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30/07/2015

Wonder - R.J. Palacio

Wonder - R.J. Palacio 
"You can't blend in when you were born to stand out.

My name is August. I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.

August Pullman wants to be an ordinary ten-year-old. He does ordinary things. He eats ice cream. He plays on his Xbox. He feels ordinary - inside.

But Auggie is far from ordinary. Ordinary kids don't make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. Ordinary kids don't get stared at wherever they go.

Born with a terrible facial abnormality, Auggie has been home-schooled by his parents his whole life, in an attempt to protect him from the cruelty of the outside world. Now, for the first time, he's being sent to a real school - and he's dreading it. All he wants is to be accepted - but can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, underneath it all?

Narrated by Auggie and the people around him whose lives he touches forever, Wonder is a funny, frank, astonishingly moving debut to read in one sitting, pass on to others, and remember long after the final page." - Goodreads


I absolutely loved this book. It was funny, it was sad, it was enlightening, it was eye-opening, it was a pleasure and a joy to read. 

Auggie was the cutest character ever, I just wanted to bundle him up and squeeze him. It was really refreshing to read about a character who obviously has a lot more issues and problems than your average Joe, but who is still such a happy-go-lucky type of person. He's still such a happy boy, he takes things in his stride, he tries his hardest not to let other people get him down and it's not often you see that in books. It's so easy for him to become a recluse and hide away and become depressed, but I'm so thankful this story wasn't like that. 

I loved reading from the other characters perspectives, it shows that there's more to people than just what they show you and I think that's such an important message to send out. There's two sides to every story and I'm glad we got to see that! 

This was just an astonishing book to read, and it really made me think about what my reaction would have been like, or even, what it would be like if I saw someone who was different to what I'd consider 'normal', I hope it would be the right reaction, I'd like to think there'd be no reaction, I would just be normal. A little friendliness from a stranger never goes a miss. 

This is one of the only books that I think would actually change me as a person, and would make me more aware of other people's feelings and how to / how not to behave around people who are a little different. For a book to evoke such strong feelings in me, it must mean it's good. It's really good. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone, I think there's a lot of people in the world who could use a little eye opener, when it comes to accepting people who are different and to being kind. I rated this book 5* on Goodreads. I will forever remember this book.  

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