Wonder (Palacio novel)

Wonder is a children's novel written by R.J. Palacio, published on February 14, 2012. "Wonder" was on The New York Times Best Seller list and was also on the Texas Bluebonnet Award master list. The book was the winner of the 2014 Maine Student Book Award, Vermont's Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award, the 2015 Mark Twain Award and Hawaii's 2015 Nene Award.

Background

Palacio was compelled to write Wonder after her youngest son (who at the time was three years old) started crying after noticing a girl with facial birth defects was sitting beside him as they were waiting in line to buy ice cream. Palacio attempted to discreetly sit her son away from the girl so as not to upset her or the girl's family but ended up only intensifying the situation. Natalie Merchant's song "Wonder" had her realize that the incident could teach a valuable lesson. Palacio was inspired by Merchant's lyrics and thus began writing.

Plot summary

August "Auggie" Pullman is an

11-year-old living in Manhattan. He has a rare medical facial deformity, which he refers to as "mandibulofacial dysostosis", more commonly known as Treacher Collins syndrome and a cleft palate. Due to numerous surgeries, Auggie had been home-schooled by his mother, but his parents decide to enroll him in Beecher Prep, a private school, for the start of middle school in the fall.

Auggie visits Beecher with his mother and meets school director Mr. Tushman, along with three students: Jack Will, Julian Albans, and Charlotte Cody. Although extremely self-conscious and scared of being around kids his own age, Auggie gradually gets used to and even begins to enjoy school. He befriends Jack as well as a girl named Summer Dawson, who sits with him during lunch when no one else would. Julian, however, barely conceals his disgust at Auggie's appearance, avoids him and often makes hurtful remarks. He bullies Auggie and hates him for the way he looks. During Halloween, when his planned costume of Boba Fett didn't work out, Auggie wore a "Bleeding Scream" costume instead. Unrecognized at school, he overhears Jack telling Julian in homeroom he would "kill himself" if he looked like Auggie. Feeling hurt and betrayed by Jack, Auggie wants to quit school, but his 15-year-old sister Via convinces him not to. Auggie confides the incident to Summer. Jack notices that Auggie has become quiet and distant; he asks Summer why, and though she won't divulge the secret, she says "Bleeding Scream" as a hint. At first, he isn't aware that Auggie heard of what he said and believes that he's just avoiding him for no reason, so he starts avoiding him too. In December, however, Jack realizes Auggie had overheard what he said and realizes that he also heard that Jack was pretending to be friends with him, leaving Jack shocked. In science class, Auggie and Jack are partners for a project. When Julian asks the teacher if he could be Jack's partner instead, Jack declines. But when Julian calls Auggie a "freak," Jack punches Julian in the face in retaliation. As a result, Jack is suspended for two days for his actions. Knowing that Julian would get them both in trouble for bad-mouthing Auggie, Jack did not tell Mr. Tushman what happened. Julian's mother says that Auggie did not belong in Beecher Prep, as it was not an "inclusion school", but Mr. Tushman and everyone else disagrees with her. Jack sincerely apologized to Auggie, saying he didn't mean to say the stuff he said about him, and they became friends again.

Throughout the rest of the school year, Auggie faces many obstacles, mostly due to ringleader Julian encouraging his "gang" to avoid and isolate Auggie and Jack. Julian puts mean notes in Auggie and Jack's locker, write back in defense. However, things begin to change during a class overnight Nature Reserve camping trip when Auggie and Jack are attacked by seventh-grade students from another school who insult Auggie. Not only does Jack defend Auggie, but several other classmates: Miles Noury, Henry Joplin, and Amos Conti (formerly part of Julian's crowd) come to his defense and befriend him.

At the graduation ceremony, Auggie is awarded the "Henry Ward Beecher medal" which "honors students who have been notable or exemplary in certain areas throughout the school year." He gets a standing ovation, takes pictures with everyone (something he had always refused to do) and goes back to his house for a party to celebrate. The book ends with his mother whispering in his ear, "You really are a wonder, Auggie."

