Author Topic: WONDER (Read 1250 times)

dave r · « **on:** March 19, 2012, 04:00 PM »

Has anyone else read WONDER by Palacio?
I read it and loved it. Couldn't believe how good it was.

If you do read it, have the tissues ready for the end. It's very emotional.

keep writing and reading,
dave r

ShirleyH · « **Reply #1 on:** March 19, 2012, 04:59 PM »

This is my favorite book so far this year. I loved it!

Anne Marie · « **Reply #2 on:** March 19, 2012, 05:24 PM »

It may be my favorite, too.

The characters were so well-developed. And it felt very much like a true middle-grade novel, for middle-grade readers. It didn't talk down to them, but the language was right on.

Loved it.

Jaina · « **Reply #3 on:** March 19, 2012, 05:40 PM »

I actually had a dream about WONDER last night, and I haven't even read it! It may be my guilty conscience (or subconscious?). Find the book, find the book. Read the book. Can you believe my brain won't let me off the hook at night? Middle grade middle grade middle grade. I will go and find a copy of Wonder and read it, I promise.

lizstraw · « **Reply #4 on:** March 19, 2012, 05:51 PM »

It's on my wish list...

lydap · « **Reply #5 on:** March 21, 2012, 11:07 AM »

I am on the American Booksellers for Children listserv and all the children's bookstore owners are also raving about it. I have to read it!

christine · « **Reply #6 on:** March 21, 2012, 03:35 PM »

Loved WONDER

I thought the story had a lot of heart without ever being sappy and the middle grade voice was great. My only (teeny, minor) hesitation was about the chapters in the voice of the teenage boyfriend. I realize his e.e. cummings take on punctuation was part of his voice, but I wanted him to be a teenage boy AND use proper grammar:)

Rachel · « **Reply #7 on:** March 22, 2012, 09:40 AM »

This morning my husband was stumbling around like a zombie because he'd decided to read Wonder for just 10 more minutes before he went to bed and was up until 3am. I really want to read it, but since he snagged it first I have to wait until he's done. Everyone I know who's read it has absolutely loved it.

mariwho · « **Reply #8 on:** April 11, 2012, 11:40 AM »

The Easter bunny dropped WONDER at our house and boy, does he have good taste! I'm half way through and loving it. It's the kind of book you don't want to put down--I stayed up way too late last night reading it. And I'm in love with August, and Summer, and Mr. Tushman...

CaroleB · « **Reply #9 on:** April 11, 2012, 12:01 PM »

You guys convinced me, it's now on my list, (Wonder), though the title alone appeals to me, too. I like that word.

Carole

writermom · « **Reply #10 on:** April 11, 2012, 12:19 PM »

Reading it and loving it now.

mrh · « **Reply #11 on:** April 11, 2012, 01:24 PM »

I just finished it and adored it. Even though the ending is guessable from a certain point on, it doesn't dampen the emotional power at all.

So glad the industry didn't reject it as "neither MG nor YA" because of the considerable number of YA voices in a MG novel.

I see this as a Schneider winner or contender, though certainly in other categories, too.

austen · « **Reply #12 on:** April 11, 2012, 02:06 PM »

I read this a couple of weeks ago too. Loved it. It was such a great example of how multiple POV can be done well.

Quote

My only (teeny, minor) hesitation was about the chapters in the voice of the teenage boyfriend. I realize his e.e. cummings take on punctuation was part of his voice, but I wanted him to be a teenage boy AND use proper grammar:)

I agree with you, Christine, though I liked him a lot as a character.

jodyjl · « **Reply #13 on:** April 14, 2012, 05:38 PM »

I think I will be adding WONDER to my library queue.

Thanks dave r.

LindaB · « **Reply #14 on:** April 20, 2012, 07:12 PM »

I liked Auggie's voice so much I wasn't sure I wanted it to switch to other POV's but I'm glad it did. I'd like to think that people are that good most of the time. I usually don't like these types of books because the endings are often way too sad for me, but I found this ending very satisfying. I think this book will receive a number of awards and should be a top candidate for the Newberry.

LindaB

rab · « **Reply #15 on:** April 22, 2012, 11:16 AM »

Oh my goodness, I stayed up WAY too late last night because I couldn't stop reading just one more chapter. This book has Newbery written all over it; it's that good. (And definitely the Schneider, too.) Like LindaB, I didn't want to leave Auggie's POV, but was very happy to be in other kids' heads once I got over my initial resistance. For the last third of the book, I was a sobbing mess, but there was an interesting (and very positive) review in the NYTimes Book Review in which the reviewer said that although the book made her sob, her 9 year old daughter, who loved it and keeps pushing it on all her friends, did not cry. The reviewer (Maria Russo) writes, "I realized that what makes her cry are stories in which children suffer because they have missing or neglectful parents and no one to take care of them."

