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Almost 2 million people have read the New York Times bestseller Wonder and fallen in love with Auggie Pullman. Last year readers were given a special look at another side of his story with The Julian Chapter, and now they'll get a peek at Auggie's life before Beecher Prep, with an exclusive new short story told entirely 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.

80 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 5, 2015

318 people are currently reading
10757 people want to read

About the author

R.J. Palacio

28 books7,898 followers
R.J. Palacio lives in NYC with her husband, two sons, and two dogs. For more than twenty years, she was an art director and graphic designer, designing book jackets for other people while waiting for the perfect time in her life to start writing her own novel. But one day several years ago, a chance encounter with an extraordinary child in front of an ice cream store made R. J. realize that the perfect time to write that novel had finally come. Wonder is her first novel. She did not design the cover, but she sure does love it.

Raquel J. Palacio / R. J. Palacio is a pseudonym of: Raquel Jaramillo

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5 stars
4,678 (37%)
4 stars
4,143 (33%)
3 stars
2,767 (22%)
2 stars
560 (4%)
1 star
184 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 905 reviews
Profile Image for Federico DN.
1,163 reviews4,378 followers
September 10, 2023
“Good friendships are worth a little extra effort.”

In this second companion book, we learn a little more of the story through the eyes and perspective of Chris, Auggie’s best friend during his infancy years, before moving to a different city and starting Beecher Prep.

Damn it Palacio! Why do you insist on making me suffer?! Sigh, good suffering though, the kind that releases stuff. So very short. Utterly tender. Not as powerful as The Julian Chapter, but close. Readable in a day, memorable for the rest of them. Highly enjoyable.

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PERSONAL NOTE : For the full experience, first read Wonder #1
[2015] [79p] [Children’s/YA] [Highly Recommendable] [“When something scary happens, it makes us reassess what’s important in life. Our family. Our friends. The people we love.”]
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★★★★★ # 1 Wonder
★★★★★ 1.5 Julian
★★★★☆ 1.6 Pluto
★★★☆☆ 1.7 Shingaling

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“Las buenas amistades valen un poco de esfuerzo extra.”

En este segundo libro compañero, conocemos un poco más de la historia a través de los ojos y perspectiva de Chris, el mejor amigo de Auggie durante sus años de infancia, antes de mudarse a una diferente ciudad y empezar la Preparatoria Beecher.

¡Maldita sea Palacio! ¡¿Por qué insistís en hacerme sufrir?! Sigh, igual es un buen sufrimiento, del tipo que libera cosas. Muy corto. Terriblemente tierno. No tan poderoso como The Julian Chapter, pero cerca. Leíble en un día, memorable para el resto de ellos. Muy disfrutable.

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NOTA PERSONAL : Para la experiencia completa, antes leer Wonder #1
[2015] [79p] [Niños/Joven Adulto] [Altamente Recomendable] [“Cuando algo aterrador sucede, nos hace evaluar qué es lo importante en la vida. Nuestra familia. Nuestros amigos. Las personas que amamos.”]
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Profile Image for Isa Cantos (Crónicas de una Merodeadora).
1,009 reviews43.8k followers
March 13, 2016
Me impresiona la capacidad que tiene R. J. Palacio de escribir desde la cabeza de niños pequeños. Muchos autores lo intentan, pero ella realmente lo logra; hace que las palabras, las actitudes y los pensamientos realmente sean los de chicos intentando entender cómo funciona la amistad, y no las de un adulto que pretende hablar como un niño.

En este libro vemos desde la perspectiva de Christopher cómo se ve la vida de Auggie desde fuera y qué tan duro resulta muchas veces ser su amigo. Vemos cómo los niños pequeños pueden ser, a veces, mucho más crueles que los adultos entre ellos, pero también entendemos que para chicos como Christopher, la amistad va mucho más allá de apariencias y del qué dirán.

Quizá lo que más me gustó de este libro es que conocemos a Christopher como un chico que cree que tiene que ser fuerte y aparentar que nada lo afecta, cuando en realidad en su vida, como en la de Auggie, están pasando muchas cosas. Lo mejor de R. J. Palacio en El Juego de Christopher es que no eclipsa los problemas de Chris comparándolos con los de Auggie, sino que les da la importancia que se merecen.

Profile Image for Monica.
Author 16 books313 followers
July 26, 2019
De las historias cortas de este universo, la historia de Chris es entretuvo, pero siento que le faltó algo.
Me gusta que la autora nos da esa facilidad de meternos en la cabeza de estos niños y además poder experimentar todo eso que les acontece sobre todo en su corazón.
Las buenas acciones, y sobre todo el ser amable es una filosofía que me enamoró desde Auggie, y este libro nos deja una enseñanza muy linda sobre la amistad, el amor, y la lealtad.
Profile Image for Danny Books.
254 reviews87 followers
July 9, 2017
Una historia más sobre el mundo de La lección de August, no tiene mucha relevancia en la historia principal pero como el resto de estas historias es entretenida y siempre es bueno leer un poco más sobre August, me gustó Christopher y su historia pero como digo, no tiene mucha relación y como que sale sobrando, aun así, me gustó.
Profile Image for Carmen de la Rosa.
621 reviews363 followers
June 16, 2018
Aunque no es un relato que aporte mucho a la Lección de August, es un relato bonito, que nos muestra algunas cosas y se tienen algunos flashback de antes de la Lección de August. Christopher al igual que Julian tiene su propia historia para contar.

