Review: WONDER | R.J. Palacio


                           Image result for wonder rj palacio     


Genre: Children fiction
Pages: 416
Edition: paperback, hardcover, kindle edition
Publisher: RHUK
Year of publication: 2013

RATING: ✰✰✰✰3/4   (4.75/5)


SYNOPSIS:
“When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind.”

August Pullman is a quite normal kid, except that he has a severe facial deformity. Numerous surgeries and operations have tried to make his face look normal, but he still has unusual facial features. Kids get scared when they see him, adults wince looking at him. But August was pulling through. Having being homeschooled till grade four, he had a safe zone where he was protected by close friends and a loving family. But grade five onwards, he is being sent to a regular school. Which means August has to step out and stand amidst other kids, lead a ‘ordinary’ life he had wanted to live all along. But things obviously do not go smooth for him. Not all kids are kind and understanding, and some turn out to be cruel and rude, maybe unintentionally. Buoyed by some great friends from middle school, August has a bumpy start but more challenges come his way when people behave different to what he had been expecting. Eventually, it becomes a quest for him to gain acceptance and win the hearts of the people around.


REVIEW:

Title: ✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰ (10/10)
The title is unconventional and thought provoking, kind of emerging from the story itself. What is the element of ‘wonder’ that is being talked about?
This can probably be traced back to one line spoken by August’s father, “You really are a wonder, Auggie. You are a wonder.”  August is like a ray of sunshine, and he is very brave and wonderful. As the story progresses, he manages to unearth the most sympathetic and kindest virtues from the hearts of the readers. And the way he does so, without seeking pity or begging for sympathy is really a wonder. Being stamped as ‘ugly’ and ‘what’s wrong with your face’, August just wants to fit in with the rest of the crowd, where he will be accepted for the person he is, and not labelled by his face alone. Therefore, I found the title very thoughtful and witty of the author. It is unique and stands out, and at the same time it anchors the storyline. We keep reverting back to this element of ‘wonder’ that we started with.



Writing style: ✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰ (9/10)
In her debut novel, Palacio has written the chapters in a very lucid and easy-flowing manner, without indulging in figures of speech which are difficult to grasp. Targeted mainly at the children audience, this novel keeps in mind the simplicity and linearity of the storyline that children would essentially be able to understand. The story has been written from six different perspectives, out of whom August is one. In each chapter, the writing style of the author changes in alignment with the personality and mindset of the character who is narrating it. The author has focused on the feelings of the characters, talking about why they feel that way and what do those feelings trigger them to do. There are also numerous flashbacks and trips down the memory lane of the characters, which reinforce our judgement about them. The best part, according to me, was portraying August’s emotions, which are childish yet very deep and multidimensional. The author seems to have a very clear understanding of child psychology. What does a child feel when he’s hurt, how does he react to happiness, what goes on in his mind when he’s betrayed, what random thoughts run across his mind all day—the author seems to get all this, and therefore August comes up as such a lovable and realistic character to the readers.



Plot [✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰ (8/10)] and characterization [✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰  (10/10)]
Since the plot is very plain, the book does not strikingly follow an introduction, climax, denouement format. The storyline is not very alarming, rather it feels familiar to the daily life of another regular middle school kid. Although the events are ordinary and somewhat predictable, the author makes a point to showcase the same event in the light of many characters’ point of views, thus providing us a glimpse of all aspects of it. The plot is often uneven and spikes when an important incident happens, then smoothens as we again move on to the regular flow of life. This makes it very realistic and relatable, and makes us feel as if we are a part of the scene.
On the other hand, the characterization is very concrete and one of the strongest attributes of the book. The characters are distinctly unique and real, and they become more and more tangible as we read their individual sides of the story. What I loved the most was that the relationship of each of the side characters with August is very different from one another and has been explored in a beautiful way. In addition to the character development, there is a praiseworthy relationship development. These relationships connect each of the characters and so they do not appear to be discrete, rather they all individually and collectively contribute to the overall broader picture. A common feature of children literature is to brand some characters as ‘good’ and some as ‘bad’, while the protagonist sails through the plot touching the ‘good’ ones and avoiding the ‘bad’ ones. The portrayal of characters to be grey; and not entirely white or black, comes up in teenage fiction or young adult genres because by that time the teenage audience has been able to identify good and bad traits in the same human being. But this book makes an exception. None of the characters are discretely angelic and spotless, none of them are completely villainous and spiteful. This adds to their unpredictability and they sometimes end up doing things that might be a misfit to the impression they’ve made on the readers till then. August’s character is also meticulously crafted and the author makes no effort to force the readers to see him with pity or excessive sympathy. What the author urges to convey is that some people in this world need a bit more kindness than others, and they shouldn’t have to fight for it.

“There are always going to be jerks in the world Auggie,” she said, looking at me. “But I believe, and Daddy really believes, that there are more good people on this earth than bad people, and the good people watch out for each other and take care of each other…”



My verdict and my recommendations:
This is the kind of book which makes you introspect over your past actions and requests you to reflect back. This is the kind of book which calms you down, makes you cry and be joyous at the same time. This is the kind of book which teaches you to be a ‘little more kind than necessary’: but most importantly, this is the kind of book which transforms you to be a better person, a kinder version of what you had been.  
I highly recommend this book to anyone. This is not really children’s literature. It transcends to a much wider prospect and it has the capacity to touch every human alike. Truly one of a kind piece of literature.





➦Want to grab a copy? Purchase the book here.



Share:

Post a Comment

All Rights Reserved | © 2020 Deepan Maitra