REVIEW#1:WONDER (English)

Name: Wonder

Author: R. J. Palacio

Language: English

Pages: 320

Published: 2012

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf

I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances?

I read this book a really long time ago..., I think it was in 6th grade. Wow... that WAS a long time ago! But I HAD to add it to my blog, and in honor of all the lessons Auggie taught me about tolerance, hard-work and friendship I thought this was the best way to start my very first review.

                                                                                                        

“When given the choice between being right & being kind, choose kind.” 
                                                                                                        

I don’t remember word by word what happened in the book, but I do have a general idea (forgive me for this). However, I HAVE read the books that have been published based on the books from different POVs. I wanted to re-read the book before posting anything, but homework and exams got in the way.

                                                                                                        

“I think there should be a rule that everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their lives.”
                                                                                                        

I will always have a beautiful memory of this book, because it was the one which introduced me to the YA books in the first place, and I haven’t been able to stop reading books from this genre ever since.

                                                                                                        

“It’s not enough to be friendly, you have to be a friend. ”
                                                                                                        

Reading this book was amazing, practically an emotional rollercoaster. I read it quite quickly (please consider how fast an 11-year-old girl can read) and it was really easy to understand. Bullying and serious medical conditions are mentioned, but the way they’re approached reaches your heart and makes you appreciate everything you have a thousand times more. I honestly think this is a book EVERYONE should read at some point, no matter who. With Auggie, I learnt you need to have hope and will, but you also need to trust the people who you love and lean on them when you are feeling down.

First of all I’d like to say more books have been made based on the star novel Wonder. I won’t write any reviews for each one of them because the plot is basically Auggie’s story explained by different people, exploring their point of view on the events that happen. Some are his friends…, and some are NOT! Actually, one of the books is from Julian’s POV, the boy who bullies and picks on our loved Auggie. With this book we discover that he DOES have feelings and a heart, even if it doesn’t seem like it. These are the names, book covers and short summaries.

• The Julian Chapter: From the very first day it was clear Auggie and Julian were never going to be friends, with Julian treating Auggie like he had the plague. And while Wonder told Auggie's story through six different viewpoints, Julian's perspective was never shared. Readers could only guess what he was thinking. Until now. The Julian Chapter will finally reveal the bully's side of the story. Why is Julian so unkind to Auggie? And does he have a chance for redemption?

• Shingaling: A Wonder Story: Charlotte gives us a peek to a part of Auggie’s school that until now R. J. Palacio nearly hadn’t shown us: the girls’ world. Through Charlotte’s story, the girl chosen by professor Tushman to show Auggie his new school, we’ll see how girls live that one part of the boys in class bully Auggie and his friend Jack Will, and also to which point stereotyping, appearances and the need to feel accepted by everyone else can prevent us from being ourselves.

• Pluto: Pluto shows us how Auggie’s life was before Beecher Prep from the point of view of Christopher, Auggie's oldest friend. Christopher was Auggie's best friend from the time they were babies until his family moved away; he was there through all of Auggie's surgeries and heartbreaks, through bad times and good—like Star Wars marathons and dreams of traveling to Pluto together.  Alternating between childhood flashbacks and the present day, an especially bad day for Christopher, Pluto is the story of two boys grown apart learning that good friendships are worth a little extra effort.

• 365 days of Wonder: In the #1 New York Times bestselling novel Wonder, readers were introduced to memorable English teacher Mr. Browne and his love of precepts. Simply put, precepts are principles to live by, and Mr. Browne has compiled 365 of them—one for each day of the year—drawn from popular songs to children’s books to inscriptions on Egyptian tombstones to fortune cookies. His selections celebrate kindness, hopefulness, the goodness of human beings, the strength of people’s hearts, and the power of people’s wills. Interspersed with the precepts are letters and emails from characters who appeared in Wonder. Readers hear from Summer, Jack, Charlotte, Julian, and Amos.

And last but not least, to finish this review I’d like to tell you…, that a film based on the book is going to be made! I am extremely happy because it is going to be awesome to see the story of such a special boy on the big screen, but at the same time… I don’t know, I also dread the moment because I am scared it won’t be as good as the book and that I don’t like it. Other books that have been made into movies have been great, like The Fault In Our Stars, starring Ansel Elgort and Shailene Woodley, but I think it is going to be incredibly difficult to show this message to the public. What do you guys think?

The actress playing Isabel Pullman, Auggie’s mom, will be the one and only Julia Roberts, winner of an Oscar and many other awards! I am sure she’ll do an amazing job, and the premiere can’t come soon enough. It is going to be on cinemas in the US in April, not too long to go! I’ll keep you updated on any changes! 

"I was born with a reading list  will never finish" Maud Casey