Out of My Mind
Sharon M. Draper
Melody has cerebral palsy and a brilliant mind no one notices. Like Auggie, she narrates her fight to be seen for who she is at school, with humour and heartbreak.
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Wonder
Children's Books
★★★★★4.5 (74)
A warm, quick-reading middle-grade novel that shows a boy with a facial difference starting school through several voices, making kindness feel like a real choice.
What It's About
August Pullman has been homeschooled his whole life because of a craniofacial condition and the many surgeries that came with it. At ten, he is enrolling at a private middle school for fifth grade. The novel follows that school year: the stares, the kids who flinch, the few who become real friends, and the small cruelties and loyalties that shape how a community treats someone who looks different.
Palacio opens with Auggie narrating in a funny, observant, very kid-like voice. She then hands the story to others: his older sister Via, who has quietly lived in his shadow, classmates who are figuring out where they stand, and a few people at the edges of his life. Each section is built from short chapters, often only a page or two, so the book moves fast and works well for reluctant readers and read-alouds. The shifting viewpoints are the real engine. You see the same events from inside different heads, and that builds empathy without lecturing.
Reading it is an emotional but gentle experience. Expect some tears, a lot of humor, and plenty of conversation-starting moments about friendship, bullying, and family. It is clearly written to encourage kindness, and it is earnest about it. Many adults who read it with their kids end up as moved as the children are.
Read this if you…
- want a moving, accessible novel to read aloud with a child aged roughly 8 to 12
- are looking for a book that sparks honest family or classroom talk about bullying and difference
- enjoy stories told from several points of view with short, fast chapters
Skip it if you…
- prefer stories about disability told by authors who share that lived experience
- find openly message-driven, tear-jerking fiction too sweet or tidy
Key Ideas
- 1
Choosing kindness over being right
A teacher's monthly sayings run through the book, and the central one is that when you must choose between being right and being kind, you should choose kind. The story tests this in ordinary school moments: who sits with whom at lunch, who goes along with a cruel joke, and who speaks up. Kindness is shown as a deliberate act that sometimes costs something socially, not as a vague feeling.
- 2
Everyone is fighting an unseen battle
By moving beyond Auggie's voice, the novel shows that people around him carry their own struggles. His sister feels invisible at home and is navigating high school friendships. Classmates face peer pressure and loneliness. This structure helps young readers understand that the person in the spotlight is not the only one hurting, and that empathy should run in every direction.
- 3
Multiple narrators build empathy
The storytelling's most distinctive choice is rotating first-person sections, each with its own voice and style. Some characters you might judge harshly in one section become understandable in the next. For middle-grade readers this is an accessible introduction to unreliable perspective and point of view, and it naturally prompts discussion about how we misread each other.
- 4
Family love with real friction
Auggie's parents are loving and funny, but the book does not pretend their family is effortless. The attention his medical needs require has ripple effects, especially on Via. These scenes give the novel emotional depth beyond the school plot and offer readers with siblings, or with a family member who needs extra care, something to recognize.
Limitations
Wonder is unapologetically sentimental, and some readers find its resolution too neat, with goodness rewarded and cruelty corrected more cleanly than real middle school allows. Some disability advocates and people with facial differences have noted that the book often frames Auggie as a lesson for others. They point out that much of its emotional payoff centers on how nondisabled characters grow, and that the author does not share his condition. Adult readers may find the moral sayings heavy-handed. It also focuses on a fairly comfortable, well-resourced family and school, so it doesn't explore the experiences of kids with fewer supports.
Questions Readers Ask
- What age is Wonder appropriate for?
- It is generally aimed at readers around 8 to 12, or roughly grades 3 to 7. The language is simple and chapters are short, but it touches on bullying, teenage relationships in the sister's storyline, and some emotional moments. Younger children usually do best reading it with an adult. Teens and adults also read it widely.
- Should I read the book or watch the Wonder movie?
- The 2017 film is faithful in spirit and a good family watch, but the book does more with its rotating narrators, giving fuller inner lives to Via and Auggie's classmates. If you have time for both, read first. The novel's structure is a big part of what makes it effective.
- Is there more after Wonder?
- Yes. Palacio wrote companion stories from other characters' perspectives, collected in Auggie & Me, including one from the main bully's point of view. She also wrote White Bird, a graphic novel connected to that character's grandmother, and a separate novel, Pony. 365 Days of Wonder collects inspirational sayings in the spirit of the book.
What Creators Say About Wonder
Reviews from readers on YouTube. Their opinions are their own.
- Published
- 2012
- ISBN
- 9780375869020
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Category
- Children's Books
Book details and cover from Google Books.
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Books Like Wonder
View all →Fish in a Tree
Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Ally hides her dyslexia behind jokes until a new teacher sees her. Readers who rooted for Auggie will love this similar classroom story about friendship and being understood.
El Deafo
Cece Bell
A graphic memoir about a girl with a big hearing aid starting school. It shares Wonder's honesty about feeling different and its lightness and humour.
Restart
Gordon Korman
Told by several students, this story follows a former bully who loses his memory and must start over. It explores kindness and second chances, like Wonder's view of Julian.