Wonder is a children's novel written by R.J. Palacio, published on February 14, 2012. Wonder was a #1 book on The New York Times Best Seller list^[1] and was also on the Texas Bluebonnet Award master list.^[2] The book was the winner of the 2014 Maine Student Book Award, Vermont's Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award, the 2015 Mark Twain Award.^[3] and Hawaii's 2015 Nene Award.^[4]

August Pullman, also known as Auggie, is a 10 year old boy living in Manhattan. He has been homeschooled for his entire life by his mother due to a rare medical facial deformity, which he refers to as “mandibulofacial dysostosis” ^[5] which is more commonly known as Treacher Collins syndrome. His parents decide to enroll him in a private school called Beecher Prep for the start of middle school in the fall. Auggie visits the school with his parents to take a tour where he meets Mr. Tushman, the school director, and three students named Jack Will, Julian Albans, and Charlotte Cody. What Auggie doesn’t know, is that these three students have been assigned to show Auggie around and make sure that he feels comfortable at the school. He soon becomes friends with Jack as well as a girl named Summer Dawson, who sits next to him at the lunch table when no one else would. Once October rolls around, Auggie’s homeroom hosts a Halloween party where he comes to school dressed in a “Bleeding Scream” costume. Auggie says he likes Halloween because “then we could walk around and get to know each other before we got to see what we looked like under the masks.” ^[6] But once he walks into the classroom, unrecognizable by his peers, he overhears Jack saying that he would “kill himself” if he looked like Auggie. It is at this point in the novel where he pretends to be sick and wants to quit school but his sister Via convinces him not to. Jack begins to notice that Auggie has become quiet and distant from him until he realizes that Auggie heard what he had said about him on Halloween. Eventually he apologizes, saying he didn’t mean it, and they become friends again. Throughout the rest of the school year, Auggie faces many obstacles such as the social isolation he receives from his peers since many of them are afraid to touch him in fear of getting “The Plague.” There is also a fight between Auggie, his friends, and students from another school while on a class field trip where Auggie’s hearing aids are stolen. At the graduation ceremony, Auggie is awarded the “Henry Ward Beech medal” which, “honors students who have been notable or exemplary in certain areas throughout the school year.” ^[7] He is given a standing ovation by the crowd, takes pictures with everyone (something he had always refused to do) and goes back to his house for a party to celebrate. The book ends with his mother whispering in his ear, “You really are a wonder, Auggie.” ^[8]

The narrative of this book takes place in various different voices. It begins with Auggie's point of view but switches between him, his classmates, his sister, and her boyfriend. The various different perspectives help the reader understand the struggle of Auggie's community as they deal with learning empathy, compassion, and acceptance. ^[9]

August "Auggie" Pullman:The main protagonist. His face is deformed due to "mandibulofacial dysostosis" or "Treacher-Collins syndrome", along with other facial malformations. He faces many difficulties when he enrolls in his first year of middle school after being homeschooled for many years. In the end, he is able to make new friends and accept himself for who he is.

Olivia "Via" Pullman: Auggie's older sister. She talks about Auggie and the hardships of being a sister of someone who is deformed in Part 2. She truly cares for Auggie and will always defend him. Often times Via feels jealous of the attention that Auggie receives because of his deformity. She often scolds herself and feels guilty for feeling this way.

Summer Dawson: One of Auggie's first friends. She sits next to him on the first day of school when no one else would. She didn't care what the other students thought of Auggie, and she was always very kind to him. She tells her point of view in Part 3.

Isabel and Nate Pullman: Auggie and Via's parents. Isabel is a Brazilian woman, and Nate comes from European ancestry. They deeply care about Auggie but will unintentionally leave Via feeling left out. They work with Auggie to make sure that going to private school instead of being homeschooled is ultimately his decision.

Jack Will: August's best friend. He was told by Mr. Tushman along with Charlotte and Julian to give August a tour of Beecher Prep. At first, he did not want to be friends with August because of his facial deformity. He though that it would prevent him from being friends with the "popular kids", but later appreciates him as a friend, for who he is.

Julian Albans: The primary antagonist. He does not like Auggie and tries to convince anyone in the school that if they touch him, they will develop "The Plague." At the end of the story, Julian's parents no longer want him to attend the middle school, as they say that they don't feel that Beecher Prep is an "inclusion school."

Justin: Via's boyfriend. He is initially surprised by Auggie's face but is very kind to him. He has a main part in the play "Our Town" with Via at their high school. In his part in the book, he doesn't capitalize his "I"'s. He also mentions that he has "tics," especially when he is nervous and describes them as "hard blinks" and "the occasional head pull." ^[10] This leads the reader to believe that he has a form of Tourette syndrome.

Daisy: Via and August's first dog. She was August's first true friend. She was an old dog, and gets sick towards the end of the novel where she has to be put down. August's family then gets a new dog named "Bear."

Miranda Navas: Via's friend. Via, Miranda, and Ella are friends. Miranda had recently cut her hair into a bob and dyed it pink, and dressed in a manner that she would have never dressed before, and she and Via slowly drifted apart. She took care of August as her little brother, and lied to everyone that August was actually her brother at camp. Miranda and Via become friends again at the end.

Mr. Tushman: The director of Beecher Prep. He is extremely welcoming and positive towards Auggie throughout the course of the school year. He tries his hardest to make him feel welcome at school. He delivers an important speech at graduation where he says "if every single person in this room made it a rule that wherever you are, whenever you can, you will try to act a little kinder than is necessary - the world would be a better place." ^[11]

The title is from the Natalie Merchant song of the same name and lyrics from the song are printed as an epigraph just before part one of the novel.

"Doctors have come from distant cities
just to see me
stand over my bed
disbelieving what they're seeing.

They say I must be one of the wonders
of god's own creation
and as far as they can see they can offer
no explanation" ^[12]

The title is also referenced in the novel when Auggie states, "I'm actually considered something of a medical wonder, you know" ^[13]

• Palacio, R.J. (February 14, 2012). Wonder (1st ed.). Knopf Books for Young Readers. p. 320. ISBN 0375869026. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

• RJ Palacio's website
• Review of Wonder in The Guardian