Moving tale of facially different boy with inner beauty.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
a little
Auggie and a couple of his classmates come across some seventh-grade kids whom they observe smoking. It's not entirely clear whether they're smoking cigarettes or pot.
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No curse words, but a lot of hate speech and insults. Other children call Auggie an "alien," an "orc," and a "freak"; they slip notes into his locker telling him to "Get out of our school," and they pretend he has a contagious disease that they call the Plague. Auggie himself uses discriminatory language when he yells "I'm not retarded!"
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Auggie's friend Jack Will punches another boy. Some seventh-grade kids pick on Auggie and his friends, and physically assault them. Kids are pushed, bruised, and scraped, and a child's sweatshirt is torn; the violence in this scene is preceded by verbal abuse, which makes the physical attack especially disturbing. A family experiences the loss of a beloved pet.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
Wonder has a powerful way of reminding readers that beauty is only skin deep. The novel also offers lessons about the dangers of responding to peer pressure and the importance of simple human kindness. The precepts that Mr. Browne teaches his students also introduce various meaningful ideas.
Positive Role Models
a lot
Almost all of the adults in Wonder are strong role models for Auggie; his sister, Via; and their friends. Auggie's parents, in particular, are so loving, devoted, patient, and kind that their kids' friends wish they could join the Pullman family. Auggie's teachers and Mr. Tushman, the director of Beecher Prep, are caring educators who deftly ease Auggie out of some challenging situations but also let him find his own way socially. Auggie himself shows grace, as well as enough believable kid emotion to make him as convincing as he is admirable.
Diverse Representations
a lot
Main character Auggie has a craniofacial condition, and the book centers around his experiences. He's a complex character with realistic kid emotions and flaws. The rest of his family members provide great examples of how to support a loved one living with a visible disability. Though the novel stops short of endorsing disability hierarchy, it does unfortunately use casual ableism when Auggie yells, "I'm not retarded!" (It's never explained to Auggie that this isn't acceptable.) As written by female author R.J. Palacio, women in the book, such as Auggie's mom and sister, have important roles. Characters' ethnicities aren't made clear, but physical markers include Auggie's brown eyes, Via's "olive skin and the bluest eyes," and Mr. Tushman's "blue eyes with white eyelashes," and there are supporting characters with blond and brown hair. A minor character is named Mrs. Garcia.
Wonder's greatest lessons are more emotional or behavioral than academic. But the book does go into some detail about genetics and the probability of a child developing physical differences like Auggie's. The novel also offers a telling look at middle school life and curriculum and a bit of information about the differences between middle school and high school culture. One of the teachers, Mr. Browne, teaches his students about precepts, and they discuss a new precept every month. Many of these are great life lessons from authors, spiritual leaders, and philosophers.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Wonder is about 10-year-old August "Auggie" Pullman, who has a genetic facial difference. After being homeschooled, he enters school for the first time in fifth grade and has to cope with a range of reactions to his unusual appearance, as well as a lot of typical middle school drama. Some kids use hateful language, and some people suggest that Auggie is mentally deficient. These situations are upsetting, as are other hardships that Auggie's family endures, including the loss of a beloved family pet. But goodness wins out, and readers should find it inspiring and uplifting. A high school couple kisses a few times, and Auggie observes some seventh-grade kids smoking, but it's not clear whether they're smoking cigarettes or pot. The book was adapted for the 2017 film starring Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, and Jacob Tremblay. The audiobook version, read by Nick Podehl, Kate Rudd, and Diana Steele, was named a 2013 Notable Children's Recording by the American Library Association.
This is a beautiful book that every middle schooler should read. I am holding off reading it to, or having my 9 year old read it, only because she is a sensitive kid and not quite ready to process the cruelty suffered by poor Auggie through much of the book, even at the hands of some adults. I look forward to her reading it, and us discussing its themes, in a year or two.
Amazing book! One of my favorites! I love how the readers can see the perspectives of not just August, but also Via and her friends and Jack Will. It has plenty of positive role models and messages (too many to count), but Auggie, his family, Mr. Brown, Mr. Tushman, and others are positive role models. One positive message is that Mr. Brown puts up a precept every day for his class, which is a wise quotation from someone. F.Y.I. there is another book of 365 precepts, one for each day of the year, so that you can ponder on them every day and find more about what they mean. Some perspectives are not included in the original book and are instead separate books: Julian’s perspective is “The Julian Chapter”, Christopher’s perspective is “Pluto”, and Charlotte’s perspective is “Shingaling”. This book is a must-read for everyone, and I was hooked within the first few pages. However, something to be aware of is that there are A LOT of emotional moments, since the book is all about Auggie and his facial deformity and how certain people view it. It shows how people who look normal take it for granted. But besides the emotional moments, it is entertaining and funny at times.
What's the Story?
August "Auggie" Pullman is a fifth-grade boy with a craniofacial condition. His loving parents and sister have shielded him from many outside influences before WONDER begins, and he's been homeschooled up until that point. But at the start of the book, his mother has decided that it's time for Auggie to brave a group schooling experience. Auggie is upset and afraid to face the other kids' reactions to his appearance, but there's also part of him that wants to do "normal" things. The director of his new school, Mr. Tushman, introduces Auggie to a small group of students before school starts, thinking this will help ease the transition. While some of the students Auggie meets are accepting and kind, others are a bit put off by him, and still others are downright cruel. The novel follows Auggie's first year of middle school from beginning to end. It's a year in which Auggie experiences the best and the worst of human nature and a year of tremendous emotional growth for him.
Auggie himself is a very convincing and poignant character -- definitely not just a device -- and his story is extremely moving and uplifting. Author R.J. Palacio writes Wonder in multiple voices, including Auggie's, some of his friends', and his sister's. The different points of view are mostly very well-realized and show the inner feelings of the different characters -- though a couple of aspects of Wonder don't ring fully true. Auggie's parents are almost too perfect to be believed, and the main mean kid in the novel is a bit too easily dispensed with.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about peer pressure and how it's portrayed in Wonder. Sometimes we feel pushed to reject someone -- even a friend -- because others don't like that person. How would you handle the situation that Jack Will faces?
Why do you think some people are cruel to Auggie?
If you wrote a precept -- like Mr. Browne's class does -- what would it be?
Do you think Auggie's parents did the right thing in sending him to school? Why, or why not?
In what ways does Wonder encourage compassion? Which characters seem the most compassionate to you? Why is this an important character strength?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
By Barbara Schultz
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
