By Ben, 9 May 2021

I’d heard all about Wonder, a contemporary, realistic fiction middle grade novel about a boy with a disfigured face, long before the movie came out. In fact, a dog-eared, second-hand copy was buried deep within the towering stack of books in my bedroom, but for some reason, I’d never gotten round to reading it. So, as the days in 2021 rolled on interminably (as they have become accustomed to in this global pandemic), Ben and I finally dug the book out and read it together. What we discovered was one of the most moving yet enjoyable and well-written reads that we’ve shared in a while. But don’t just take my word for it …

M: First of all, did you like Wonder?
B: Yeah, it was good.
M: Can you tell me what the story is about?
B: It’s about a boy called Auggie Pullman and he has a facial thing…disorder?
M: I think you mean ‘deformity.’
B: Oh yeah, right. He has a facial deformity. He used to be homeschooled all the time, but in the book, he was going to start school for the first time, in 5th grade.
M: Uh oh. There’s trouble right there. Middle school in a new school. So, how does that go?
B: Obviously, the book will have to have bullies and it does. There’s this boy called Julian and there are a few more actually, but I can’t remember their names.
M: Oh dear. But there are always good guys too, right?
B: Obviously, yeah. There is a boy called Jack Will, and a girl called Summer, and they become Auggie’s friends. Auggie also has an older sister called Via – short for Olivia – who has a best friend called Miranda. Oh yeah, and he has a nice mum and dad.
M: Are those the main characters?
B: Yeah, pretty much. And there are no numbered chapters, but different parts of the story are told from different perspectives, so the first part is told by Auggie, then Summer, then Jack and some others.
M: That’s interesting. I like different voices in a story, it makes it more interesting, and different people perceive things differently too, so you get more of a feel for the characters when you can hear their thoughts. What was your favourite part in this story? Can you say, without any spoilers?
B: Ummm, I liked the part where Auggie was saved from these bullying 8th graders by his friends, but I can’t tell you when or where because that’s a spoiler.
M: Ok. Who was your favourite character then?
B: Probably Summer because she was nice to Auggie and she always says ‘cool beans’ and also Jack Will.
M: So what lesson did you learn from this book?
B: I think, that it’s ok to be different, we’re all unique in our different ways. Even though he had this deformity, Auggie was brave and he had to be a risk taker and go to school even though he didn’t want to, and he had to be responsible not to fight back against his bullies or just try to ignore them.
M: So, on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best score, how would you rate Wonder?
B: 10 probably, because I liked it a lot.
M: Ok. Thanks Ben.
B: You’re welcome. Now can I play Roblox?
M: … (rolls eyes and sighs)

For ages 8 and up.