Forget the title.

Talk about WONDER!

Written by R.J. Palacio, Wonder is about a guy August Pullman (Auggie) who suffers from some serious facial deformation; something so rare only one in four million people get. So he has it, and his eyes aren’t exactly at the right place and his ears are well, kinda squished up and his face looks like – it looks like it melted in fire or something.

He’s starting his 5^th grade at Beecher Prep and it’s like his first experience to a school because he was always protected and pampered, and tutored, at home by his mommy and dad and Via. He’s used to people, by the way, he knows they freak out at the mere sight of him. School is just a bigger, tougher, really real ground.

Some people in this world very perfectly misunderstand their state; they think they’re Gods, each one of them, which they aren’t of course. They can not be! But do they get it? They do actually… later though.
They also think that any other person who doesn’t follow well with society’s definition of normality is ‘abnormal’, and has no right to live, which is a pretty abnormal idea if you ask me.

Anyway, Auggie gets his share of stares and screams, and miseries like that, but he strives strongly, making it a memorable journey. He’s smart, he’s funny, he’s intelligent too. And he’s sensitive; he is fully aware of what goes around him, and he notices people who think he’s not noticing while they make faces or curse under-breath.

This book is an interesting one: it will keep you hooked until the very end. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll feel what he feels.
But you will also see what others see, what they feel. Like for instance, Via doesn’t get that attention her brother does, and her parents don’t always remember her plays and things at high-school. Jack Will, he kinda betrayed Auggie. Julian is pretty obnoxious, Summer, cool beans.

What I love most about this book is how the writer switches roles; there are about five to six tellers here, each describing his/her parts most realistically.

All in all, this was a fantastic read. What I learnt from it is simple: we take things for granted. We don’t thank. We complain about the stupidest ever problems that aren’t even problems. And that we forget how important our actions are, how important KINDNESS is.

So here’s to thank you a million times, Carluh. I’m so glad you sent it to me, and you know I loved it! (=

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