Miranda are starring in. (Via is Miranda’s understudy.) When August finds out, Via wants to invite him, but her parents are trying to respect her feelings by not inviting him. Then their dog, Daisy, must be euthanized because she is old and sick. A few days later, Via brings home three tickets to the play, and nothing more is said.

When Miranda sees that Via’s family is in attendance at the play, she pretends to be ill so Via can play her role instead. Miranda’s parents aren’t there to see her — they divorced the summer before Miranda started high school. When she went away to camp that summer, she pretended that August was her little brother instead of Via’s. The lie made her popular, and she began hanging out with the cool crowd who smoked and sneaked through the woods at night to hang out with boys. When Miranda got back home, she felt embarrassed about her lie and didn’t want Via to find out, so she started hanging out with Ella instead. After the play, Miranda sees August get lost in the crowd, and she brings him back to his parents. She and Via make up and become friends again.

At the end of the year, the entire fifth grade goes on a three-day nature retreat. At first, August is nervous about being away from home overnight, but when he learns that Julian opted out of the trip because he thought it was dorky, August is overjoyed. He has the time of his life until the second night of the trip, when the fifth-grade students watch an outdoor movie on the fairgrounds with students from several other schools. Midway through The Sound of Music, Jack and August have to use the restroom. Instead of waiting in the long lineup for the toilets, they go quietly in the woods, as do Amos, Miles and Henry.

On their way back to the movie, they run into a group of seventh-grade students from another school, who immediately start making fun of August. They push Jack to the ground and yank August’s hoodie so he falls flat on his back. Amos, Miles and Henry stand up for Jack and August, pushing the seventh-graders out of the way so Jack and August can escape into the cornfields that surround the fairgrounds. August’s sweatshirt is torn and his elbow is bleeding. When he realizes that his hearing aids are gone, August can’t help but cry. But instead of making fun of him, the other boys pat him on the back and Amos lets him cry on his shoulder. August finally realizes what his dad meant when he talked about leading a lamb to the slaughter.

The boys walk back to camp together surrounding August like a guard, and news of their encounter spreads quickly among the fifth-graders. Suddenly everyone is concerned about August, even students he didn’t know well. When the fifth-graders return home, August tells his mom about his misadventures. Then his dad and Via arrive home together, carrying a big, white box and tell August to open it. Inside is a little, black puppy looking up at him.

When August returns to school, the war is over. Because Julian missed the nature retreat, he is no longer as popular as before, and Miles and Henry become Amos’ best friends, instead of Julian’s. No one ignores August or Jack anymore, and August gets used to knuckle-punching jocks in the hallway and being called “little dude” by students he barely knows.

At the end-of-year graduation ceremony, August wins an award for being an exemplary student, not just academically but personally as well. Everyone cheers for him, and August finally feels like an ordinary kid — even though he knows no one else sees him that way. At the reception, his picture is taken with his friends and classmates, and nobody minds who is touching whom. When they walk home for cake and ice cream, August thanks his mom for making him go to school. She thanks him for being him — and tells him that he is a wonder.

Christian Beliefs

August reads Christian authors, namely Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe . Excerpts of both appear in the book. Jack’s baby sitter, after seeing August, tells Jack to thank the Lord for his blessings. As part of his graduation speech, Mr. Tushman tells the fifth-grade students that if they are kinder than necessary, people will see in them the face of God — then broadens his statement to include any representation of divine goodness. August believes that his grandmother is in heaven.

Other Belief Systems

Summer believes in reincarnation. Miranda tells Justin that the universe wasn’t kind to August, but Justin believes that the universe takes care of its most fragile creatures. The fifth-graders do a project on ancient Egypt, which includes several of the Egyptian gods. August’s father is Jewish. Two students play Dungeons & Dragons at recess.

Authority Roles

Though August’s parents may argue about whether August is ready to attend school or if Via is old enough to ride the subway alone, they are ultimately united by their love for their children and their desire to see them develop as courageous and compassionate human beings. They share special nicknames and bedtime rituals, and while they remain closely involved in their children’s lives — attending school functions, listening carefully to their children talk about their days and working through problems and challenges together — they also encourage August and Via to spread their wings. August claims the bulk of his parents’ time, but when Via is upset, August’s mom drops everything to make her feel better. Before her grandmother’s death, Via also enjoys a special relationship with her grandmother.

The principal and teachers at Beecher Prep are kind and respectful to August and encourage their students to behave likewise, even calling students out on more subtle forms of social bullying, although they can’t catch everything. This positive school atmosphere is fostered by Mr. Tushman, the principal, who defends his choice to admit August when challenged by Julian’s parents. While firm, he is also fair, and he encourages the development of good character in all of his charges.

Profanity & Violence

Rough language and euphemisms include geez, heck, freak and shut up . There are also several misuses of God’s name.

At one point, Jack says he’d rather kill himself than look like Auggie, and Julian consistently puts down Auggie for his looks. He compares Auggie to a burn victim and leaves notes that tell Auggie how much people hate him. All of Julian’s notes are mean, and Julian is a bully to Jack and to Auggie. At one point, he gets the whole class to keep from touching Auggie in any way and later all the boys in the class to stay away from Jack.

August and Jack have a brief scuffle with several seventh-grade students before Amos, Henry and Miles come to their rescue. August’s sweatshirt is torn and bloodied, and he requires mild first-aid treatment.

Sexual Content

Jack tells August (on separate occasions) that Via and Summer are hot. Students as young as fifth grade are in dating relationships — although Summer’s mom thinks they’re too young to date. Via characterizes her and her friends’ physical development as not huge or flat. She has decided not to have children because they will carry the same gene that caused August’s abnormality. Miranda wears a tube top and sneaks through the woods at night to meet boys. Her parents divorced because her father was unfaithful.

Discussion Topics

Get free discussion questions for this book and others, at FocusOnTheFamily.com/discuss-books .

