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Smiling Shelves

Wonder [Review]

8/28/2014

4 Comments

 
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There are books that you enjoy reading and can think of one or two friends to recommend it to. There are books that you love and recommend to all of your friends. Then there are books like Wonder, that you are convinced everyone in the world should read and you would press it on random strangers, telling them how wonderful it was. Yup, Wonder is definitely one of those books.

August Pullman has a birth defect that caused his face to be deformed. People have difficulty looking at him, and he has become a master at noticing even the most subtle reaction. For the most part, he has been in a cocoon of love – his mother has homeschooled him, and his family loves him unconditionally. But then fifth grade comes, and his parents have decided that it’s time for him to go to school like everyone else.

Anyone who remembers their school days remembers that fifth grade was not an easy year. Kids are growing up, trying to figure out who they are, trying to fit in with the cool kids. And then along comes August, brave and terrified, and his classmates’ reactions to him are both typical and life-affirming.

As a teacher myself, I can vouch that this book is spot-on in describing life in a school. The students, the teachers, the parents – they are all out there, just as they are in Wonder. I’ve read plenty of middle grade fiction, but this one gets the prize for a realistic view of daily school life.

And one of the amazing things about this book is that we don’t just see August’s point of view. We start there; we can see life through his eyes. And then in the next section, we switch to his sister’s point of view – and suddenly everything is different from how we saw it at first. R.J. Palacio gets so completely inside the heads of her characters that you can’t help but see everything that way, too.

August is a wonder, and so is this book. So true to life, so poignant. So filled with hope. So inspiring. Family, friends, random strangers – please read this book.

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4 Comments
Jade @ Bits & Bobs link
8/28/2014 08:17:16 am

I read a lot of middle grade fiction, and think I'm surely missing our for not having read Wonder yet. I was looking forward to your thoughts, so thanks for sharing, Julie!
:-)

Reply
Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
9/2/2014 01:54:23 pm

I'm glad my review helped. In case it wasn't clear, read this book soon! ;)

Reply
Gwen Burke link
9/7/2014 01:28:54 pm

I have not read this book but now I definitely need to check it out! I am that random stranger :)

Reply
Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
9/9/2014 01:08:30 pm

I'm glad to have reached one random stranger. :) Enjoy the book!

Reply



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    My name is Julie, and I own a lot of books. As in, they are stacked on the floor because I've run out of room on the shelves. And those shelves? There are so many books on them that they smile -- not sag; smile. This blog will cover book reviews and all manner of other bookish things.

    You can contact me at julie@smilingshelves.com.

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