Wonder by R.J. Palacio

• Wonder was written by R.J. Palacio and published in 2012.

• It tells the story of August (Auggie) Pullman, a ten-year-old boy with a severe facial difference that makes him stand out. Auggie is starting school for the first time.

• His story is told from six different characters’ viewpoints, including his own. All the viewpoints share the same message about the importance of kindness.

Did you know?

R.J. Palacio has said that she wrote Wonder after she saw a young child with a severe facial difference when she was out with her two sons.

Palacio wondered what life might be like for that child. She wrote Wonder to encourage people to be more accepting of facial differences and to talk to people with them, rather than staring or being afraid.

Watch the video to learn about the plot, characters and themes in Wonder by R.J. Palacio.

Auggie Pullman, aged ten, lives in New York and is about to start fifth grade. This is the same as starting year six in the UK. He has never been to school before. He has a severe facial difference and he has been home-schooled because he has needed lots of operations.

Three students, Jack, Charlotte and Julian, show Auggie around his new school. Jack and Charlotte seem nice but Julian is rude. Over the first few weeks of school, Auggie and Jack become friends. Auggie also makes friends with a girl called Summer.

Everyone goes to school in fancy dress for Halloween. Jack doesn’t notice Auggie because he changed his fancy dress idea at the last minute. When another student asks Jack about Auggie, Jack says some mean things. This upsets Auggie and he decides to stop talking to Jack.

Auggie notices that the other students are avoiding him. After a while, Summer tells him that Julian has started a game called the Plague. The rules are that anyone who touches Auggie has 30 seconds to wash their hands or they will catch the Plague.

Jack and Auggie are paired up by their science teacher. After class, Julian tells Jack that he doesn’t have to work with "that freak", meaning Auggie. Jack punches Julian for this. Auggie forgives Jack for being mean at Halloween.

Julian tells lies to the students about Auggie to get everyone on his side. He tells them not to talk to Jack and Auggie and leaves abusive notes in their lockers. The students refer to this falling out as a "war".

Towards the end of the school year, the class go away on an overnight trip. Auggie is excited but nervous about being away from home overnight. During the night, Jack and Auggie run into some older students from another school in the woods. The older students call Auggie horrible names and threaten Jack when he stands up for Auggie. Some other students from Auggie’s school arrive and help Auggie and Jack escape from the bullies. Auggie gets hurt in the chaos.

As a result of the incident on the trip, the "war" is over as everyone comes together to help Auggie. At the fifth grade graduation ceremony, Auggie is presented with an award for bravery and kindness. He gets a standing ovation from all his classmates.

Activity

August

August, known as Auggie, is ten years old and has a severe facial difference. He refers to his condition as mandibulofacial dysostosis, which is also known as Treacher Collins syndrome. Auggie says he also has another unnamed syndrome, which makes his facial differences particularly unique.

Auggie has been home-schooled for his whole life because he needed lots of operations when he was younger. He feels the same as everyone else on the inside but knows that most people don’t see him that way.

Auggie is clever, funny and really likes Star Wars. Like most ten-year-olds, Auggie often wants to be treated like a grown up but sometimes wants to be looked after like a child.

Activity

Themes are the main ideas that appear repeatedly in a novel. Some of the important themes in Wonder are:

• Kindness
• Growing up
• Identity

Auggie struggled with his health when he was younger. However, his main problems during the book are caused by other people’s unkindness.

Sometimes the unkindness is on purpose, like Julian’s bullying, and sometimes the unkindness is just thoughtlessness, like the way some people stare at Auggie when they don’t think he is looking.

Throughout the book, kindness is shown to be the right choice. For example, Summer chooses to be kind to Auggie on his first day and soon finds out that she really likes spending time with him.

Auggie is very close to his parents. When he starts school he wants to be more independent, but when things get difficult he also wants to be able to stay at home and be looked after.

It is clear that Auggie is growing up when he is packing his bag for the overnight trip. He usually sleeps with a cuddly toy called Baboo and at first he puts the toy in his bag for the trip. However, Auggie then decides to leave Baboo at home instead. This is a signal that Auggie is becoming more independent.

Many of the characters in Wonder are trying to find out who they are and how they want others to see them. Auggie knows that he is known for his facial difference but he wishes that he could be known for something else. At middle school, Via was known as Auggie’s sister but now she is at high school she has the chance to be known for something else too.

Activity

Writers choose words and phrases carefully when they write. Readers can look closely at texts to think about how and why the writer made these choices.

Symbols

Two symbols that Palacio uses in Wonder are Auggie's astronaut helmet and the Plague.

1. Auggie’s astronaut helmet

Auggie says he wore this helmet almost every day for a couple of years when he was younger. This is because when he wears a mask or helmet no one can tell that he looks different. This is also why Auggie really likes Halloween.

The helmet disappeared and Auggie doesn’t know what happened to it until the end of the book when his dad admits that he threw it away. The helmet symbolised Auggie’s desire to hide. His acceptance of his dad throwing it away symbolises Auggie’s increasing confidence.

2. The Plague

This is a cruel game started by Julian. The rules are that anyone who touches Auggie has 30 seconds to wash their hands or they will catch the Plague.

During the book, the students stop playing the Plague because they realise that it is cruel and silly. By the end, everyone is getting along and has realised that kindness is more important than popularity.

Structure refers to how written text is organised – the way the story is ordered and shaped.

Six narrators

Wonder is told by six different narrators, although the book starts and ends with Auggie’s narration. Here are the narrators in order:

1. Auggie
2. Via
3. Summer
4. Jack
5. Justin
6. Auggie
7. Miranda
8. Auggie

Each narrator tells their part of the story in first person. This allows the reader to see different viewpoints. The book starts with Auggie’s viewpoint and then the reader gets to see how other people see Auggie. This helps the reader to think about how characters are affected by the actions of others and encourages the readers to think about how they treat others.

The context in which a novel was written can sometimes reveal more about its themes, message and meaning.

Auggie's facial difference

Auggie has a severe facial difference. He refers to his condition as Mandibulofacial Dysostosis, which is also known as Treacher Collins syndrome. This is a condition which affects bone development of the eye sockets, cheekbones and jaw. It is caused by a very rare gene mutation, which means that children are born with it. Auggie says he also has another unnamed syndrome, which makes his facial differences particularly unique. He jokes:

I'm actually considered something of a medical wonder, you know.

Auggie tells the reader that when he was younger he had lots of different surgeries to help him breathe and eat more easily. Auggie’s hearing is also affected by his condition and he gets fitted for hearing aids during the book.