Wonder
By R. J. Palacio
Hello. Do you know what it’s like to look different than most normal people? Well, August does. His face looks different than most people’s. But, guess what?? August is starting Middle School this year. (It’s his first year at school. Because of all his face problems, his mom has always homeschooled him.) When he goes to take a tour of the school, three kids are his guides: Jack Will, Julian, and Charlotte. He thought Jack Will and Charlotte were okay, but he just didn’t like Julian. He felt somewhere in between nervous and excited to finally be going to school.
His first day there wasn’t so bad. He had finally made a new friend named Summer. She stuck with August through all the tough times. Summer had heard the rumors about August and how everyone was playing a game behind his back where, if you touched August, you would have 30 seconds to wash your hands or you would get “the plague”. But she came over to find out what August was like and found out that he was really just a nice, normal kid.
Halloween came, and that was August’s favorite time of year. He would always dress up in costumes and, for one day, look just like everybody else. He was going to wear Boba Fett this year, but at the last minute, he changed his mind and wore the costume “The Bleeding Scream.” When he walked into school, Julian and some other kids didn’t recognize him because they thought he was coming as Boba Fett. They were expecting to see him as Boba Fett. That’s when he heard Jack Will say mean things about him to Julian. He had always been really close to Jack Will, so it really took him by surprise when he heard him saying that.
Will Jack Will and August stay friends and everybody else get used to August’s “problems” or will Middle School be a disaster? As I always say, read the book to find out!
I recommend this book to readers who just love a good, classic story (like a story of someone’s life). Sometimes it can be easy to not think about how other people are feeling, but this book really made me feel like people who are different from us are special in ways that we cannot imagine. They’ve felt different things, experienced different things, and we shouldn’t treat them differently just because they are different.
A few helpful things I like to say about the books I read:
“Run and Get Mom” (how I describe the scariness factor): There was one really big, scary part in this book, and some very sad times!
“Yucky-Lovey Stuff” (how I describe the romance factor): Just some kissing.
I give this book 5 wands.
This is one of my favorite books in the universe! Although it was a little hard to get into at first, the story of this boy’s life is unique and thrilling! I could see every moment happening inside my head throughout the book. It was really awesome!