Un bonito relato que nos habla de la amistad, la lealtad y las cosas que son realmente importantes en la vida.
Profile Image for Laura.
882 reviews320 followers
March 27, 2015
Very much age appropriate for 8 or older. Easy read, good points about friendships that are thought provoking, and quick paced. Not my favorite by the author but still liked it and would recommend for a followup read to Wonder.
Profile Image for crίѕтίŋα•●Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ●•.
893 reviews230 followers
September 27, 2017
“Being friends with Auggie could be hard sometimes.
I didn’t know how to tell him that being friends with him could be hard for me sometimes, too.”
- Christopher

* * *
“When good friends need us, we do what we can to help them, right? We can’t just be friends when it’s convenient. Good friendships are worth a little extra effort!”
- Lisa
Profile Image for Stefanie Sugia.
731 reviews178 followers
May 18, 2015
"That's when I realized why they didn't hang out with us anymore. Being friends with Auggie could be hard sometimes."

Pluto is yet another novella written by R.J. Palacio as an addition to her book, Wonder. This story is written in the perspective of Christopher, August's friend since they were babies. His character doesn't show up much in the book because he moved to Bridgeport with his family. In this book, R.J. Palacio takes the reader to a day in Christopher's life; in which he had to struggle with his own problems. And we'll also see the struggle he has to go through as August's friend.
"We would spend hours playing pretend games about missions to deep space, or landing on Pluto. That became our favorite planet to travel to. Pluto was our Tatooine."

Christopher and August's mother are best friends, and Christopher is already used to seeing August face since he was a baby—so he doesn't really feel weird out about it. However, as time goes, Christopher started to realize how everyone else sees August; and then he understood that August is different, unlike the other normal kids they hung out with. Christopher was there when August had to go through surgeries. Together they were obsessed with Star Wars and having dreams of traveling to Pluto. But it wasn't always easy being August's friend. And as Christopher go through a very hard day in his life, he realized the true meaning of friendship—and that good friendship worth a little extra effort.

I love how this novella takes us to a different perspective and setting than what we've seen in Wonder or even The Julian Chapter. This story only takes place in one day, but there's a lot of flashbacks involved—so the reader will get to see the history of Christopher and August's friendship. I love Christopher's character so so much. There are several heartwarming moments that made my heart melt. Indeed Christopher is not without flaws, but that's what makes his character feel believable and real to me; because I can imagine being in his shoes and acting the same way he did. In the end, I'm really glad Christopher took the decision he thought was best—although it might be hard for him. Everything about this story felt honest, heartfelt, and it definitely stirred my emotions.
"Listen, this was a scary thing that happened today. It's natural for you to be upset. When something scary like this happens, it acts like a wake-up call, you know? It makes us reassess what's important in life. Our family. Our friends. The people we love."
....

Read the full review here:
http://www.thebookielooker.com/2015/0...
Profile Image for Stephanie Anze.
657 reviews123 followers
October 13, 2017
"Sometimes friendships are hard."

Before Beecher Prep and Julian, August was homeschooled and spent a great deal of time with his best friend Christ0pher. As their moms were best friends, these two boys were introduced to each other days after being born. Having grown up around Auggie, Christopher is not put off by his appearance but the older he gets, the more he notices how others are uncomfortable around his friend. He eventually moves further away and finds that sustaining this friendship is going to be more complicated than he expected.

What I love of the Wonder series is how deceptively simple they are. 'Pluto' is the third installment. At barely eighty pages long, this brief book gives the reader an insight to Auggie's life before he enrolled in school. As with the two books that preceded it, the main theme of the book is friendship. Chris very much enjoys hanging out with Auggie. They share a love of all things Space related and Star Wars. While Chris is aware that Auggie is different, its not a factor for him. Though it clearly was a problem for the moms that used to befriend Auggie's mom. As soon as they learned of August's condition, most moms st0pped spending time with her. All moms except for Christopher's mom, that is. So the scope of this novel is broad as Palacio deals with adult prejudices as well. I will say that this work did not pack the emotional impact of the other books but delivered the message just as well. After all, as Chris learns, being friends with Auggie is complicated but it is worth it.
Profile Image for Sophie_The_Jedi_Knight.
1,193 reviews
December 5, 2020
Pluto was our Tatooine.

