Part 8- August

"So my one and only sleepover, up until now, was pretty much of a disaster, which is why I'm a little nervous about the nature retreat. On the other hand, I'm really excited."- Wonder pg. 251

This quote from August is why I love him so much. Even though everything went wrong during his last sleepover he's still excited for the nature retreat.  He's just such a hopeful and bright kid. I would've been totally freaked out going away for that long for the first time if I was him! How does such a little kid get to be so brave? I guess circumstance let him grow into this strong kid that he's proved himself to be.

The trip goes really well until they run into some "thugs" as Auggie's mom will later call them.  I hate that even as we are coming to a close in the book... KIDS ARE STILL BEING MEAN TO AUGUST.  I guess it will never really end.  But there's hope.  In Auggie's moment of despair, three unlikely heroes come to his rescue.

Miles, Amos, and Henry!

I guess the sides have switched in the war.  It seems that the war doesn't really matter anymore now. Eddie the big thug starts picking on them, and they all ban together to escape their new common enemy.  It was a moment of mixed emotions.  I feel horrible for August because he's still putting up with these horrible people, and he's lost his hearing aids too now.  But at the same time I'm jumping up and down with joy because Miles, Amos, and Henry have stuck up for Auggie!

SO THERE IS HOPE!

These guys were the thugs at the beginning of the story and they've come full circle. So why couldn't a kid like Eddie come full circle in the future too? I don't know, maybe I'm like Mr. Tushman and believe everyone has good in them. Sometimes it's just a little deeper than others.

And then Auggie gets a new puppy! WHO DOESN'T LOVE PUPPIES? Things are starting to brighten up and Auggie realizes just how awesome growing up has become.  He originally thought school would suck, and for a little bit it did, but he NEVER gave up. And because of that he was rewarded so richly. No. He didn't win the lottery, but he did win Henry Ward Beecher medal.

And he got that standing ovation.

Mr. Tushman's speech was probably one of my favorite parts. It has such a great message. CHOOSE KIND. Wow. Think about that. What if we all choose kind? How much of a better place could this world be?

The ending to this book as told by August, is so tear jerking. I feel like I went along on this journey with Auggie and grew up with him along the way. I'm 21 years old, but I learned so much from this extraordinary 10 year old. He told me when we started this journey that he was ordinary, but he's not. He truly is a "Wonder" just like his mom says.

"She bent down and whispered in my ear. 'You really are a wonder, Auggie. You are a wonder.'"- Wonder pg. 310

Part 7- Miranda

"It felt like she was judging me. I knew she didn't like my new look. I knew she didn't like my group of friends. I didn't much like hers. We never actually argued: we just drifted away." -Wonder pg. 239

Miranda finally tells us her side now. I've been waiting for this the whole time. I wanted to know what Via did to Miranda to make her all of a sudden just ditch her on the first day of high school. What I would give to know what my old friends were thinking.  I feel like I'm Via ripping through the pages of Miranda's own diary. I get mad when I find out she's been bad talking me. I feel sad about the fact that her parents got divorced, and then mad again because she didn't talk to me about it. And then I realized what she did for Auggie.  I felt the gratitude that Via probably would've felt if it really had been her in my shoes reading this book. Even though they had drifted apart Miranda was still protecting her old friend.  She may have badmouthed Via, but obviously she still cared about her. I think girls in high school just get jealous of each other, and feel the need to talk bad to make themselves feel better.  I think that's what Miranda was doing. She admits that Via is prettier than her, and that she wishes Auggie was her own brother. Why couldn't she just tell Via that? Why does she have to just drift away and talk bad about her. Once again why are kids so mean? Is it just in our nature to handle our own problems by making them into someone else's?

But then Miranda does something for Via to make up for it.  She backs down from the play. She gives Via this amazing gift.  Miranda watches from the sidelines as Via's family applauds with everyone else, and I think Miranda gets as much satisfaction from this as if her own family had been there. It's not just me who thinks they've won the lottery I guess.

Via's family even invites her to dinner and it gives you this inkling of hope that the two friends will re-spark their friendship because of this. I hope they do... Miranda's not so bad as I thought.

