Wonder
讀書樂編號：11313
推介人： 何潔儀老師
Wonder, by RJ Palacio, is a book centred around August, a young boy who has facial deformities, stepping into school life for the first time. He has only been previously homeschooled, since he had to go through surgery all the time before, and doesn’t feel ready to face other kids of his age. On his first day, everything seems to go smoothly as he meets new friends, Summer and Jack, but the most popular kid in his grade, Julian, despises him, even going as far as to bullying him because of his differences to others, which makes his life a lot harder. The story also explores the point of view of different characters, such as August’s sister Via, Summer, and Jack, allowing the readers to have a wider view on the entire plot line. The story delves into the themes of kindness, friendship, and individual differences. The book also makes use of precepts, which are inspirational quotes, to express their main ideas. One of the precepts is from Dr Wayne Dyer, which says “when given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind.” It means that you should not just be focused on the right and wrong of life, but should rather choose to be kind and respectful to others above everything else. This precept is the one that convinces Auggie that school life might be better than he expected, if there are people that are willing to follow this precept, and be kind to someone like himself despite his unusual features. After a while, a few people approached him even though he was the least popular person in the entire school, showing that friendship doesn’t have to be related to popularity, despite what a lot of people believe. Wonder is an emotional story that teaches us many morals through a young boy that looks different but is just as ordinary as everyone else, and I recommend everyone to read this book, and join August in his journey in discovering friendship, courage and kindness in a new environment. Written by Jack Thorne, Steven Conrad, and Chbosky.
