Good Reasons To Read Wonder – Being Parents

Once you close Wonder , it’s impossible to stop thinking about what you’ve just read. Reading Wonder is like taking a wonderful journey through our emotions. It is a book capable of making the reader think and feel better.

What is Wonder talking about ?

August is 10 years old, but he doesn’t go to school like other kids his age. He was born with a genetic defect that required 27 operations. His face does not look “normal”. When it comes time to go to school, he knows he has to face the world that exists outside his comfort zone, namely outside his home and his devoted family.

At the age of 10, August enjoys doing the normal things other children of the same age do. He likes to eat ice cream and ride a bike. He plays ball and he has an Xbox, but despite all his operations, he will never look normal.

Things are difficult for August, as well as for his family. He has a very protective older sister, Via, who gets angry when people stare at him and when his parents show they love August. She can’t avoid arguing and giving her opinion on whether August should go to school or not.

When August enters college, he is very nervous. Not only for the same reasons as any other kid his age, but also because he can’t walk down the hall without everyone looking at him or being cruel to him.

Good reasons to read Wonder

It is a truly daring book, which results in fun and captivating. Probably if someone told us what the book is about before we start reading it, it might sound unattractive; a book dealing with a difficult subject that is not easy to tackle.

But it turns out that the way it is written, with great enthusiasm and warmth even in the harshest and saddest parts, makes it an indispensable work. Yes, August is someone with a rare and little-known syndrome that gets attached quickly.

The sadness that the book leaves us feeling is compensated by the sense of kindness and love that it instills through its characters and their stories. Basically, it allows us to realize that we have to consider all the good things around us, that are there.

A book for children and adults alike

Wonder seems written mostly for children, but in reality it is aimed at all audiences ; it’s a crossover without really claiming to be one. The book is pleasant and it is entertaining to read it, despite the harsher times that move us.

Most importantly, at no point does he lose his delicious sense of humor while telling a story that is as singular as it is normal at the same time. This is precisely what makes it more special. It’s a 400-page book, but it’s structured into short chapters and easy to read.

It can be read and enjoyed by children from 9 or 10 years old and also by adolescents, even by adults. RJ Palacio manages to draw 10 year old characters in a very believable way; their comments are real, their jokes and their arguments too… That’s just all you can see in every elementary class among children this age.

In Wonder , there are various narrators. August’s friends, Summer or Jack, his sister Olivia, etc. So, it allows us to see that those around August understand that he is just a normal child.

Particular attention is drawn to the part of the story told by August’s sister, Via (Olivia). Indeed, her vision reproduces the way a teenager struggles within her between the love she feels for her brother and the way she lives, day after day, since she, the other children leave her more alone.

But reading Wonder can also be very informative for adults. For example, how much and how far will it take to protect children? How to control this need to save them from any evil? How important is it to let them stand on their own feet and experience things for themselves?

Basic Wonder Lessons

• Due to the different narrative voices in the first person, one can identify with all the characters who participate in the story and feel empathy towards them.
• Wonder promotes values ​​such as friendship, self-esteem, respect, generosity or team spirit in a sincere way that goes beyond convention.
• Bullying is a real topic these days, and it is important to have books like this one that know how to deal with it and that make people think.