Part 6- August

"'Why is everyone standing up?' I said. 'It's a standing ovation,' said Mom getting up. So I clapped and clapped. I clapped until my hands hurt. For a second, I imagined how cool it would be to be Via and Justin right then, having all these people standing up and cheering for them. I think there should be a rule that everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their lives."- Wonder pg. 231

THE WAR is still going on but now it's starting to lose energy.  Or maybe it's not that it's losing energy, but that Auggie and Jack just don't care anymore because they have each other to lean on.  More and more people are starting to treat Auggie like a normal kid, because they're finally realizing how silly this whole charade is.  It upset me that it took them so long to change their minds, but I'm glad they finally did.

And then Auggie has to get hearing aids. I can't imagine how I would feel about that. Here he is FINALLY getting used to things in school, and people are FINALLY starting to accept him for who he is, and then he starts to lose his hearing.  Why can't he ever catch a break?

I admire the doctor he goes to see though.  He tells Auggie that the hearing aid strap makes him look like Lobot, a pretty cool character from Star Wars. I wish more doctors could connect with kids like this. If I was August's mom I would've been very grateful to have such a kind doctor.

 

And the best part is the kids at school didn't even bother him about the hearing aids.  Here he was all worked up about nothing! I probably would've been worked up too. That's a pretty big change to have to go through so young. But once he put the hearing aids on and could hear, he didn't care what the kids where going to say anyways, because he could finally hear clearly. 

I kind of feel like this moment in the book is sort of this "A-HA" moment.  Auggie's all stressed out over something and he doesn't want to do something for a silly reason (such as getting made fun of at school), and then he puts the hearing aids on, hears the world clearly for the first time, and realizes who the hell cares what they think, some things are more important in life. 

Shortly after this he has another moment of clarity when he realizes why exactly Via didn't share with her parents that she was going to be a part of her school production.  This turns into Auggie accusing his mom of lying and yelling at Via for being ashamed of him.  Auggie storms out in a rage and makes a little cave of stuffed animals, but this time no one comes to baby him.

Prepare for the saddest part of any book I've ever read...

Via comes flying into Auggies room and tells him Daisy is sick. That gut wrenching moment of clarity hits Auggie once again and he realizes there are once again more important things in life.  If you've ever had a dog or a cat or any kind of pet, you'll understand how emotional this whole ordeal is. 

I have a dog named Daisy too, so I had an especially long blubber fest over this moment in the book. Once again Via shows her strength and kindness towards her little brother, and I envy their relationship. 

 (My Daisy)

 

So a few days later Via brings the tickets home and they all decide they're going to go see Via even though she's just an understudy.  I think this shows how strong their family is.  Even after this huge fight, and losing someone who meant so much to their family, they realize how much they mean to each other.  They're stronger because of it. To have love like that, truly is one of the most amazing things in the world. And in that moment I realized I was jealous of Auggie Pullman.

He may not have won the lottery when it came to good looks, but he definitely won when it came to what really mattered. And what really matters isn't how you look, it's the people who surround you with love and affection no matter what. That's the true beauty in life.

Part 5- Justin

Ok so Justin's point of view now.  He's just this guy whose fallen for a girl, who just so happens to have a "deformed" brother. And he's totally cool with it.  This guy is a KEEPER. Kids their age are not always as accepting as Justin is of Auggie. He even steps in and does some protecting of Jack to make sure that the little twerps will leave them alone. He's awesome. He gets it. He realizes they've been through a lot as a family, but sees just how lucky they are. Justin sort of tells us that even if a situation looks a little muddy, there always is a silver lining.

Justin did drive me nuts with his poor grammar. Really though, I had to restrain myself from correcting the book with my pen.

Since it drove me so nuts, I had to do some research and find out why exactly R. J. Palacio would write it like this and I found a great site for FAQ's about the book. Her answer explains his character so well. Click on the link below to see what she says.

http://rjpalacio.tumblr.com/

I like Justin because he seems like the kind of kid who just has their head on straight.  He's happy with Olivia, and grateful for what he has.  He's also got some good taste in music.  I listened to some Zydeco music and it reminds me of Auggie interestingly enough. Sounds kind of rough on the outside, but the more you listen to it the more you realize how beautiful it really is.

