http://s16/bmiddle/003BIi6tgy6GigvTyOz7f&690Review 书评 《Wonder》" TITLE="Book Review 书评 《Wonder》" />

Wonder

by R.J Polacio

Wonder, the debut novel of R.J. Polacio, is quite amazing. It is a story about  immense courage and infinite strength as a fifth-grade boy named August with serious deformities attends a regular school for the first time. Before then, he had been the center of everything in his family. Polacio describes his family as the solar system, with August as the sun in the center and his family revolves around him like the planets.

But over the course of a day, everything changed. August now knows exactly what strangers think of him. Worse, many people don't even bother to hide their reactions.

For August, this whole ordeal of settling into his new life is not easy at all; for the reader, it feels just as painful as we rediscover feelings of empathy and hope. When I read this book, I often found myself cheering for one character or another, trying to hold back heavy tears, or wishing that I could somehow reach into the story to help August, his family, and his loyal friends.

Told from several different points of view, Wonder shovels deep into the hidden side of everyday people. Within each person is a heart. Within each heart is a tremendous capability of kindness waiting to be uncovered.