Additional Comments

Lying: Characters tell lies to get themselves out of sticky situations. August lets Jack copy his homework and then tells the teacher that they did it together. Via takes the subway without permission instead of getting a ride home with Miranda, then tells her mother she was late because she and Miranda stopped for pizza.

Smoking: At camp, Miranda smokes cigarettes.

Internet Use: Although they’re both under the minimum age of 13, Jack and August have Facebook accounts.

Crude Humor: Mr. Tushman’s name inspires several family jokes including several jocular remembrances of one of August’s parents’ old college professors, Miss Butt.

You can request a review of a title you can’t find at [email protected] .

Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book’s review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.

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'Wonder' Book Review

R.J. Palacio's Novel of Bullying and Acceptance

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"Wonder," R.J. Palacio's debut novel, was written for children 8 to 12 years old, but its message defies genres . Published in 2012, its anti-bullying, pro-acceptance message will resonate with teenagers and even adults as well.

Some books are action-packed, compelling the reader to turn the page to find out what happens next. Other books are compelling because they invite readers to engage with characters who are real, who come alive off the page, and who pull the reader into their story. "Wonder" is the latter kind of book. In fact, very little "action" happens within its pages, and yet readers will find themselves deeply affected by the story.

August Pullman (Auggie to his friends) is not an ordinary 10-year-old boy. He feels like one and has the interests of one, but his face is not ordinary at all. In fact, it's the type of face that scares kids and makes people stare. Auggie is pretty good natured about it all. This is the way he is, after all, and while he doesn’t like that people stare, there’s not much he can do about it.

Because his face has required many reconstructive surgeries, Auggie has been homeschooled . But there are no more surgeries to be done for a while, and now August’s parents think it’s time that he goes to mainstream school, beginning with fifth grade in the fall. The idea of this terrifies Auggie; he knows how people react to seeing him, and he wonders if he will be able to fit in at school at all.

He bravely gives it a go, but finds that it’s much like he expected. Many of the children laugh at him behind his back, and someone has started a game called the Plague, in which people “catch” a “disease” if they touch Auggie. One boy, Julian, leads the bullying attacks. He’s the sort of kid whom adults find charming, but in reality, he is quite mean to anyone not in his circle of friends.

Auggie does make two close friends: Summer, a girl who actually likes Auggie for who he is, and Jack. Jack started out as Auggie’s “assigned” friend, and when Auggie finds this out, he and Jack have a falling out. However, they patch things up at Christmas, after Jack gets suspended for hitting Julian for badmouthing Auggie.

This leads to a “war," with the popular boys against Auggie and Jack. While nothing more than mean words, in the form of notes in the lockers, fly between the two camps, the tension between them lasts until the spring. Then there's a confrontation between a group of older boys from a different school and Auggie and Jack at a sleep-away camp. They are hopelessly outnumbered until a group of boys who were formerly against Auggie and Jack help defend them from the bullies.

In the end, Auggie has a successful year at school, and even makes the Honor Roll. In addition, the school gives him an award for courage, which he doesn't understand, musing, “If they want to give me a medal for being me, I’ll take it.” (p. 306) He sees himself as ordinary, and in the face of everything else, he really is just that: an ordinary kid.

It‘s the straightforward, non-sentimental manner in which Palacio approaches her topic that makes this such an excellent book. Auggie might have an extraordinary face, but he's a regular kid, and that makes him relatable, in spite of his challenges. Palacio also shifts her point of view, telling the story through the eyes of characters other than Auggie. This allows the reader to get to know characters like Auggie's sister, Via, who talks about the way her brother takes over the family’s life. However, some of the other viewpoints—especially of Via’s friends—feel somewhat unnecessary and bog down the middle of the book.

The power of the book likes in how Palacio creates such a normal, relatable character from a boy living with such an extraordinary physical affliction. Even though "Wonder" is recommended for children ages 8 through 12, the book's themes of identity, bullying, and acceptance make it interesting reading for a wide audience as well.

About R.J. Palacio

An art director by profession, R. J. Palacio first thought of the idea for "Wonder" when she and her children were on vacation. While there, they saw a young girl who had a condition similar to Auggie’s. Her children reacted badly, which got Palacio thinking about the girl and what she goes through on a daily basis. Palacio also thought about how she could have better taught her children to respond to situations like this.

The book inspired Random House to start an anti-bullying campaign, called Choose Kind , with a site where people can share their experiences and sign a pledge to stamp out bullying. There you can also download an excellent Educator Guide for Wonder to use at home, or with a community grouop.

Companion Book

"Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories ," also by R. J. Palacio, is a 320-page collection of three stories, each told from the point of view of one of three characters from "Wonder": the bully Julian, Auggie’s oldest friend, Christopher, and his new friend, Charlotte. The stories take place prior to Auggie’s attending school and during his first year there.

This book is neither a prequel nor a sequel to "Wonder"—in fact, Palacio has made it clear that she does not plan to ever write either. Instead, this book is meant as a companion for those who have already read "Wonder" and want to extend the experience by learning more about Auggie's impact on the people around him.

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Wonder, by R.J. Palacio | Book Review

Book Review of Wonder The Children’s Book Review

Written by R.J. Palacio

Ages 10+ | 320 Pages

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers | ISBN-13: 978037586902

What to Expect: Disabilities, Self-Esteem, and Kindness

Kindness is an outstanding trait we all possess, so long as we choose to access it. It is an essential aspect of being human.

In the captivating, award-winning New York Times bestselling novel Wonder by R.J. Palacio, the theme of exhibiting kindness is explored in an inspiring way. The story revolves around a 10-year-old boy named August Pullman living with rare facial deformities. Auggie, as he is affectionately called, yearns to be accepted for who he is and not judged based on his looks. Due to having had 27 surgeries, both big and small, and lots of illness, August (Auggie), up until now, has been home-schooled.