Part 4- Jack

"We all know his name, though he doesn't know ours. And whenever I've seen him, I try to remember what Veronica said. But it's hard. It's hard not to sneak a second look. It's hard to act normal when you see him."- Wonder pg. 138

 

 

Jack knows August, and he knows he doesn't stand a chance in school. He's compelled to do the right thing by helping him, but it's hard for him to do the right thing.  He doesn't know how to act normal when he sees Auggie at first but he knows that he should. I think Jack is one of the most realistic characters. He's a kid whose struggling to fit in, but doesn't want to sell his soul to do so.

It's hard to really trust Jack after the terrible things he said about Auggie to Julian. But put yourself in Jack's shoes. It's either be friends with August, or be ridiculed with him everyday.  When you were in fifth grade what would you have chosen? Now I don't think that just because of the "Halloween Incident" that Jack is necessarily full of bad intentions, I just think he's struggling to make the choice to CHOOSE KIND.

The more I read about Jack though the more and more I related to him. A poor kid at a private kids school. It's not a fun time. Not that middle school is really a fun time for anyone.  We've all been through it, and it should be the best days of our lives, but there's always a bully. 

Even though this story is mostly about Auggie's struggle with bully's, Jack is being bullied too.  Julian is trying to force him to not be friends with Auggie, just so he can be "cool".  And the more I think about it... why do we all want to be cool so bad? What is cool? Who is cool? Oh that's cool. What does that word even mean. It's so objective. I realized that Jack taught me what cool is though.  It's all in our heads.  Julian thinks he's cool, but he's really a bully.  And Jack realizes this about Julian, so he punches him in the mouth...

 

 

 

But seriously... Who didn't get excited when Jack punched him?! That's right. No one.

So now Jack is in trouble and won't even explain himself to Mr. Tushman, but him and August are friends again! Not just because he punched Julian. He apologized to August too. But punching him made it a lot easier. Although I don't condone fighting, this was probably one of my favorite moments in the book. I'm a huge Harry Potter fan and I think this levels up to the awesomeness of when Hermoine punched Draco. It was sort of a big deal. It also showed were Jack's heart really lies. It's important to stick up for your friends. I have an inkling that Mr. Tushman might've been ok with Jack's response too. Sometimes bully's need to be put in their place. (Maybe just not with the punching next time)....(Even though we all secretly wanted to do it ourselves too). 

And then the WAR started.....

So now everyone's picking sides, and obviously Jack is on Auggie's side and so is Summer and Reid and the Max's, but just about everyone else is against them. This is the point were I just want to rip my hair out. These kids are ten!! They shouldn't be in WARS over whose friends with who. They should be playing basketball, goofing off, watching Star Wars, and having a GOOD TIME. But no. Life's not that easy when you're ten. Especially when your friends with the "uncool" kids.

This leads me back to how I felt when I started reading part 1. Why do kids have to be so MEAN?
WILL THIS QUESTION EVER BE ANSWERED?

Part 3- Summer

"Who knew that my sitting with August Pullman at lunch would be such a big deal? People acted like it was the strangest thing in the world. It's weird how weird kids can be."- Wonder pg. 119

Now we are in Summer's brain. One of the only kids to be completely nonjudgmental  of August.  And I love her for that. I feel like Summer is one of the brightest signs of hope in this novel.  When all the other kids are judging Auggie and being mean and giving in to peer pressure here she is standing her ground.  She knows what's right and what's wrong and she's sticking to her gut.

EVERYONE, and I mean EVERYONE, deserves a friend like Summer.  Most kids wouldn't turn down being popular, just to be friends with some weird kid.  But she does. Because she doesn't even think Auggie is weird.  She thinks the popular kids are weird for thinking Auggie's weird.  Try and wrap your head around that one.

I do wish she had been a unicorn for Halloween though. She made the right choice by leaving Savannah's party though.  She may be in 5th grade but she's a lot smarter than I am sometimes.  I think that's why I like this book so much. Each character has taught me so much already and I'm only a little way in.

Summer is the kind of character who just makes you want to smile.  You know that she's full of good intentions, smart, and beautiful inside and out.  I think it's totally fitting that Palacio opens Summers part with a quote from Christina Aguilera's song "Beautiful"

This song is inspirational and makes me think of the struggle that not only Auggie will go through but that everyone goes through everyday. Remember that you are beautiful. It's easy for us to forget sometimes.

