Wonder

Amazing story and amazing characters that will stay with you forever. There is not many books like Wonder. This book really shows how children can learn and change and how friendships and community is really key to overcoming struggle. I would also recommend the second book Auggie & Me as it fills in a lot of other perspectives and the 365 Days of Wonder that we use as a calendar in our school library.

Such an amazing book! I could not put it down for a second!

It’s shows us there’s always hope

I really enjoyed this book, and can see why it can be such a tear jerker!
So easy to read, super short chapters, great to have parts of the same story retold from another viewpoint that you might not have otherwise though about, encourages empathy.
Deals with loss of a family member and a pet.

Nice and interesting

Nice and interesting

Who doesn't love this book? It tackles difficult topics all the while being relatable to its reader. Auggie is representing most children who struggle in school for differences. This story champions empathy and promotes anti bullying, can't recommend it enough.

A beautiful book: a powerful tool for cultivating a kind classroom community, sparking critical conversations about inclusion, and explicitly teaching the mechanics of perspective and narrative voice.

Auggie is ten and he was born looking different to everyone else, so he’s never been to a real school before. Now he’s going for the first time and he’s really nervous that people will just stare at his face and not like him. Some people are mean and make fun of him, but he also makes really good friends who are nice and don’t care what he looks like. It’s such a good book and it teaches you that you should always be kind and get to know people instead of judging them straight away. Because it’s about the inside not the outside.

Long book, fun story.

A really beautiful novel - I cried more than once. It's a lovely story of strength, loyalty and resilience and most of all love and kindness. Written from different perspectives the writer delivers a complete narrative that does not disappoint.

I loved the way this story was continuously told by different characters along the narrative. It really brought a cohesive experience understanding the plot through different perspectives and led me to consider my viewpoint on topical matters. I think this would be a great class read, allowing a safe forum for children to react to the themes of the book. After reading, I watched the film and, as is usually the way, the book massively outdoes the film!

This is an extremely good book and leaves you thinking about your choices and how lucky we all are. Though I think it is an 8 plus

very uplifting and inspiring book

This book was really good and August and summer were my favorite characters. I liked how the author made the chapters not chapter 1 and chapter 2 she made it so the main characters had there own things to say

I really enjoyed this book as it is an interesting read about diversity and difference. I like the way the story is told from different characters perspectives.

A great book for upper key stage 2. Engaging and deals with real life!

It’s shows how it feels to be different and unique and I like it science it is about life

I really enjoyed reading wonder because it is kind and inspiring. The characters are realistic and I liked seeing the story from different points of view. It made me feel that everyone deserves kindness and respect , no matter how they look. Thoughtful, emotional and enjoyable to read.

A good book with lots of important messages, a test of true friendship and how to never judge a book by its cover
Remember:
You can’t blend in when you are born to stand out

It was a beautiful story with a meaning I’ll never forget

All about a boy who is going to high school and is different from the other children...he was truly born to stand out! love this book!

A heartwarming story about kindness, friendship, and being different.

Wonder was so moving. It teaches us about kindness, courage, and accepting others for who they are.

St Just Thursday Evening Reading Group 2nd October 2025.

Wonder. R J Palacio.

Was this a children’s book, or not? We decided it might possibly be aimed at older children, but we all found it highly interesting and liked it a lot. (One reader commented that the cover made the book look more like a comic rather than one that dealt with the serious issues it contained). An easy read, quite short, with highly engaging characters, and very realistically written.

A clever plot, another reader thought, and the narrative being written from the point of view of various different characters enhanced the ideas of the book. Auggie’s disfigurement was dealt with sensitively and realistically, without sensationalism. ‘At heart a simple story of coping with life dealt Auggie’.

We talked about facial appearance and those who do not conform to physical norms, and about Treacher-Collins syndrome in particular. It was a brave act on Auggie’s part, we thought, to attend a mainstream school and face all the reactions to his appearance. These varied from a parent who wanted Auggie excluded from the school because she said he was mentally deficient, to the honest questions of children who merely wanted to know what was the matter with Auggie. We discussed why people react in this way, and how ignorance about and lack of association with ‘different’ people makes all this harder to deal with.

One reader noted that the point of view of Julian, Auggie’s principal critic and opponent, was not included, and wondered what Julian might have thought about it all.

The ‘kindness’ aspect of the story was much admired. However several people did not much like the ending, which was thought to be overly sentimental and triumphalist. A comparison was drawn with Patrick Gale’s Sweet Obscurity, and it was suggested that the ending was aimed at the American market. The title was also not thought very appropriate.

A book which needed to be written, we concluded.

Lovely story about diversity, knowing that it's ok to be different and perseverance.

Yes it is a wonderful book on the boy and his journey

I really enjoyed this book because it was so heartfelt. It also really put me in the main character's perspective, and I loved the fact that each new chapter was in someone else's perspective and writing style. I think I liked August's [The main character's] sister Via the most because she was so kind and thoughtful. I would reccomend this book to all people looking for a book that would impact the way they look at life.

Wonder is about Auggie, a boy with a different face who goes to school for the first time. Some kids are mean, but he also finds real friends. It is a kind, funny, and sad story that teaches us to be brave and always choose kindness. I loved it because it made me feel happy and thoughtful.

In this book I can feel how Auggie felt being teased, stared and laughed at. I was quite sorry for him. After reading this book I felt that I have to be better to people like Auggie.