Wonder

"I wish every day could be Halloween. We could all wear masks all the time. Then we could walk around and get to know each other before we got to see what we looked like under the masks." -p.73

I don't know about you, but I consider my middle school experience to be the definite low point of my life.  Even after all these years I still cringe thinking about all the growing pains I went through.  How I grew out of friendships, but didn't what new friends to make; how I didn't look or feel like I fit in.  Even though those memories don't sting as much as they used to, I remember middle school as being often a cruel time.  While everyone is trying so desperately to fit in and be accepted by everyone, anyone who seems different is torn apart.  This judgment and manipulation needs to be combated, which is why I am so glad that the book Wonder by R.J Palacio is being introduced more and more to the middle school literature curriculum.

Wonder is the story of August, or Auggie, Pullman who has been home-schooled by his mother up until now.  Auggie starts out by saying "I won't describe what I look like.  Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse" (3).  Auggie was born with a facial deformity which required him to go through twenty seven surgeries and receive home-schooling, but since he is stronger he enters the fifth grade at Beecher Prep.  Anyone who's started at a new school knows how nerve-racking things can be, and this anxiety is multiplied for Auggie who knows people will be stare at him and wonder what is wrong with him.  As the story takes us through Auggie's school year, we see that even though Auggie has some flaws, he is an incredibly strong ten-year-old who has a big heart.  Auggie comes to terms with the fact that people will stare at him, but there is nothing he can do about it and he should go on living his life.  Even though there are characters who are mean to Auggie, he is surrounded by loving family, friends, and teachers who are portrayed in such an genuine light.  Since the book is told from five different points of view, such as Auggie's sister, we take away important lessons from many characters.  I learned from the character Summer, Auggie's classmate, that ten-year-olds still have the ability to be loving and thoughtful.  I loved Auggie's teacher Mr. Browne, whose precepts that he teaches to the class are helpful for any middle schooler reading this book.  One such example is "What is beautiful is good, and what is good will soon be beautiful."  We see that despite Auggie's facial deformity, he is a beautiful, funny, and complex person who deserves kindness and respect, just as any person does.