This is an accepted version of this page
 Front cover, illustrated by Tad Carpenter | |
| Author | R. J. Palacio |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Tad Carpenter |
| Subject | |
| Genre | Children's novel |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
Publication date | 14 February 2012 |
| Pages | 310 |
| Awards | Maine Student Book Award Vermont's Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Mark Twain Award Hawaii's Nene Award Junior Young Reader's Choice Award |
| ISBN | 0375869026 |
| OCLC | 726819876 |
Wonder is acontemporarychildren's novel written byR. J. Palacio[2] and published on 14 February 2012. It centers on August "Auggie" Pullman, a boy with significant facial differences who enters mainstream school for the first time. Palacio drew inspiration for the story both fromNatalie Merchant's song "Wonder" and from an experience where her son reacted with distress upon seeing a girl with facial deformities.
Severalspin-offs have been published, including365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne's Book of Precepts,[3]We're All Wonders,Auggie and Me, andWhite Bird.[4]A film adaptation was released in 2017, and aspin-off sequel film (adaptingWhite Bird) followed in 2024.
August "Auggie" Pullman is a 10-year-old boy living in North Riverside Heights inUpper Manhattan. He hasTreacher Collins syndrome, which has disfigured his face and required many surgeries and special care. Due to his condition, August has beenhomeschooled by his mother for several years; however, wanting him to experience the world, his parents enroll him into Beecher Prep, aprivate school, for the start of fifth grade. August has an older sister, Olivia "Via" Pullman, who is entering her first year of high school.
Before the start of the school year, August's mother takes him to meet the principal, Mr. Tushman, who has asked three other students—Jack Will, Charlotte, and Julian Albans—to take him on a tour of the school. August is treated unkindly by Julian, who acts respectfully in front of adults. On his first day of school, August tries to avoid drawing attention to himself, but is bullied by Julian and his friends. August is approached and befriended at lunch by a classmate named Summer, and is paired in most of his classes with Jack, whom he also considers a friend.
On Halloween, August, dressed as BleedingScream, overhears Jack, who was expecting August to dress up asBoba Fett, joining in with Julian and his friends in making fun of August. Devastated, August stays home for several days, decides to never go back to school again and isolates himself from his family, frustrating Via, who resents August for the priority he receives over her from their parents. Returning to school, August ignores Jack and confides in Summer about the incident with Jack. Jack presses Summer about August being upset, who hints at the cause. When Jack realizes this, he is ashamed, and re-commits to his friendship with August. This draws Julian's ire, and Jack and Julian have a fight. Jack reconciles with August, but is ostracized from his popular classmates, as Julian's influence divides the students into factions over the conflict. Julian's mother writes to Tushman to voice her concerns over August attending the school, citing that his appearance may be too much of a burden for the other students to handle.
Via confides to her mother that she does not want August to attend her school play, as she has enjoyed the fresh start her new school has given her, free of the burden of being associated with August and his condition. August overhears and angrily sulks in his room, hoping his mother will come and comfort him, but Via comes in instead to tell him that their dog Daisy is dying. She urges him to come out to say goodbye before Daisy is taken to the vet andeuthanized, which he does.
Meanwhile, Via's best friend Miranda has started avoiding her, for reasons unknown to Via. Both audition for thelead in their school play, and Miranda gets the part, with Via as herunderstudy. On opening night, Miranda sees Via's family in the audience and feigns illness so that Via can take her place for the evening. After the show, the two reconcile.
At the end of August's school year, the fifth grade class goes on a three-day trip to anature reserve. August is initially concerned about going because of Julian, but hears that Julian will not be attending.[5] On the last night of the trip, August and Jack are going to the toilet alone in the woods because they did not want to wait in the really long bathroom queue when they are attacked by a group of older students from another school. Julian's friends happen to walk by, and they rush to the defense of their classmates, impressed by August's boldness in standing up to the bullies. August becomes accepted by his school peers.
At graduation, August is awarded theHenry Ward Beecher Medal for his strength and character throughout the school year, while Julian's parents decide to send Julian to a different school the following year.
