Wonder: A Review

Goodreads:

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

August Pullman was born with a facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face. WONDER, now a #1 New York Times bestseller and included on the Texas Bluebonnet Award master list, begins from Auggie’s point of view, but soon switches to include his classmates, his sister, her boyfriend, and others. These perspectives converge in a portrait of one community’s struggle with empathy, compassion, and acceptance.

My Review:

There are a few books that I'm compelled to read because I happen to see a movie trailer for them. Wonder is one of those books.

As I started reading, I loved the various different POV's. Books like this--books that focus on the need to treat everyone with kindness no matter what their situation--need to highlight everyone's POV. Yes, Auggie has a facial deformity which unfortunately makes him prime for bullying. Yet, when we see the trials everyone else is going through as well... well, it puts things into perspective. 

Auggie's story, as well as the stories of his friends, teaches us that life is hard for everyone. That if we would just be a little more kind and a little more understanding, we would be able to see the wonder in all.

I'm grateful books like this are written and are written well. Not only do we have a good story here, but we have been taught a life lesson that we should carry with us always.

Never lose the wonder, and never lose sight of the wonder in others.

Follow Mr. Brown's advice. He's a pretty smart guy.

We also all need a friend like Summer who won't let us pull our "woe-is-me" crap (because we all have those moments).

The movie did okay. The only thing I didn't like (and this was mostly due to time purposes) was it didn't focus much on Auggie's positivity after his short bouts of negativity. In the book, I kept getting the impression he was a super positive kid and the movie just didn't highlight this amazing aspect (and frankly crucial part of his character).

I rate this 5 out of 5!