Aah! Curse this! Curse this book! I read Wonder years ago, why am I still so emotionally invested in these characters??

I read Wonder and The Julian Chapter a while back. But I never read Pluto or Shingaling. Since I just reread the first two, I thought I might as well check out the ones I never got to. And my goodness, I did not expect to feel this many feelings.

Pluto is the story of Chris, Auggie's childhood best friend from whom he's grown apart. And this story... how can this story have so much in it.

Be kind to your family, to the people you love, because you don't know what could happen. Good friendships take work, but they're worth it. It's not easy to be friends with someone who's different. Stand by your people. Reach out to those you love. And don't be afraid to cry.

My God, I'm still so emotional. This story was beautiful.

5/5 stars.
Profile Image for Valeria  .
881 reviews305 followers
September 7, 2024
"Honeyboy,” she said softly, brushing the hair out of my eyes. “You made his day.”
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭ESTOY LLORANDO
Amo mucho esta saga de R.J. Palacio.

Pluto, es maravilloso.
Amo que en cada libro desde Wonder exploramos la humanidad de cada personaje y es más especial, cuando sabes que son niños.
Son niños humanos con sus fallas, con sus crueldades sin intención, con sus prejuicios y con sus virtudes.

Chris, es tan humano y le tengo mucho cariño.
No puedo explicarles lo que fue para mí la escena del hospital y él dándole su peluche al niño.
FUI COMPLETAMENTE LÁGRIMAS.

La parte final igual.
Mi corazón está tan abrazado con todo este universo y desearía que más personas lo leyeran.

SOY LLANTO PURO POR LO BELLO😭😭😭💗💗💗
AUGGIE PULLMAN, siempre te recordaré.
Profile Image for Sandra Nedopričljivica.
749 reviews75 followers
April 1, 2018
I liked Julian's story a little bit more than this one. Christopher is OK, he's a nice kid. But, never mind, I adore Auggie and Pluto (of course it's a planet and it's my planet) and it's Easter today, so I gave 5 stars. :)
Profile Image for Adam  .
239 reviews19 followers
March 21, 2019
This short features Christopher, the only character that has a negligible appearance in the original Wonder story. Hence, I did not feel particularly invested in his story and character. Through Chris' POV, some of Auggie's backstory is seen but unfortunately it did not appeal to me as much as the previous books.

The story this time round wasn't as impactful as the Julian Chapter or Wonder. I thought that the messages and lessons wasn't strongly articulated. As someone who needs closure in my stories, the ending wasn't a gratifying one for me. When the hard (and right) decisions are made, I feel it's important in a children's story to show a positive outcome of the decision in order to deliver a lesson successfully. Unfortunately, many of the outcomes here were left unrepresented which disappointed me, especially the part about Chris' band. It would have been much better if a chapter was written about them.
Profile Image for Fizah(Books tales by me).
718 reviews69 followers
May 3, 2018
“And when good friends need us, we do what we can to help them, right? We can’t just be friends when it’s convenient. Good friendships are worth a little extra effort!”

Before Beecher prep, Auggie was homeschooled and have some close childhood friends, the closest was Christopher, not only close but a family friend, after his parents' divorce he had to move away. He never realised Auggie is different until he started to understand other kids avoid him or scared of him.

After changing school and making new friends, his life got busy and Auggie became a side character in it.
Auggie was important in his life, he shared all his things with Auggie but now it is difficult for Christopher to be friend with him, it needs effort.

This is a short but sensitive story for kids, which teaches friendship is not always easy.
Profile Image for •Anna•.
292 reviews82 followers
July 23, 2016
It's clearly complicated for a child to completely understand Auggie's situation or just being sensitive about it. That's why I love Palacio's stories. For these little kids nothing is black and white and uncertaintes are allowed.
Profile Image for Belle Sabattin.
499 reviews42 followers
May 29, 2017
Hermosa historia, como todas las de wonder :) extrañaba a Auggie y verlo a través de una de sus mejores amigos fue genial...

Recomendado como lectura liviana y para quienes gustaron de la lección de August. Además es cortito, se lee en una tarde e incluso menos.
Profile Image for Dean_o.
238 reviews70 followers
October 17, 2018
A short little addition on Christopher's side of the story (Auggie's old best friend).
I really like new insights and perspectives from another character on the same topic, really makes you understand how different everyone and all of our lives are!
Profile Image for Adeeb.
688 reviews44 followers
May 24, 2016
These kids in R.J. Palacio's world deserve a hug every now and then. Loved this story as well.
Profile Image for Tiffany.
612 reviews11 followers
July 21, 2017
Another great Wonder short story. Enjoyed this one too.
Profile Image for Mafi.
1,198 reviews249 followers
December 11, 2017
Escrever livros do ponto de vista de crianças não é fácil mas não sei como, esta autora fá-lo de uma maneira muito simples e natural.Adorei este pequeno conto!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 905 reviews

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