Part 2- Via

"But this year there seems to be a shift in the cosmos.  The galaxy is changing. Planets are falling out of alignment."- Wonder pg. 83

In part two we switch into Via's consciousness. She is now telling us her side of the story. At first I thought she was going to be the kind of sister most are. Oh woe is me, I hate my brother, I wish he never existed.

But she's not. She's so understanding of how much attention Auggie always needed. I try and put myself in her shoes, but I don't think I will ever know what it would be like to have to put your own needs aside for your little brother.  I think I could be understanding, but then again I'm selfish.  If my parents had missed one of my swim meets for something to do with my brother, I probably would've been angry. 

I also could relate to Via though. Especially with her story about Grans.  I always loved spending the night at my grandma's house.  My dad was in and out of the hospital all the time when I was younger, so I always got shipped over to grandma's house.  She didn't spoil me, but she did try to make it fun for me, when it was a not so fun time for the rest of my family.  She made me bacon for breakfast, played crazy 8's with me, and tucked me in at night. I feel sorry for Via loosing someone who meant so much to her so early in life. It's truly not fair. Via is a strong young woman.

High School

 

Olivia tells us about how she enjoys not being known for having a deformed brother when she got to middle school. Yeah people knew about Auggie, but that wasn't all she was known for.  She could be her own person, do her own thing, and be known as Olivia. Not Auggie's sister Via. Her friends Miranda and Ella have changed now though.  She begins to realize high school may not be as easy as she thought it was going to be. People don't break out into song and dance in the hallways. (Which I don't know if that's really what she expected but I know I expected it and was sorely disappointed on my first day). High school definitely isn't anything like high school musical. Her friends are acting strange and she can feel the cosmos shifting again. That's what life does though. It changes.

She quits talking to Miranda and Ella and you can just feel the teen angst.  Its this uncomfortable feeling really. She's obviously hurt by losing her friends, worried about Auggie being off in his own world, crushing on a boy, and clashing with her mom. This would've been enough to set me on my own panic attack from hell when I was her age, but not Olivia. She's stronger than that.

She's really a great sister too.  After the "Halloween Incident" she convinces Auggie to go back to school. She helps him through a really hard time in his life, and shows him the right path to take. I've never gotten along well with my brother, so I'm kind of jealous of her. I wish I could be the kind of sister she is.

Part One- August

"My name is August, by the way. I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse."- Wonder pg. 3

The story starts with August. Describing that his face makes kids run away screaming in the park. But other than that he's just ordinary. When I began reading this book I thought, "Oh ok. Deformed kid. This should be...interesting." I honestly felt a little scared of August. How bad could this kid really look? If I saw him would I react like the kids in the park? I'm not sure. I would hope not, but we are human. And what's different scares us. 

As Auggie told me more about himself I began to realize just how much his parents loved him. I wished my parents had been that protective of me. I mean I don't have a messed up face, but school was hard for me too. I understand why Auggie was so apprehensive.
 When Auggie went on the tour of Beecher Prep, I felt like I was sucked into the book and walking along with him and Jack, and Charlotte, and Julian.
Because I had a similar experience myself.
My freshman year of high school I switched to a public school a town away and went on a tour with some of the seniors.  I could tell they were making fun of me, this awkward private school kid. I felt Auggie's pain. I empathized with him, even though I didn't have the same struggles. This was when I realized August was just another kid. Even though I hadn't seen his face, I had been judging him. How is that even possible? Is it so engrained in our brains that I had already put him off into another category without ever even seeing his face? I was angry at myself for being like the kids running away screaming.
Auggie showed how brave he was though... unlike me. After one day at my new school I knew I was going to hate it. I didn't want to go back, but Auggie kept with it.

Then the "Halloween Incident" happened.

I wanted to run up and hug August. Taylor Swift's song "Mean" immediately began playing in my head, because that's all I could think of those boys. Meanies. That's what they were. What did August do to them? I could've punched them. My stomach dropped and my throat closed up and I felt his pain like I would feel my own.

Being betrayed by a friend is the worst feeling in the world. I hate Jack for doing this to August. I felt my anger boil hot, and knew this must be what Via feels like when people stare at Auggie or say something rude.

I couldn't blame him for not wanting to go back to school. Bully's suck.