Wonder (Wonder, #1) in 2015 Snagged @ The Library Challenge

Mar 05, 2019 Mary rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Wonder is a great story for people of all ages. It will make you laugh and cry. My daughter and grandkids love this book and strongly encouraged me to read it. So read it for yourself or to someone you love. It is an unforgettable story of courage and kindness. Highly recommended! Can't wait to watch the movie as well. ...more

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Nov 19, 2017 Angel Parrish rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: children-s-lit, kids-must-read

A must-read for kids and adults alike! What a great view into the perspective of a child and all the people around them!

The major themes are why we should be kind to others and how every person has value—no matter how they seem at first glance.

This is a really excellent book!

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Mar 30, 2018 Darlene rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: library, read-in-2018, read-alouds, young-adult, book-to-screen, middle-grade, childrens, favorite

My younger daughter's teacher was reading this aloud to the class, and my daughter wanted us to also read it together at home so that we could watch the movie afterwards.

Be forewarned: You are going to need a lot of Kleenex! I am so pleased that my daughter's Grade 4 class is using this book for a novel study. It's such an inspiring story, and it has a beautiful message that speaks to the heart of all readers.

August "Auggie" Pullman is a ten-year-old boy, who was born with severe facial deformit My younger daughter's teacher was reading this aloud to the class, and my daughter wanted us to also read it together at home so that we could watch the movie afterwards.

Be forewarned: You are going to need a lot of Kleenex! I am so pleased that my daughter's Grade 4 class is using this book for a novel study. It's such an inspiring story, and it has a beautiful message that speaks to the heart of all readers.

August "Auggie" Pullman is a ten-year-old boy, who was born with severe facial deformities. He has had many surgeries in his young lifetime, but he will never look "normal" by any stretch. His mom has homeschooled him, and he has been sheltered from the public eye for the most part. His parents decide that it's time for him to start public school in Grade 5, given that most kids will be transitioning from primary to middle school so they reason that he won't be the only new kid in the group. The principal, Mr. Tushman, invites Auggie and his mom to see the school before the new year starts. He has also invited several children to introduce to Auggie so that he has an opportunity to meet some of his classmates and for them to give him a tour of the school. Auggie likes Jack, but Julian is one of those kids who act all sweet and innocent around adults but is cruel to other kids.

As is expected, most of the kids are mean to Auggie and treat him like an outcast. However, Auggie does develop a close friendship with Jack and things are great until Auggie overhears Jack badmouthing him. Auggie shuts Jack out, and he is back to flying solo until a sweet girl named Summer befriends him. Jack pleads with Summer to tell him why Auggie won't be friends with him anymore, but Summer promised Auggie that she wouldn't tell. She gives Jack a hint, and then it all falls into place and he's horrified that Auggie overheard what he said. Jack smooths things over with Auggie and the two are back to being best buds. As the school year passes, most of the kids get used to Auggie and no longer treat him like a social pariah. The camping trip is when something monumental happens, and it changes everything.

The book is told from multiple points of view, which really allows the reader to see what is happening from different perspectives.

Wow, this book!! I laughed, and I cried!! Auggie is a wonderful character with a great sense of humor who is wise beyond his years. He is funny and strong, with an unbelievably thick skin. His older sister, Olivia, is the perfect big sister. She is very protective of her little brother and loves him dearly, but she hides her pain at not getting enough of her parents' attention. She knows that Auggie needs more of them than she does, and she steps aside and never resents him for it. It was so tough to see her hurting, too...and to hide her true feelings. Auggie's parents are the best: True partners as a couple and as parents. My heart just melted at the end of the book, and I think I fell in love with Mr. Tushman! Here's one reason why - an excerpt of his graduation speech:

“The strength of one’s courage,” he repeated quietly, nodding and smiling. He held up his right hand like he was counting off. “Courage. Kindness. Friendship. Character. These are the qualities that define us as human beings, and propel us, on occasion, to greatness. And this is what the Henry Beecher medal is all about: recognizing greatness."

"But how do we do that? How do we measure something like greatness? Again, there’s no yardstick for that kind of thing. How do we even define it? Well, Beecher actually had an answer for that."

