Four star review, originally posted here on February 6th, 2024.
I added this book to my to-read list years ago not because I had any actual interest in reading it (I did not), but because it was one of those books that was just appearing everywhere, that everyone seemed to just absolutely love, and that felt like something I was supposed to read. As an adult I don’t read a lot of kids’ books. And this one looked like a big bummer that I was never in the mood for. So, on the to-read-list it sat, collecting virtual dust. But earlier this year I got myself a library card, and nothing from my to-read list was available. Except for this book. So, in I dived.
This book is pretty much exactly what you would expect. Except, I guess, for the fact that it has a happy ending. I think if this was targeted towards an even slightly older audience they would have killed the kid off at the end or something. But, spoiler alert, instead by the end the kid has taught everyone around him to not be a bunch of jerks. The one thing that did surprise me was that I thought there would be something a bit more special or different or unique about this kid. I mean, the book is called “wonder.” What wonderful thing does he do? Nothing. He just exists. The entirety of his condition is just that he’s got some birth defects that leave his face (and just his face) really weird-looking. Kids are scared of or mean to him at first, but eventually just get used to it and then are his friends. And for some reason the school gives him an award at the end that is supposed to go to kids who devote themselves to helping others via volunteer work, but he gets it just for existing as an ugly kid. It doesn’t make much sense, but it’s heartwarming all the same.
What I did like was the changing perspectives throughout the story. Each character shares the challenges they face in trying to just fit in as a kid in school. Auggie’s (aka Wonder’s) struggles are the most obvious, and everyone can tell what they are right away just from looking at him. But all the other characters are struggling just as hard to fit in, though their struggles are less obvious. I really like the messaging here, and I think the highlighting of those parallels are what make this book pretty dang great.
(Sidenote: I just watched the movie version. The movie version does a way better job of making me cry my freaking eyes out at every scene, really tugging at those heartstrings. And it does a decent job condensing the story. But it comes at the expense of really exploring these other character’s conflicts, which are really the entire point of the book. The Summer character, for example, is reduced to virtually nothing.)
I would definitely recommend it to kids or anyone else who enjoys kids’ books. It’s well-written for the target age group, and the message is nice and positive.
PS: Minus one star for never revealing what in the heck the dad does for work. This family is living in a Manhattan brownstone on a single income, must be absolutely drowning in medical costs, and are sending two children to private schools. That is the REAL Wonder in this book.
Helga without the H 