Through Palacio’s vivid writing, readers journey through Auggie’s first year in school and see through the eyes of fifth-grade classmates and his sister, guiding us through valuable insights into the process of accepting someone different from us. Wonder is a heartwarming tale of bravery, love, and kindness. It is a call to action for us to strive towards our best selves and to choose kindness in every situation. This powerful and inspiring book has been a global phenomenon, with Auggie’s story inspiring a growing movement of compassion and empathy toward others.

Reading Wonder will undoubtedly help you embrace its message and become a part of this growing movement.

Buy the Book

About the author.

R. J. Palacio was born and raised in New York City. She attended the High School of Art and Design and the Parsons School of Design, where she majored in illustration with the hopes of someday following in the footsteps of her favorite childhood author-illustrators, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Maurice Sendak , and the D’Aulaires . She was a graphic designer and art director for many years before writing Wonder .

We’re All Wonders , which is based conceptually on the themes of her novel, represents the fulfillment of her dream to write and illustrate her own picture book. R.J. is also the author of Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories and 365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne’s Book of Precepts . She lives in Brooklyn, where she is surrounded by magical water towers, with her husband, their two sons, and their two dogs, Bear and Beau.

Learn more about her at https://wonderthebook.com/about or on Twitter at @RJPalacio .

What to Read Next if You Love Wonder

• Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories, by R. J. Palacio
• 365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne’s Book of Precepts, R. J. Palacio
• Out of My Mind , by Sharon Draper

Bianca Schulze reviewed  Wonder . Discover more books like Wonder by reading our reviews and articles tagged with disabilities , self-esteem , kindness , and family .

• X (Twitter)

Bianca Schulze is the founder of The Children’s Book Review. She is a reader, reviewer, mother and children’s book lover. She also has a decade’s worth of experience working with children in the great outdoors. Combined with her love of books and experience as a children’s specialist bookseller, the goal is to share her passion for children’s literature to grow readers. Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, she now lives with her husband and three children near Boulder, Colorado.

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Review: Wonder by R.J. Palacio

I originally listened to Wonder on Audible, within months of publication, and despite the transatlantic divide, I saw myself vividly in ten-year-old August Pullman. I saw my loving middle-class family, and the sibling who felt both isolated and penned-in by the fallout of my condition. I felt my school anxiety, and the warmth of a small knot of friends, and the embarrassment of targeted bullying. I was thrilled that Auggie even had the same favourite films as I did.

And all of this was shown through the lens of disfigurement, through the eyes of a boy (in the chapters narrated by Auggie) whose eyelids were perhaps sewn at the margins just like mine, who might have my underbite. A character who would know what it’s like to put effort into speaking clearly every time you meet a new person, in case they think the movement of your lips equals your intelligence. All this, written by a woman with no direct experience of disfigurement. This was astounding to me; that someone who, in the end, could never know what it’s actually like seemed to have gotten it so “right.”

I knew the importance of owning one’s own story then, but that conviction only grew in the following years. And I would be reminded that many disabled, disfigured people don’t have the support system Auggie and I have, aren’t able to access the necessary healthcare, aren’t so safely white (or read as such). I’d discover that I’m not the comfortably cisgender boy I thought I was, the boy I thought I saw reflected in Auggie Pullman. In the time since I first read Wonder , my understanding of my disfigurement, and the world it occupies, has transformed. How will I now read and receive what was the most personally representative book of my life?

For starters, Auggie doesn’t have an underbite; in fact, he’s described as having the opposite, though his pronounced overbite does present similar difficulties with eating. Just like me, Auggie had to learn to keep his tongue inside his mouth.

On her website , author R.J. Palacio concedes that – if pushed – she would identify Auggie’s dominant anomaly as Treacher-Collins syndrome, with a cleft lip/palate, and numerous “medical mysteries” as described in the book. It’s these mysteries that rang the first small alarm bells upon re-reading; they seem only to be there to justify the title (inspired by a Natalie Merchant song ) and aren’t described in detail. The 2017 film has confirmed Auggie’s Treacher-Collins, but Palacio’s woolliness on specifying the condition has always seemed weird to me.

Auggie’s sister Via has an interest in genetics, and wants to go into the field to help future Auggies. Whether “help” means improving quality of life or totally preventing Treacher-Collins is an important distinction, one which is unfortunately left unclear. In a culture where genetic conditions are so often seen as problems to be solved by what amount to eugenicist “cures,” that clarity would be useful. But Via’s future intent remains a mystery, as do those aspects of Auggie’s condition previously described.

Besides August’s condition, Wonder is a very beige, cisheteronormative, upper-middle-class and surprisingly abled book. Throughout, August is defined as “not disabled.” He may look different – horrifically so to some – but as the book keeps insisting, deep down he has the same abilities as his family and friends. When a concerned mother writes to the director of Beecher Prep’s middle school, questioning Auggie’s fast-tracked admittance, the director shuts down her talk of the boy’s “special needs.” This moment is admittedly framed by good intentions, with Beecher’s director defending Auggie’s place at the school against a busybody, but when the disabilities of Auggie’s disfigurement are downplayed through the book, it certainly rubbed me a little wrong.

This seems like a missed opportunity, especially as August is the only visible disfigured/disabled character in the book – which, to me, is sad. Auggie has only abled, “normal” people around him; nobody alike to share experiences with, no mentor (or peer) with whom to explore what it means to be disfigured, or to discuss whether disfigurement is a disability. (I believe it is, per the social model .) Via’s boyfriend confides in the reader about his own nervous tics, but he doesn’t describe their origin, nor does he share any real page-time with August.

