Monday, June 25, 2012

Wonder

Wonder By: R. J. Palacio

This is the story of August.  He has a facial deformity and he knows that other people have a very hard time looking at him.   He is attending school for the very first time in his whole life and is nervous and yet very excited about it.  He  meets some people at school, some are nice and some are not so nice but he really likes it.  Until one of the people he thinks is his friend says some things that hurt his feelings.   But imagine being his sister, Via, she is so frustrated with everything that has to revolve around August.  And the one person she loved and knew loved her passed away.  She is tired of dealing with his needs. Meet Summer, she is just an ordinary girl who chose to sit with August at the lunch table the first day of school. She thinks he is a great friend and finds it hard that others treat him so badly.  Meet Jack, he was kind of forced to being August's friend, but when he gets to know him, he really thinks August is a nice person to know.

I loved this book. It gave all the angles to being or knowing someone that has something special about them.  I thought that the characters were so real and could be found anywhere in the world in any school.  I think that this book shows how to know someone and be compassionate to those around you that are different.  I thought that the way the author told the story from the different people's perspective really helped to understand the real picture.  My favorite thing about the book were all the great quotes.and the message that it teaches. "Such a simple thing, kindness. Such a simple thing.  A nice word of encouragement given when needed. An act of friendship. A passing smile." (p. 300) Great read for middle school and up!

I borrowed this from the public library.
ISBN: 978-0-375-86902-0

No comments:

Post a Comment