The book did not grab me from the very beginning, however, and given discussions we've had elsewhere on the boards about how fast-paced books have to be to succeed these days, WONDER seems like a good antidote to that. Although a lot happens, this is a thoughtful book that allows characters to reveal themselves slowly. It's also jam-packed full of moral messages, but it doesn't feel preachy in the least. (Except maybe for that appended list of precepts.)

terrylynn · « **Reply #16 on:** August 20, 2012, 09:20 PM »

OMG - I've spent the entire day reading this book! I can't believe it's been sitting on my shelf for so long waiting.

Perhaps my favourite read this year. loved loved loved.

dreamless · « **Reply #17 on:** August 21, 2012, 07:05 AM »

I am probably the only person who read this book and was underwhelmed. Probably because I'd heard so many glowing reviews of it and my expectations were impossibly high. It was good, but it didn't amaze me.

Debby G · « **Reply #18 on:** August 21, 2012, 08:44 AM »

I thought it was great. I loved the pacing, the different voices, the somewhat rare portrayal of a loving family, and the warm tone of the novel. The characters seemed real. The perspective of someone with horrible facial deformities was fascinating. Two quibbles: I found the end a bit schmaltzy, and I feel NYC, especially NYC upper-class private schools, is over-represented in novels (probably because so many publishers are in NYC). But otherwise I thought the novel was perfect.

lizstraw · « **Reply #19 on:** August 21, 2012, 05:40 PM »

I really liked the book, I think I liked it because of the different POV. Had it just been Auggie's POV, we would not have really felt the enormity of the impact of his facial deformity on others.

While I agree that there seem to be a lot of books set in NYC private schools, I don't think this story could have worked if it were not set somewhere like NYC or Chicago. There is no way in a small town or even a mid-sized city where a child like Auggie could have remained as anonymous. I am sure with his trips to the doctors', hospitals and whatever ventures he went one with his family before going to school, he was well protected until he was old enough to face school on his own.

On the other hand it might have been an interesting story to be the boy everyone knew in town and was used to, and accepted for who he was in a small town.

hairaplenty · « **Reply #20 on:** August 21, 2012, 06:36 PM »

I just finished it and really liked it. I'm not a fan of the different POV books, but I think in this instance it was neccessary. Once I got past my personal dislike, I was taken away by the voices and story. And, I cried at the end, so that's always a good sign.
Should be required reading for MGer's, who can be cruel and thoughless when faced with other people's differences. (pun intended.) Actually, it should be required reading:)

terrylynn · « **Reply #21 on:** August 22, 2012, 05:42 PM »

It made me cry too, but overall, I think I liked it so much because it was a happy book. A feel good, nice story. I like those.

olmue · « **Reply #22 on:** August 23, 2012, 11:08 PM »

Just finished it and enjoyed it. I think it's a great Newbery contender (Schneider, too--but who says a book can only get one award?).

My 14YO son read it before me and really liked it, too--normally, he finds contemporary books "boring" (they are too much like his regular life, and he likes to read about something he doesn't already experience every day), but he liked it in spite of that. Of course, most people do not have a life quite like Auggie's...

Artemesia · « **Reply #23 on:** August 24, 2012, 01:44 PM »

I haven't read past the first couple posts in the thread in case of spoilers, but my library has it on order so I put a hold on it. First in line, yay! Can't wait to read it!!

olmue · « **Reply #24 on:** August 24, 2012, 02:50 PM »

Coming back to add: I like how Auggie's family was a nice family without anything more angsty than a normal teenager. Given the number of dead or deadbeat parents in fiction, it was kind of refreshing to read about someone you might actually meet. Or live near. Or even be related to! Or whatever. Also, I liked how the friend and the mom totally got what kind of kid Julian was. Adults don't all get amnesia when they have their own kids--some of us do remember kids who acted one way around adults and another around kids they didn't like.

J-Bert · « **Reply #25 on:** August 24, 2012, 06:24 PM »

Just finished this book the other day. Oh, it was so fantastic! I hope it finds a wide audience.

Nora · « **Reply #26 on:** August 25, 2012, 08:34 AM »

I have it, but I haven't read it yet. Looking forward to the read!

YAScribe · « **Reply #27 on:** August 25, 2012, 09:03 AM »

Favorite MG of the year.

Mara · « **Reply #28 on:** August 25, 2012, 01:17 PM »

Great book! My only quibble (but it bothered me a lot) was that Auggie and his friends didn't feel like fifth graders to me. They felt like seventh graders. And the book felt aimed at older readers, too, so I didn't understand why the author chose to put the main character in fifth grade.

J-Bert · « **Reply #29 on:** August 26, 2012, 02:12 PM »

Mara, I felt the exact same way. I was constantly thinking of them as 7th graders until the book asserted they were otherwise. It was distracting and a little baffling. It almost made me wonder if it was originally written with them as 7th graders but then an editorial decision was made to change them to 5th grade for some reason.

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Author Topic: WONDER (Read 1250 times)