There are some issues beyond this as well. To borrow and bastardise Via’s solar system metaphor, they gravitate around the good intentions of the author. It’s necessary here to restate that R.J. Palacio doesn’t have direct experience with disfigurement; as far as anyone has been made aware through interviews, no one in her immediate family or peer group is disfigured. Rather, Palacio reports that the impetus to write Wonder came from an incident in which her young son reacted poorly to seeing a disfigured child. After removing her children from the situation immediately, Palacio retrospectively wished that she could have instead utilised the moment to teach –

[Hello, it’s those alarm bells again]

– perhaps engaging with the disfigured child. The spectre of the unpaid educational labour disabled people are expected to provide to abled allies rears its head.

And the question of how allies treat the marginalized is present throughout the most problematic narrative thread in Wonder .  Since August’s birth, Via has dealt with the fallout of his needs, and become independent while Auggie is forever fussed over. At the same time, she puzzles over another kind of independence, from her estranged best friend Miranda, who herself has been almost another sister to Auggie. When Miranda’s point-of-view chapters arrive, Auggie’s true place between her and Via becomes apparent.

Around new friends at summer camp, Miranda talks about August as if he were her own brother in order to garner sympathy and the resultant social capital. Meanwhile, Via rejects the definition of “sister of a kid with a birth defect” that Miranda so readily exploits.

All comes to a head when Via and Miranda’s school puts on a play. When cast as Miranda’s understudy, Via refuses to tell her parents, in a bid to keep August away from the one part of her life he doesn’t impact. After a change of heart and circumstances, the Pullman parents and Auggie do end up attending the play. When she sees this, Miranda makes the last-minute decision to feign illness, allowing Via the opportunity to take the limelight, thus engineering Via’s reconciliation with her brother. Honourable, though not necessarily intentional. And what if August had known the full extent of how both Miranda and Via used and viewed him? I think he’d be well within his rights to feel significantly hurt, and to not forgive as easily as he does throughout the rest of the book.

Because, however hurt Auggie may be by someone, he almost always seems willing to shrug it off. More than once, a character who has done Auggie wrong will assume forgiveness, perhaps after a traumatic event has brought them back together, or laughter has thawed the ice. And each time, Auggie is quick to agree and move on. Perhaps the authorial justification is that Auggie doesn’t like dwelling on things. That’s fair enough, but it does telegraph something of a lack of agency.

Once noticed, this lack of agency is a glaring issue. Stuff happens to Auggie; we see him make choices to be more independent, when circumstances call for it, but his most significant fulfilment of agency is to shut out a friend. (This is also the one time when he doesn’t immediately forgive.) Active, positive actions aren’t Auggie’s to take. Plenty happens to him that is positive – he makes friends, he earns respect, he experiences a “seismic shift” in his social standing following a climactic incident at camp – but it is rarely his decision or intended action which causes it.

There are things that make me sad about Wonder. I wish these opportunities had been recognised and utilized. Auggie’s lack of real agency. The fact that Via and Miranda never truly examine their own actions, and how they treat their brother/“brother.” The marginalised identities which could have enriched the story, but instead will have to wait for the next kidlit book about disfigurement – and when will that be?

There are also things I find suspect or distasteful, such as the book’s meta-campaign “Choose Kind,” inspired by the monthly precepts (inspirational phrases) Auggie’s English teacher hands out. There’s anger in Wonder , mostly borne of pre-teen moodiness, but what does the edict “when given the choice between being right and being kind, choose kind” do, except stifle the valid and necessary anger of oppressed people?

It’s not as if R.J. Palacio is utterly unaware of power dynamics; she chose not to give bully Julian a narrative section in Wonder to avoid “[giving]a bully a platform” (although she would later go on to write a short story from Julian’s perspective). She has also said that she most relates to the character of Charlotte, “a good girl, but she’s not quite brave enough to act on her good instincts.” (Both of these insights come from the very informative FAQ page on Palacio’s Wonder website.)

I think what makes me saddest is the fact that Palacio didn’t have direct knowledge to draw from, due to the lack of a significant disfigured person in her life.

Moving beyond the disfigurement representation, it’s important to note that the Pullmans are a (likely) white, reasonably well-off family, living in “a brick townhouse in North River Heights, the hippie-stroller capital of upper- upper Manhattan.” Outside the text, Palacio does concede that Auggie’s father probably “[works]long hours to try and pay for all the medical bills not covered by insurance,” but the fact that no such bills are agonised over within Wonder suggests a fairly easy life. Beecher Prep, by its nature, is attended mostly by students like the Pullmans, whose parents can afford the tuition fees. August has a friend who is probably one of the few exceptions, but it’s never explicitly clear.

And this world seems unconcerned, at best, with race. There are several students with names that suggest they’re kids of colour, but none of their identities are touched upon. More promising are the nods to Isabel Pullman’s Brazilian heritage – August is clearly named after her father, Agosto, and her parents’ travels are described – but hopes that it’s a mixed-race family are dashed when August visits the home of his friend Summer. On seeing a photo of her late father (whose ethnicity is left unclear), Summer confirms her own mixed heritage, and there’s certainly no sense of kinship from Auggie.

For a book published so recently, set in New York City, it is also sad – and somewhat surprising – that there are no nods to LGBTQIA identities. The one (upsetting) exception is a character’s use of “your boyfriend” as a pejorative against an antagonist late in the story.

For all the neglected intersections of identity mourned above, Wonder remains an engaging, enjoyable book. R.J. Palacio’s ten-year-old voices are consistently believable, as are those of her slightly older narrators. The journey of the narrative is satisfying; every major character learns something important about themselves and the world they inhabit.

I still love Wonder , about as much as I did when I first read it. I just want it to be better, so I can evangelise it everywhere, like I used to. Because despite its flaws, Wonder is an engaging, heart-rending story about disfigurement, and the world needs those books.

