Wonder by RJ Palacio
Published by Puffin
WONDER was one of the books I read for school when I was younger and found myself developing an attachment to and re-reading alone.
It’s the sort of story which has messages and themes that stick with you long after you first read it and has the ability to make a huge impact on a young person’s interest in reading.
With children’s books, especially those aimed around the ages of nine to 12, it’s so important not only to have positive themes but also to portray these in a way that’s both easy to read and gripping, so that along with learning something, the reader can take away a positive view on books and even a sense of excitement to read more often.
This is exactly what Wonder does so successfully and why in late 2017 it was turned into a successful movie.
Over the course of the book there are chapters from the perspective of six different people, the first being the main character August Pullman.
August was been born with facial abnormalities and had to deal with a long series of surgeries and has never attended a school with other children until the year he turns 10.
The story follows his journey of him and that of the people around him during that year, navigating day-to-day troubles at school, making new friends, enduring bullying and discovering the concept of empathy.
There are many aspects relating to each character’s life written in a way that’s light and easy to understand but the overarching theme of kindness shines through.
The book’s message can be summed up with the phrase: “When given the choice between being right and being kind, choose kind.”
What I love about this phrase is that it expresses to young readers that kindness is not just a quality that some people are born with but is a choice that people make every day, and the choice that they should be making too.
One of the other main themes that really stands out in this novel is August’s experience with bullying and how it ties in with the heavy focus on kindness.
Perhaps my favourite part of the book is written from the perspective of Julian who for a long time bullies August and his friends. It takes a look at his life and what led him to treat others the way he does and brings about a sort of redemption that doesn’t attempt to erase his actions or make anyone forget about them, but rather provides context and a genuine sense that he’ll make the right choices in his future.
I think this is a deeply admirable way of dealing with something which is truly damaging to young people by portraying it as a serious matter and an awful habit that someone can move on from with the right motivation.
One of the most important things about this story is that August is not a particularly extraordinary or heroic character. He makes mistakes and acts most of the time like any 10-year-old that you may meet in real life. This is a common theme in the rest of the characters and helps to emphasise the idea that you don’t have to be perfect to make the effort to choose kindness.
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