he bestselling book Wonder was released in 2012 and while it made a huge splash at the time, I was 18 and not really reading middle grade. So it took me until recently and being much older to get to it. I bought this Complete Collection when it was released and I think that was even three years ago – it has sat on my unread shelf ever since.
But Prose Before Bros voted this book as one of their monthly reads so here was my chance. I finally read it!
It didn’t take long from page one before I was hooked. I loved the voice, it felt so authentic and then imagine my surprise when we switched POVs multiple times – but it only added to the reading experience. Having the perspective of so many different characters really fleshed out the world and made it feel so real, so big, so complex. All done really beautifully and simply.
So, if you’ve been living under a rock or just not really paying attention like me, what is Wonder about?
It tells the story of August Pullman. He’s ten years old, loves Star Wars and he’s about to start fifth grade – his first time at a regular school, because most of his ten years so far he has been too sick or recovering from surgery to go to school. He was born with a craniofacial difference that has needed to be operated on so he can breathe and eat without assistance, but through all the operations he still stands out from the other kids. In this year he will learn to navigate friendship, bullying, school and more. And it won’t be easy for him.
I really loved the characters but Via, Auggie’s sister, particularly stood out to me. I loved her strength and compassion but really felt for her too, trying to carve out her own mark on the world while still loving her brother unconditionally. It was a nice surprise to get perspectives from Charlotte and Christopher in the companion novellas in Auggie and Me which was also included in this collection. I struggled the most with Julian, because it’s hard to understand how adults can be so cruel and then inflict those teachings onto their children. His grandmother was a real character though, I thought she was fantastic. Overall I felt that each of the kids really contributed to the beating heart of this story.
It’s worth mentioning that the author of Wonder does not have experience with craniofacial differences herself or in her family. I read some reviews that spoke favourably about the representation from reviewers who do have experience themselves, which is great, although I think we all agree that while it’s great to have diversity in characters, we should always be striving for diversity in authors as well. The reviews for the movie are mixed, but I will look more into that after I watch it myself.