Perhaps when/if I do see Wonder the film, I’ll write more about it, but for now, you can easily find Twitter threads I’ve made on the subject. More importantly, I want to link to a couple of pieces by others with facial disfigurements/visible differences. First, from American writer Ariel Henley, this article on how the film exploits facial difference , and an Atlantic review of the film , also from Ariel. Finally, I want to share this exhaustive master-post from Australian writer Carly Findlay which covers pretty much every angle of concern about the film.

Thank you for reading these pieces and mine, and I hope that you’ll remember to prioritise and support voices of disfigurement/visible difference, when our lives and livelihoods get thrust into the spotlight.

About Author

Mike Moody is a 27-year-old Disfigured trans woman living in the UK. She makes music and writes when executive function and inspiration (in that order) allow, and takes semi-regular trips to Florida to be with her girlfriend, where she is too hot in the summer and just right in the winter. Mike tweets @guysmiley22 , probably a little too much for her mental health.

26 Comments

Thank you so much, Mike.

Thank you Mike for a thoughtful review of this beautiful and yet challenging title. The thing that struck me in reading it was how easily August’s classmates understood him. In the past I taught a fairly wide variety of students in special education in the US. A few of them had facial disfigurements as part of other medical conditions and I taught a student who was recovering from severe burns over much of his body. What I found the disfigured students struggled with the most was being understood in conversation by their peers. Because they didn’t always produce the anticipated facial expression to accompany their speech their peers tended to misread their intentions, their tone, their mood. This was particularly true of the child with substantial burn scars over most of his face. I’m not disfigured myself, so perhaps this was just the issue most apparent to me as a teacher. And maybe I’m off base entirely. Still I had my hesitations from the beginning because the book seemed to overlook such a central issue. I’m an indie bookseller and I do book talks for teachers all the time. I’ll be sure to point them in the direction of this review when Wonder comes up. Thank you for being so thoughtful and thorough in your critique.

HI Mike, Let me start off by saying you did a very good job at being thorough and making it easy to understand what the story was about, especially for someone like me who hasn’t read it yet. I have heard many good things about this book. Just from your critique I read that it talks about children with disabilities or disfigurements and how it is important for students to treat one another the same no matter what how someone looks or acts. They deserve the same respect as others. I think I would probably really love this book because I am currently going to school for teaching and I believe this is an issue we still have because sometimes individuals don’t truly understand why someone was born the way they were or whatever the case is but to teach that it is important to respect everyone and treat them the same as you would want to be treated. Thank you for your critique and I look forward to reading this book.

I am really impressed by your expressions. Actually, I feel the people who are deformed on their faces do not want that. Deformities can be genetic or accidental. More than that, disfigured people always need someone who can understand and can share with them. However, the way people around treat disfigured people makes them difficult to interact with. Many people will tend to misunderstand or isolate people who have deformed faces. That will create a big gap between people. I am really grateful, and I am sure I will find and read this book.

I really enjoyed your detailed review of this inspiring yet thought-provoking title, “Wonder”. In your review several thinks stuck out to me. In the before part of your review you talked about how relatable you felt to ten-year-old August Pullman. You discussed in detail how you felt the pressures of meeting new people and them thinking because your speech may be delayed that they would judge your intelligence from this. I wonder, is the pressure still high when you meet people? Has your reading of this book ‘Wonder’, gave you more confidence to mingle with others? You also talked about how the author, R.J. Palacio was a woman who never experienced disfigurement, but actually got the character right. Why do you think this is? Do you think she knew or shadowed someone to really capture the essence for the character? These are some questions that I have after reading your very insightful review. Also, you talked about how easy it was for Auggie’s friends to understand him. I feel like the author did fluff a lot of what in reality would not happen. In the real world August would not have been understood so quickly if at all by peers that were not like him. Your review has really give me lots of insight from the book perspective. Most of your questions and thoughts throughout your after part of your review, has me also pondering the same questions. I saw the movie and I am going to read the book very soon to make comparisons. I thought the movie was amazing! I didn’t realize that the character in the movie wasn’t a disfigured person in real life. Thank you Mike for your review and I hope that you change your mind about watching the movie!

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I know this was written a while back, but unfortunately R.J Palacio’s website doesn’t seem to be working now.

I think that is article was written quite well. This my first time hearing a review on this story and I think you raise some very good points. You are definitely right. The author should’ve included more information as it pertains to Auggie’s condition. However, I think that one of the reasons why they left it up in the air may have been for the readers to explore and do some personal research. Another thing that I found interesting was the idea that Auggie is from a high-middle class family. I wonder what his life would’ve been like if he were from a lower class. I know his access to schools would be much more limited and that may affect the reactions from his peers and I also think that he wouldn’t have access to the best medical resources. I have not yet read or seen Wonder but I think that it does start a conversation on the physical disfiguration known as Treacher-Collins. I think that the next best step would be to create a film that would focus on someone who actually has the condition, or like you said, cast someone in a movie that already has the condition as opposed to using prosthetics for the actors.

Mike, Your critique of this book was spot on. This book has been read by all the teenagers in my house and they all love it. They are on Auggie’s side and don’t understand why people are so cruel. They have seen many child with various disabilities and see them as no different from themselves. It’s been one of the great benefits of me working in the special education field. I try to teach my own kids and the kids in my classroom to be accepting of all people and they’re differences.

As a future teacher i found this book very interesting, especially it being targeted for middle schoolers. This book deals with something all students can relate too, whether that’s being new to a school, being bullied by classmates, or other related themes that go on in school. Overall this book portrays plenty if positive messages. It is a good book to share with students, the message is all about being kind to one another. Everyone needs someone to give them unconditional love.