Narrative

The narrative of this fiction book takes place in various different voices. It begins with Auggie's point of view but switches between him, his classmates, his sister, and her boyfriend. The various different perspectives help the reader understand the struggle of Auggie's community as they deal with learning empathy, compassion, and acceptance.

Main characters

August "Auggie" Pullman: The protagonist. His face is deformed due to "mandibulofacial dysostosis" or "Treacher-Collins syndrome", along with other facial malformations. He faces many difficulties when he enrolls in his first year of middle school after being home schooled for many years. In the end, he is able to make new friends and accept himself for who he is.

Olivia "Via" Pullman: August's older sister. She talks about Auggie and the hardships of being a sister of someone who is deformed in Part 2. She truly cares for Auggie and will always defend him. Often, Via feels jealous of the attention Auggie receives because of his deformity. She often scolds herself and feels guilty for feeling this way.

Summer Dawson: One of Auggie's first and best friends. She sits next to him on the first day of school when no one else would. She didn't care what the other students thought of Auggie, and was always very kind to him.

Isabel and Nate Pullman: Auggie and Via's parents. They care deeply about Auggie and Via, but due to Auggie's problems, Via is often unintentionally left out. Isabel and Nate work with Auggie to make sure going to private school instead of being home schooled is ultimately his decision.

Jack Will: August's best friend. Mr. Tushman asked Jack, Charlotte and Julian to give August a tour of Beecher Prep. At first, Jack did not want to befriend August because of his facial deformity. He thought it would prevent him from being friends with the "popular kids," but comes to genuinely appreciate August as a friend, for who he is.

Julian Albans: The antagonist. He dislikes Auggie and tries to convince the other students that if they touch him, they will develop "The Plague." At the end of the story, Julian's parents take him out of Beecher, as they say they don't feel Beecher Prep is an "inclusion school" and Auggie shouldn't have been admitted.

Justin: Via's boyfriend. He is somewhat shocked by Auggie's appearance but is very kind to him. He has a main part in "Our Town" with Via at their high school. In his part in the book, he doesn't capitalize his "I"'s. He also mentions that he has "tics," especially when he is nervous and describes them as "hard blinks" and "the occasional head pull." This leads the reader to believe that he has a form of Tourette syndrome Justin also gets to meet Via's parents.

Daisy: Via and August's first dog. She was August's first true friend. She was an old dog, and at the end of the book Daisy has to be put down. August's family gets a new dog named "Bear."

Miranda Navas: Via's friend. Via, Miranda, and Ella were friends. Miranda had recently cut her hair into a bob and dyed it pink, and dressed in a manner that she would have never dressed before. Via is shocked by Miranda's new look, and the two former friends slowly drift apart. Miranda took care of August and thought of him as her own "little brother;" when she went to summer camp, Miranda lied and told everyone August was her brother. Miranda and Via become friends again at the end of Miranda's perspective.

Mr. Tushman: The director of Beecher Prep. He is extremely welcoming and positive towards Auggie throughout the course of the school year. He tries his hardest to make him feel welcome at school. He delivers an important speech at graduation where he says "if every single person in this room made it a rule that wherever you are, whenever you can, you will try to act a little kinder than is necessary - the world would be a better place."

Eddie or Edward: The secondary antagonist. 7th grader who bullies August when he goes to a sleep away camp.

Mrs. Garcia: Assistant to Mr. Tushman.

Title

The title is from the Natalie Merchant song of the same name and lyrics from the song are printed as an epigraph just before part one of the novel.

"Doctors have come from distant cities
just to see me
stand over my bed
disbelieving what they're seeing.

They say I must be one of the wonders
of god's own creation
and as far as they can see they can offer
no explanation"

The title is also referenced in the novel when Auggie states, "I'm actually considered something of a medical wonder, you know" And at the end when his mother tells him, "You are a wonder Auggie."

Bibliography

• Palacio, R.J. (February 14, 2012). Wonder (1st ed.). Knopf Books for Young Readers. p. 320. ISBN 0375869026. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

External links

• RJ Palacio's website
• Review of Wonder in The Guardian