Wonder by R. J. Palacio
Apr. 23rd, 2012 10:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Don’t judge a boy by his face.
Wonder is the funny, sweet and incredibly moving story of Auggie Pullman. Born with a terrible facial abnormality, this shy, bright ten-year-old has been home-schooled by his parents for his whole life, in an attempt to protect him from the stares and cruelty of the outside world. Now, for the first time, Auggie is being sent to a real school - and he's dreading it. 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, underneath it all? Through the voices of Auggie, his big sister Via, and his new friends Jack and Summer, Wonder follows Auggie's journey through his first year at Beecher Prep.
10-year-old Auggie Pullman was born with a severe facial disfigurement. Despite many painful operations to try and improve his appearance, he doesn’t pass for ‘normal’ and has spent his childhood being home-schooled to spare him from the stares and cruelty that greet him every time he goes outside.
When his parents decide that Auggie should attend proper school, he dreads it. The following academic year will see him confront his worst fears, make some good friends and bear it all with a shy enthusiasm and courage beyond his years.
R. J. Palacio’s middle grade novel is a funny, touching but at times schmaltzy look at what it means to live with a serious facial disfigurement.
Narration is split between Auggie, his new friends Jack and Summer and older sister Via. Auggie and Via are both wonderful characters and what I loved that neither of them wallows in self-pity. Auggie’s very open about his condition and what he looks like but is never less than a real kid who loves Star Wars and computer games and although Via loves her brother and sticks up for him with the gawping public, she also resents the way his condition has sapped their parents’ attention and devotion. My favourite scenes in the book involve them, particularly their different reactions to the months Auggie spent wearing a space helmet to hide his appearance so that he could pass as normal.
Jack and Summer were less successful, mainly because their voices were so similar and because they seemed to exist to reinforce the fact that Auggie’s a normal kid. One of the big weaknesses of the book is that those characters opposed to having Auggie at the school are little more than cartoons who don’t get a chance to explain their actions. I would have liked to see a section narrated by Julian, who leads the bullying of Auggie but has apparently learned his behaviour from his superficial parents.
There are some powerful and moving scenes in the book – notably a scene at Halloween where Auggie accidentally discovers what a character really thinks of him – but it’s also a funny read, especially when Auggie mocks his own condition. Unfortunately Palacio tacks on a schmaltzy ending that feels completely out of kilter with the previous events of the book, which is a shame because in many ways this is a smashing book that everyone should read.
The Verdict:
R. J. Palacio’s middle grade novel is a funny, touching but at times schmaltzy look at what it means to live with a serious facial disfigurement. For a book that revolves around the theme of how people with disfigurements are still normal underneath it all gets lost in a Hollywoodised ending straight out of Cornsville and I did feel that she missed a trick by not getting giving a voice to the kid who bullies Auggie, choosing instead to show him and his parents as isolated and ridiculous characters. That said, this book has some powerful, moving and very funny moments and I would recommend it to children and adults as something they should read.
WONDER was released in the UK on 1st March 2012. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
Wonder is the funny, sweet and incredibly moving story of Auggie Pullman. Born with a terrible facial abnormality, this shy, bright ten-year-old has been home-schooled by his parents for his whole life, in an attempt to protect him from the stares and cruelty of the outside world. Now, for the first time, Auggie is being sent to a real school - and he's dreading it. 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, underneath it all? Through the voices of Auggie, his big sister Via, and his new friends Jack and Summer, Wonder follows Auggie's journey through his first year at Beecher Prep.
10-year-old Auggie Pullman was born with a severe facial disfigurement. Despite many painful operations to try and improve his appearance, he doesn’t pass for ‘normal’ and has spent his childhood being home-schooled to spare him from the stares and cruelty that greet him every time he goes outside.
When his parents decide that Auggie should attend proper school, he dreads it. The following academic year will see him confront his worst fears, make some good friends and bear it all with a shy enthusiasm and courage beyond his years.
R. J. Palacio’s middle grade novel is a funny, touching but at times schmaltzy look at what it means to live with a serious facial disfigurement.
Narration is split between Auggie, his new friends Jack and Summer and older sister Via. Auggie and Via are both wonderful characters and what I loved that neither of them wallows in self-pity. Auggie’s very open about his condition and what he looks like but is never less than a real kid who loves Star Wars and computer games and although Via loves her brother and sticks up for him with the gawping public, she also resents the way his condition has sapped their parents’ attention and devotion. My favourite scenes in the book involve them, particularly their different reactions to the months Auggie spent wearing a space helmet to hide his appearance so that he could pass as normal.
Jack and Summer were less successful, mainly because their voices were so similar and because they seemed to exist to reinforce the fact that Auggie’s a normal kid. One of the big weaknesses of the book is that those characters opposed to having Auggie at the school are little more than cartoons who don’t get a chance to explain their actions. I would have liked to see a section narrated by Julian, who leads the bullying of Auggie but has apparently learned his behaviour from his superficial parents.
There are some powerful and moving scenes in the book – notably a scene at Halloween where Auggie accidentally discovers what a character really thinks of him – but it’s also a funny read, especially when Auggie mocks his own condition. Unfortunately Palacio tacks on a schmaltzy ending that feels completely out of kilter with the previous events of the book, which is a shame because in many ways this is a smashing book that everyone should read.
The Verdict:
R. J. Palacio’s middle grade novel is a funny, touching but at times schmaltzy look at what it means to live with a serious facial disfigurement. For a book that revolves around the theme of how people with disfigurements are still normal underneath it all gets lost in a Hollywoodised ending straight out of Cornsville and I did feel that she missed a trick by not getting giving a voice to the kid who bullies Auggie, choosing instead to show him and his parents as isolated and ridiculous characters. That said, this book has some powerful, moving and very funny moments and I would recommend it to children and adults as something they should read.
WONDER was released in the UK on 1st March 2012. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