I read wonder about 2 years ago! I will admit it made me cry tears of frustration and later joy. I could vividly feel and see what it was like to be each character in the story through the authors words. At the time I was working at a middle school and it was a school wife project for everyone to read the book. It was so touching and heart warming to see the other students reactions to the book. I was working with a student that has Pierre Robins syndrome and he had to wear a trach in order to breathe. I always felt protective of him when we walked in the halls or outside because I could see the stares from parents and other students and I didn’t want the student to fall under the gaze of those looks. Deep down I know I could never protect him from society and he has been living with this condition his whole life. But my nurturing soul couldn’t help it. After reading this book I could see hat more student started giving him high fives in the hall. It was just very warming. August is heroic in my eyes. I’m so glad he had the support from his family in friends each step of the way.

I read Wonder about 2 years ago while working in the school system and it was a school wide assignment to read Wonder and complete a project. All around the halls we had the saying “choose Kindness”.I will admit it made cry tears of joy and frustration. I could vividly feel and imagine what it was like for each character in the story through the authors words. At the time I was working with a young man that was born with Pierre Robins syndrome and had to wear a trach in order to breathe. I always felt protective of him when we walked in the halls or outside because I could see the stares from the parents and other student. I wanted to protect him from falling under gazes of concern or just curiosity. Deep down I knew I could never protect him from society. I think he may have coped with the looks better than me being that he’s been living with the condition his whole life. All the characters in Wonder were heroic to me. I could see how things shifted in the school after reading this book! I noticed the student I was working with kind of had a little more confidence.

Your review of this book definitely made me want to read it and learn more about August Pullman. Disabilities come in many shapes and forms and as a special education teacher, I love to read and learn more about others perspectives regarding any kind of disabilities and how if effects them personally. I see there was a movie made about this book and I’m looking forward to seeing that as well!

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I loved you review. I haven’t read the book or watched the movie, however you have made ask my self some questions about the books i am buying for my children. My children will not learn about all the wonderful people in the world if I don’t expose them to them.

Mike this was an amazing review of this reading! I definitely agree that the author should’ve included more information about the characters condition. Another thing that I found interesting was the idea that Auggie is from a high-middle class family his access to schools would be much more limited and that may affect the reactions from his classmates and I also think that he wouldn’t have access to the best medical resources which would have unfortunately made his life even more difficult but ultimately more relatable for some readers. I completely agree that they should cast someone in a movie that already has the condition as opposed to using prosthetics and for the actors.

I have not read this book; however, I would like to read about how disabilities appproached in this book. I want to be sensitive to children that may experience bullying or be outcast by their peers. I have a nephew that has no hands and no feet. His siblings are very aware of this and are quite protective. They do not hesitate to stare down a person who may be whispering and pointing at their brother. Nothing stops my nephew from learning to do whatever he wants to do academically or physically. I would hope this book would point out the importance of family support of children with abilities that may be different from other children.

Thank you for this thoughtful and very detailed book review. I am studying to become an elementary teacher and learning about children with different disabilities is very important to me. This book sounds like it would make me cry. Bullying in school by your peers is not easy to deal with, however, Wonder has many positive messages we can all relate to. I can’t wait to read the book and see the movie.

Mike, you did a great job with this review. I have read and watched the movie and I loved them both. This was actually the first book I ever read about a child with a disability. It made me realize that there aren’t many books available that show a child with a disability going through there day to day lives. I think that this book is important for kids to read because it gives them a different perspective on how to treat people. I do think that the author could have gone into more detail about the condition but overall I would say they did a great job. I also loved how they not only showed the boys life but also how his condition affected his entire family.

Thank you for the critique of the book. I really enjoyed your thorough and detailed review that would definitely help people struggling have a better understanding of it. I think all students should be required to read this book because it really shows how everyone should be treated equality no matter what. This kid struggled getting picked on by his fellow classmates just by the way he looks. It really does raise awareness with disabilities and bullying so all schools should have it required to read around the time of middle school. The book really shows that everyone should have love, kindness, and respect with one another because at the end of the day you don’t know what the person is going through.

Thank you for this post! My daughter has CHARGE syndrome, and has a small eye ( microphthalmia ) as well as vision and hearing loss, short stature, and developmental delay. She has always fought to fit in, and she is struggling really hard in 8th grade. We have all read Wonder, and watched the movie as a family. She can really relate to Auggie, and I think her brother and sister can relate to Via. Thanks again for perspective, I really enjoyed it!

What is this comment section? What is happening? And I remember reading the interview where she talks about her ‘inspiration’ for the book in a kids magazine when I was way younger. It never quite sat perfect with me. And I would have been soooo bugged about the ‘helping kids like Auggie’ thing when it’s never clarified how she wants to help/””””””””help””””””” (flashbacks to when I tried to convince my entire biology class that using genetic engineering to prevent autism and ADHD wouldn’t actually be a good thing until the only other kid in said class with ADHD finally put me out of my misery and asked the teacher to change the subject. For context, at that point I don’t really think anyone else in the class knew there were kids with ADHD in said class).

Hi Mike, thanks for the review. I am a woman who has lived with a disfigurement since birth, and I had a really hard time getting through Wonder. What a perfect example of the very concept of inspiration porn. I am glad you are injecting some much-needed nuance into the conversation, it’s exhausting to hear people defend this book and act like it’s the perfect work of fiction.

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By R. J. Palacio

Homeschooled Auggie begins middle school at Beecher Prep and faces bullying and discrimination by his classmates because of his looks.

About the Book

Article written by Ebuka Igbokwe

Bachelor's degree from Nnamdi Azikiwe University.

R. J. Palacio’s ‘ Wonder ’ tells the story of August ‘Auggie’ Pullman, a boy with a craniofacial deformity that kept him from school, getting to attend school for the first time. It deals with issues such as kindness, empathy, self-acceptance, and discrimination against people with disabilities.

Spoiler-Free Summary

August ‘Auggie’ Pullman is a ten-year-old boy born with a congenital disability that caused an abnormal development of his facial features. This has caused him to undergo several surgeries to correct his disability, but he still looks noticeably different from other children his age. Until the events of ‘ Wonder ,’ Auggie had been homeschooled, but his parents decided to start him in Beecher Prep Middle School, and he has to come to terms with a new school life.

