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jasonmerrickblvd 's review for:
Wonder
by R.J. Palacio
"I'm beautiful in my way,
'Cause God makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way..."
In Wonder, 11-year old August is your average kid. He has a Star Wars obsession, wants to be a scientist when he grows up, and loves playing with his dog, Daisy. He has eyes, ears, and a nose- just not in any of the right places.
August was born with a rare birth defect that resulted in a face deformation, a hip bone replacing the jaw he never had and his ears squished to the sides of his head. His eyes are lower than they are supposed to be and the shape of his mouth makes it hard for him to eat. Other than that, he's a totally normal kid- he just wishes everyone else would see him that way.
He's learned to deal with the stares and the whispers, but when his parents decide to enroll him in real school for the first time, he faces a new challenge. Seeing the school, he's excited to go, but immediately encounters but a smaller model of the world he already knows exist- those who have trouble accepting him, those that refuse to accept him, and those who wholeheartedly welcome him with empathy and make his life worth living.
"Everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their life because we all overcometh the world."
At first, this book seems like the kind of tearjerker meant to make the reader feel emotion through guilt- "Why did I used to bully that kid in eighth grade...?. A kinder way to say this is that it's meant to show us the world from the eyes a kid shunned by society and the political correctness that has those unaccepting skirt around it in cruel ways. Basically, it shows us another perspective.
But the book isn't just about August's story- the story is shared by multiple characters, his sister, her boyfriend, and August's friends. That's when it hits you- this isn't just a story about an unexplored perspective- it's a book that explores the pure nature of perspective. We see how dfferent types of people learn to look past what's on the outside and how they do it. Wherein they learn that sometimes what seems otherworldly is really just normal- and that's what's spectacular.
The book is well written although occasionally it seems like the author tries too hard to make August seem like a "normal" kid and so his use of slang seems forced. But the book's sense of realism is more pronounced in Palacio's unabashed allegorical use of pop-culture references.
The beginning is more promising than the latter half and the ending feels a tad maudlin, but the novel more than makes up for it in is vibrant humanism and assured characterizations- and what more can you ask for from a surefire Newberry book?
'Cause God makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way..."
In Wonder, 11-year old August is your average kid. He has a Star Wars obsession, wants to be a scientist when he grows up, and loves playing with his dog, Daisy. He has eyes, ears, and a nose- just not in any of the right places.
August was born with a rare birth defect that resulted in a face deformation, a hip bone replacing the jaw he never had and his ears squished to the sides of his head. His eyes are lower than they are supposed to be and the shape of his mouth makes it hard for him to eat. Other than that, he's a totally normal kid- he just wishes everyone else would see him that way.
He's learned to deal with the stares and the whispers, but when his parents decide to enroll him in real school for the first time, he faces a new challenge. Seeing the school, he's excited to go, but immediately encounters but a smaller model of the world he already knows exist- those who have trouble accepting him, those that refuse to accept him, and those who wholeheartedly welcome him with empathy and make his life worth living.
"Everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their life because we all overcometh the world."
At first, this book seems like the kind of tearjerker meant to make the reader feel emotion through guilt- "Why did I used to bully that kid in eighth grade...?. A kinder way to say this is that it's meant to show us the world from the eyes a kid shunned by society and the political correctness that has those unaccepting skirt around it in cruel ways. Basically, it shows us another perspective.
But the book isn't just about August's story- the story is shared by multiple characters, his sister, her boyfriend, and August's friends. That's when it hits you- this isn't just a story about an unexplored perspective- it's a book that explores the pure nature of perspective. We see how dfferent types of people learn to look past what's on the outside and how they do it. Wherein they learn that sometimes what seems otherworldly is really just normal- and that's what's spectacular.
The book is well written although occasionally it seems like the author tries too hard to make August seem like a "normal" kid and so his use of slang seems forced. But the book's sense of realism is more pronounced in Palacio's unabashed allegorical use of pop-culture references.
The beginning is more promising than the latter half and the ending feels a tad maudlin, but the novel more than makes up for it in is vibrant humanism and assured characterizations- and what more can you ask for from a surefire Newberry book?