Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Schultz
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Moving tale of facially different boy with inner beauty.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 65 parent reviews
Parents say that the book offers a powerful and inspiring story that promotes kindness and inclusivity, making it valuable for discussion with children, particularly around themes of bullying and acceptance of differences. However, many express concerns about its intense themes, such as suicide and bullying, which may be too overwhelming for younger readers and recommend parental guidance for appropriate interpretation.
- powerful story
- promotes kindness
- intense themes
- parental guidance
- suitable for discussion
- bullying awareness
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
Based on 281 kid reviews
What's the Story?
August "Auggie" Pullman is a fifth-grade boy with a craniofacial condition. His loving parents and sister have shielded him from many outside influences before WONDER begins, and he's been homeschooled up until that point. But at the start of the book, his mother has decided that it's time for Auggie to brave a group schooling experience. Auggie is upset and afraid to face the other kids' reactions to his appearance, but there's also part of him that wants to do "normal" things. The director of his new school, Mr. Tushman, introduces Auggie to a small group of students before school starts, thinking this will help ease the transition. While some of the students Auggie meets are accepting and kind, others are a bit put off by him, and still others are downright cruel. The novel follows Auggie's first year of middle school from beginning to end. It's a year in which Auggie experiences the best and the worst of human nature and a year of tremendous emotional growth for him.
Is It Any Good?
Auggie himself is a very convincing and poignant character -- definitely not just a device -- and his story is extremely moving and uplifting. Author R.J. Palacio writes Wonder in multiple voices, including Auggie's, some of his friends', and his sister's. The different points of view are mostly very well-realized and show the inner feelings of the different characters -- though a couple of aspects of Wonder don't ring fully true. Auggie's parents are almost too perfect to be believed, and the main mean kid in the novel is a bit too easily dispensed with.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about peer pressure and how it's portrayed in Wonder. Sometimes we feel pushed to reject someone -- even a friend -- because others don't like that person. How would you handle the situation that Jack Will faces?
Why do you think some people are cruel to Auggie?
If you wrote a precept -- like Mr. Browne's class does -- what would it be?
Do you think Auggie's parents did the right thing in sending him to school? Why, or why not?
In what ways does Wonder encourage compassion? Which characters seem the most compassionate to you? Why is this an important character strength?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Coming of Age
- Topics : Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Friendship
- Character Strengths : Compassion
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Alfred A. Knopf
- Publication date : February 14, 2012
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 320
- Last updated : January 22, 2026
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