Full Summary of Wonder

Warning – This article contains important details and spoilers

‘ Wonder ’ is told from the first-person perspective of several of the book’s characters . It is divided into eight parts, each named after the character from whose viewpoint the section is narrated.

Part One: August

The story opens with the protagonist, August, introducing himself as an ordinary ten-year-old kid others see as extraordinary. He is starting school for the first time and is scared at the prospect. He had never gone to school before and had been homeschooled because he had been in and out of hospitals to get reconstructive surgeries done on his face. He has Treacher-Collins Syndrome, which affected the development of his facial features. His appearance sets people off, which is one reason he is apprehensive about starting school, as he worries his schoolmates will discriminate against him because of his looks.

His parents and Mr. Tushman, the school principal, organized a visit before school started to give August a feel for his new school. Three of his would-be classmates—Jack Will, Charlotte, and Julian—take August on a school tour.

He is jittery on the first day at school but soon settles in. The new classmates avoid sitting close to him, but Jack Will takes the initiative and sits beside him. They introduce themselves, and Julian makes subtle mean remarks about his face in a way that the teacher does not notice, and it is evident to August that he is deliberately unpleasant. In English class, their teacher invites them to think about precepts, which are fundamental general rules about life, and note a precept every month. The first precept is about kindness.

At lunch, everyone avoids his table except a girl named Summer, and they become friends. However, for the rest of September, he has difficulty adjusting to the stares he is getting from his schoolmates and how they are avoiding him. Julian is particularly mean to Auggie and often taunts him. However, Auggie is happy about his friendships with Jack, Will, and Summer.

Wearing a costume on Halloween, he overhears Jack Will telling Julian and a group of boys that he was friends with August only because Mr. Tushman asked him. This hurts August deeply, and he calls in sick at the school clinic, and his mother comes to take him home. He does not return to school for the rest of the week.

Part Two: Via

The story switches to Via’s point of view, and she narrates how August’s special conditions make everyone in their home revolve around him to attend to his needs. Still, she believes the situation is changing slightly.

Via describes August’s deformity and the difficulties they cause him and the family. Because of his health, he needs much attention from his parents and Via. Because of this, her parents often ignore Via, but she understands and tries not to make an issue out of it.

As August is beginning middle school, Via is starting at a new high school, and she is glad at the opportunity to create a new life as Olivia and not Via, Auggie’s brother. She meets Ella and Miranda, her close friends from middle school who had also known Auggie, and thinks they have become cool towards her. She decides to separate herself from her old friends.

While Via is going through her changes at school, she is somewhat miffed that her mother, occupied with Auggie’s problems, has no time for her, but she holds her peace as she is wont to. Meanwhile, Miranda and Ella make new friends in school, and Via goes on to make her own friends.

Via notices that Auggie does not go trick-or-treating that Halloween, and when she prods him, he tells her about Jack Will’s betrayal. Via sympathizes with him but assures him that he cannot feign sickness forever and will have to return to school sometime. She convinces August to return to school but ignores Jack Will.

Part Three: Summer

This part features the narrative picked up from Summer’s viewpoint. Her classmates wonder why she is friends with August, who they think of as a freak. Summer believes she initially approaches him out of pity but likes him. She is angry at her classmates for avoiding August.

She is invited to a Halloween party by the popular kids. Savanna, the host, suggests that Julian wants to be friends with her, and the cool kids would like her to join their group, but on the condition that she stop hanging out with August, who they call Zombie Kid. Summer is offended by this suggestion and makes an excuse to leave the party early.

Summer approaches August at school to discuss working with him on a class project, but she finds August withdrawn and rude. August wonders aloud whether she is his friend because Principal Tushman asked her, just like he requested Jack Will. August’s accusation offends Summer, and he apologizes for suspecting her motives. He then reveals to her what Jack Will said on Halloween.

Summer and August collaborate on their class project and get to know each other better. At the presentation of the projects at school, Jack meets Summer and asks her why August no longer speaks with him. Because August swore her to secrecy, she cannot tell him directly, so she gives him a hint.

Part Four: Jack

When the story switches to Jack, we return to the events before August begins school at Beecher Prep.

Jack Will’s mother receives a call from Principal Tushman asking that Jack Will be part of a student welcoming committee for a deformed new student, and Jack Will initially refuses. He has seen August before and wants to avoid him. He finally changes his mind and agrees because he feels sympathetic to August and knows how mean people can be, so he decides to be kind to him instead.

He finds August exciting and fun, and they become genuine friends. So, when August suddenly stops talking to him, he is surprised.

He initially does not understand Summer’s hint and thinks she is toying with him. The class is assigned a science fair project, and Jack Will wishes he was still friends with August, who is very good at science. He suddenly understands Summer’s clue and realizes that August overheard him talking badly about him to Julian and his friends.

At the moment of realization, Jack is abjectly sorry he said such mean things about August and feels terrible about his actions. At the same time, the science teacher, Ms. Rubin, groups the class into pairs for the project and couples Jack Will and August. Julian approaches and asks Jack Will to dump August, whom he calls ‘freak’, and become partners with him instead. This makes Jack Will so furious that he punches Julian.

Jack Will gets detention and is threatened with expulsion. He only gets suspended and has to write Julian an apology. Jack Will also writes August, asking for forgiveness, and they mend their friendship in an exchange of emails.

However, back at school, Jack Will finds he has become a pariah. Former friends will not talk to him. He discovers from Charlotte that Julian has turned the whole class against him for befriending August. They would not even sit with him at the lunch table. Sides are drawn, and only a few classmates take August’s side, while some are neutral, and others side with Julian.