The book received primarily positive reviews from professional critics.[6][7]Common Sense Media gaveWonder four out of five stars, calling it a "moving, uplifting tale about a disfigured boy with inner beauty."[8]Entertainment Weekly said: "In a wonder of a debut, Palacio has written a crackling page-turner filled with characters you can't help but root for."The New York Times called it, "rich and memorable [...] It's Auggie and the rest of the children who are the real heart ofWonder, and Palacio captures the voices of girls and boys, fifth graders, and teenagers, with equal skill."
Critiques of the books by activists in thedisability rights movement were more mixed. Disability activistCarly Findlay identified strongly with the story, saying, "as a reader with a visible difference, I will say that it's very well researched."[9] Disfigured person Mike Moody, writing on theDisability in Kidlit blog, described the book as "an engaging, heart-rending story about disfigurement" but also discussed disappointment over the "missed opportunity" in the continued downplaying of the main character's disability and his persistent lack of agency.[10] Ariel Henley, an author withCrouzon syndrome, wrote an article inTeen Vogue titled "What 'Wonder' Gets Wrong About Disfigurement and Craniofacial Disorders"; the article focuses on the casting of a non-disabled actor for the movie adaptation, but also discusses the plot, arguing that "Auggie is used as a prop to teach those around him about acceptance and compassion."[11]
The novel has been translated into 29 languages for worldwide sales:Spanish,Catalan,Japanese,German,French,Portuguese,Danish,Czech,Serbian,Arabic,Hebrew,Norwegian,Icelandic,Swedish,Faroese,Turkish,Dutch,Persian,Italian,Finnish,Russian,Korean,Chinese,Ukrainian,Polish,Croatian,Greek,Romanian,Vietnamese, andSlovenian.[18]
First published in 2012 byAlfred A. Knopf (now part ofPenguin Random House), the novel was a top seller for the firm when the film was released in 2017, when it sold 5 million copies in combined book andebook units in the United States.[19]
The film adaptation was directed byStephen Chbosky, written bySteven Conrad, and starringJulia Roberts andOwen Wilson as Isabel and Nate Pullman respectively andJacob Tremblay as August Pullman. It was released on 17 November 2017 byLionsgate.
A film adaptation ofWhite Bird was released in 2023. It was directed byMarc Forster and written byMark Bomback, starringBryce Gheisar,Gillian Anderson, andHelen Mirren as Julian Albans, Vivienne, and Grandmère respectively. The film was supposed to be released on 14 October 2022,[20] after being initially scheduled to release on 16 September 2022.[21] In January 2023, it was announced that the film was scheduled to debut in a limited release on 18 August 2023, followed by a wide release on 25 August 2023.[22] It was delayed again due to the2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, then premiered at the 43rdSan Francisco Jewish Film Festival on July 30, 2023.[23]
Auggie & Me is a companion book toWonder. It contains three stories, each telling the events ofWonder from different perspectives. The first story, called "The Julian Chapter," is told from the point of view of school bully Julian, explaining why he mistreats Auggie. The second, called "Pluto," focuses on Auggie's life before Beecher Prep and is told from the point of view of Christopher, Auggie's oldest friend. The third is called "Shingaling" and is told from the point of view of Auggie's classmate Charlotte, who, inWonder, is the first person that is nice to him at Beecher Prep; it focuses on relationships and events between some of the girls in Auggie's year, such as Ximena Chin, Summer Dawson, and Maya Markowitz.
Though originally published separately, the three stories were eventually grouped together and sold as one book.[24]
InWonder, Auggie's teacher Mr. Browne assigns aprecept to each month.365 Days of Wonder contains 365 of his precepts as well as some of Mr. Browne's thoughts after every month.
In this shortpicture book, Auggie talks about his life before the events ofWonder. He has his astronaut helmet on most of the time throughout.
In this 2019graphic novel, Julian'sParisian grandmother tells him stories of her childhood as a youngJewish girl living inNazi-occupied France duringWorld War II, when she was hidden from theNazis by a classmate and his family. Afilm adaptation was released in October 2024.[22]
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Mark Twain Award 2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Young Reader's Choice Award 2015 | Succeeded by Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library |