He put his reading glasses on again, leafed through a book, and started to read. “Greatness,” wrote Beecher, “lies not in being strong, but in the right using of strength…He is the greatest whose strength carries up the most hearts…”

This is the type of book that will stay with you longer after you finish it, and every parent should read this book to their child so that you can discuss its many themes (the Golden Rule, friendship, not judging a book by its cover, accepting diversity, bullying, importance of family, courage, etc.). This book is not just for kids. It should be required reading for every man, woman, and child. I know of many adults who need reminding that they should be more compassionate and less selfish! The principle of choosing kindness is so basic, and it could change the world if everyone would behave with this in mind.

Other memorable quotes:

“If every person in this room made it a rule that wherever you are, whenever you can, you will try to act a little kinder than is necessary - the world really would be a better place. And if you do this, if you act just a little kinder than is necessary, someone else, somewhere, someday, may recognize in you, in every single one of you, the face of God.”

“The best way to measure how much you've grown isn't by inches or the number of laps you can now run around the track, or even your grade point average-- though those things are important, to be sure. It's what you've done with your time, how you've chosen to spend your days, and whom you've touched this year. That, to me, is the greatest measure of success.”

I have already requested the omnibus from the library featuring the three novellas told from the points of view of Julian, Christopher, and Charlotte. ...more

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Jan 09, 2012 Beth rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens, talbot-book-club, kidlit, tower8

On the reread, I was more aware of how the author used different viewpoints (the kid in the bookclub brought that up as well). Which leads into the companion book that tells three other kids' stories, and then the graphic novel about Julian's grandmother.

I also pointed out how richt the school was, and we talked about the oddness of having 5-8 count as middle school. Here 6-8 is common; I remember in California people were upset about having 6th grade move to the middle school instead of staying ...more

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Jan 03, 2015 Suzanne (Chick with Books) Yester rated it really liked it

Shelves: library-books, ebook, books-read-2015

Fifth grade is hard. Bullying, growing pains, cooties, homeroom, recess. Today I'm your friend, tomorrow could be different, who do you sit with in lunchroom? But fifth grade can also be wonderful. Friendships, secrets, electricity from potatoes.

Auggie Pullman was different, but only because he looked different. His face was horribly deformed (he suffers from craniofacial abnormality), but he was a normal kid otherwise, with feelings and insecurities and a sense of the world around him. The book Fifth grade is hard. Bullying, growing pains, cooties, homeroom, recess. Today I'm your friend, tomorrow could be different, who do you sit with in lunchroom? But fifth grade can also be wonderful. Friendships, secrets, electricity from potatoes.

Auggie Pullman was different, but only because he looked different. His face was horribly deformed (he suffers from craniofacial abnormality), but he was a normal kid otherwise, with feelings and insecurities and a sense of the world around him. The book, Wonder by R.J. Palacio is about Auggie and the year he went into fifth grade. That year was the first year he ever attended public school because his life up until then was filled with surgeries and sickness. It was time for him to face the realities of fifth grade… and dealing with kids who don't know him or have never seen a kid like him before.

This book was wonderful. But why? That's hard to put into words, but I'll try… Wonder is about the inherent good in all of us. That we're human with flaws and we make mistakes, but we can learn from our mistakes and become better people.

The story centers around Auggie, but then there are parts told from the perspective of other characters in the story… from Auggie's older sister, Via, who loves her little brother dearly, but is also suffering with the pangs of growing up herself, Auggie's best friend, Summer, his friend, Jack, Auggie's sister's friend, Miranda, who grew up with Auggie and is just like a sister to him, and finally Justin, Via's new boyfriend. We find out what they're thinking and how they try to deal with all the pressure's of adolescence while sharing some part of Auggie's life. It is so interesting to read the other kid's perspectives! The writing is great! These kids are real! They're problems are normal, and how they deal with them is inspiring.

The eBook I downloaded had the incredible "bonus" chapter of Julian's perspective. Who is Julian?! Well Julian is the bully. You'll really dislike him… until you read his take on the whole thing, and then by the end of his story (and it is a wonderful story! With a wonderful subplot involving WWII, the Nazi's and saving a little Jewish girl)… ok, I'm not giving away any more! Read this book! It's YA, (Young Adult) but we can all be inspired to "choose kind". (You'll understand when you READ the book!) ...more

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May 14, 2014 Brooke ♥booklife4life♥ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-as-ebook, stand-alone, real-life-issues, read-in-2014

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Oct 07, 2017 Bj marked it as to-read · review of another edition

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