Part Five: Justin

Justin describes meeting Auggie and Jack Will and hiding his shock at Auggie’s appearance. They are interested in him and his musical instrument, a zydeco. When he is alone with Via, she asks him whether he is freaked out, and he denies it. Eventually, he meets Via’s parents and is warmed by their interest in him and his music, an attention different from what he gets from his divorced parents. They return to the Pullman’s and find the family dog, Daisy, is very sick.

Justin and Via are preparing for a school play. Justin and Miranda have the lead roles, and Via is only an understudy for Miranda. Via helps Justin prepare for his role at her home. On his way home, he notices Julian and his friends being mean to Jack Will and scares them off.

Part Six: August

August and Jack still face discrimination in school, and they receive mean notes in their lockers from Julian’s group. However, the antagonism they receive is gradually reducing, and his classmates have started becoming friendly with him. August gets a hearing aid that improves his hearing.

When August’s mother finds out about Via’s school play, which she had kept secret, she is angry. August believes Via is trying to keep him a secret from her new school life, and they have a row over this. Via reprimands August for trying to make everything about him. That day, Daisy becomes so sick that she has to be euthanized, and the family reconciles over the tragedy.

Via brings tickets to the play, and August and his parents attend, hoping to see Miranda and Justin. However, Miranda called in sick at the last moment, and Justin and Via played the lead roles. Miranda meets August, and they are happy to see each other again.

Part Seven: Miranda

Miranda takes up the story from her days at camp before high school. Following her parent’s divorce, her father moves in with another woman, and her mother becomes distant. When she goes away to camp, she hates it but passes her time by making things up to tell her campmates, including having a deformed brother.

When she returns to school, she is disappointed that Via never asks her about her parents’ divorce, and she grows closer to Ella and separates from Via.

Through the beginning of high school, she notices Via and her new boyfriend, Justin. Miranda even signs up for a play because she sees Via is participating, and she gets a lead role with Justin.

She misses the Pullmans because she had always found them a welcoming and loving family, and she pays a visit, meeting August.

She gives up acting in the play because she has no family to watch her and feels Via deserves to play the lead. After the show, Miranda meets up with the Pullmans and Justin, and they invite her to have dinner with them.

Part Eight: August

Beecher Prep fifth graders go for an annual camping event for three days, and August is excited but a little awed because he’s never been to camp or even a sleepover. They had many fun activities in the camp. They are watching an outdoor movie one night, and Jack feels pressed, and August escorts him to the toilet. They meet a long line, and Jack relieves himself in the woods. On their return, they meet a group of middle schoolers from another school who make fun of August. Jack and August defend themselves, and other Beecher Prep boys join in and rescue August. Even though he loses his hearing aid in the melee, August wins the respect of his classmates when they hear how he handled himself in the fight. His mother comes to take him home early.

The story of the fight is embellished and spread across the school. The incident’s aftermath is that he is accepted by his classmates and other Beecher Prep schoolmates. Everyone in his class, except Julian, starts to treat him better.

August receives the Henry Beecher Award for being a notable or exemplary student at prom.

About Ebuka Igbokwe

Ebuka Igbokwe is the founder and former leader of a book club, the Liber Book Club, in 2016 and managed it for four years. Ebuka has also authored several children's books. He shares philosophical insights on his newsletter, Carefree Sketches and has published several short stories on a few literary blogs online.

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Book Review: Wonder By R.J. Palacio

By: Aditi Gandhi and Aaditya Gandhi

Wonder is just like the book itself, pretty much a wonder. It left me in great astonishment and awe. I was in a stupefied moment as soon as I finished reading Wonder. I never thought that there'd be a book like this out somewhere spreading its magic and touching people and make them realise that it's time, it's time for us to make this kindness, the kindness Auggie is giving to everyone, no matter where we are, what situation we are in and whose people we are with. As it says in the book:

"Mr. Browne's September Precept: When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind."

I think it is a great quote I've stumbled upon while reading the book, a really great one. Usually I find books that contains bullying stories and the like, a style that is very much used up or rather a common technique in writing, but this one, this book is a rare one. In fact, it isn't like those any other books that tries to pursue something that readers can't find very well in their writing. What I just found in this book is the uniqueness it gives out to readers.

I can't very much sum up what a great feeling it is after reading the book because for all I know words can't really describe what you're really feeling deep inside about a thing but this I know won't be something you'd be disappointed in spending your time to read with and pour your hearts into.

I'm not going to sum up the book's story like some other readers did but I'm going to tell you one thing about the book: it finds the kindness in your heart.

Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop .

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Based on the book by the best-selling author of Wonder, this uplifting movie shows how one act of kindness can live on forever. Based on the book by the best-selling author of Wonder, this uplifting movie shows how one act of kindness can live on forever. Based on the book by the best-selling author of Wonder, this uplifting movie shows how one act of kindness can live on forever.

• Marc Forster
• Mark Bomback
• R.J. Palacio
• Gillian Anderson
• Helen Mirren
• Bryce Gheisar
• 3 User reviews
• 17 Critic reviews

• Mlle Petitjean

• Jean Paul Beaumier

• Rabbi Bernstein

• Milice Commander

• Gendarme Marc

• German Soldier 1

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• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia Originally set for a release on September 16, 2022, it was pushed to October 14, 2022. Later that month, the film was quietly removed from the schedule and pushed to August 25, 2023, due to underperforming at the Fall (2021 box office and pushed again to an unspecified date due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.
• Connections Follows Wonder (2017)
• Soundtracks It Can't Be Wrong written by Kim Gannon, Max Steiner performed by Vera Lynn

User reviews 3

• kattab-971-112343
• Apr 15, 2024
• How long is White Bird? Powered by Alexa
• October 4, 2024 (United States)
• United States
• Bela golobica: Čudežna zgodba
• Czech Republic
• Kingdom Story Company
• Lionsgate Films
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours
• Dolby Digital

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