Take a photo of a barcode or cover
jordandvdsn7 's review for:
Wonder
by R.J. Palacio
-CONTENT WARNING: None really, this book is about as offensive as toothpaste-
"Wonder" is one of those stories with a premise that just instantly hooks you. It tells the story of August "Auggie" Pullman, a fifth grader with severe facial deformities that have prevented him from attending conventional school or associating with students his own age. When he enrolls in Beecher Prep, he is made to navigate the exciting, confusing, and often cruel world of public schooling for the first time. The story is told through several points of view, including those of August himself, his older sister Olivia, and his friends Summer and Jack.
I feel like I'm missing something. Judging by the other reviews of this on Goodreads, I was supposed to have some sort of life-changing experience while reading this. I was supposed to come away with a zeal for life and a determination to make the world a better place. All I felt, though, was a relief that the book was over and a shock at how unbelievably cheesy the ending was. You know those corny teen movies where the underdog receives glory and fame at the end, all accompanied by rousing applause from a room full of students who hated him not even an hour ago? Think of that, but in book form. Yeah.
I'm not saying the book was without merit. I found the narration believable enough, and was impressed with the fact that I could tell the difference between the narrators and didn't have to repeatedly look back and check who was narrating when. There were some quotes from this that were pure gold. I'm just outside of this book's target demographic, I think. I like my literature laced with cyanide, not grenadine.
FAVORITE QUOTATIONS:
"The things we do outlast our mortality. The things we do are like monuments that people build to honor heroes after they've died. They're like the pyramids that the Egyptians built to honor the pharaohs. Only instead of being made out of stone, they're made out of the memories people have of you."
"Wonder" is one of those stories with a premise that just instantly hooks you. It tells the story of August "Auggie" Pullman, a fifth grader with severe facial deformities that have prevented him from attending conventional school or associating with students his own age. When he enrolls in Beecher Prep, he is made to navigate the exciting, confusing, and often cruel world of public schooling for the first time. The story is told through several points of view, including those of August himself, his older sister Olivia, and his friends Summer and Jack.
I feel like I'm missing something. Judging by the other reviews of this on Goodreads, I was supposed to have some sort of life-changing experience while reading this. I was supposed to come away with a zeal for life and a determination to make the world a better place. All I felt, though, was a relief that the book was over and a shock at how unbelievably cheesy the ending was. You know those corny teen movies where the underdog receives glory and fame at the end, all accompanied by rousing applause from a room full of students who hated him not even an hour ago? Think of that, but in book form. Yeah.
I'm not saying the book was without merit. I found the narration believable enough, and was impressed with the fact that I could tell the difference between the narrators and didn't have to repeatedly look back and check who was narrating when. There were some quotes from this that were pure gold. I'm just outside of this book's target demographic, I think. I like my literature laced with cyanide, not grenadine.
FAVORITE QUOTATIONS:
"The things we do outlast our mortality. The things we do are like monuments that people build to honor heroes after they've died. They're like the pyramids that the Egyptians built to honor the pharaohs. Only instead of being made out of stone, they're made out of the memories people have of you."