Review Praise for Wonder #1 New York Times bestseller A School Library Journal Best of Children's Books A Publishers Weekly Best of Children's Books A Kirkus Reviews Best of Children's Books A Booklist Best of Children's Books "Wonder is essentially ... a wonder. It's well-written, engaging, and so much fun to read that the pages almost turn themselves. More than that, Wonder touches the heart in the most life-affirming, unexpected ways, delivering in August Pullman a character whom readers will remember forever. Do yourself a favor and read this book - your life will be better for it." - Nicholas Sparks, #1 New York Times bestselling author Slate.com: "Wonder is the best kids' book of the year." Entertainment Weekly: "In a wonder of a debut, Palacio has written a crackling page-turner filled with characters you can't help but root for." The New York Times: "Rich and memorable...It's Auggie and the rest of the children who are the real heart of 'Wonder, ' and Palacio captures the voices of girls and boys, fifth graders and teenagers, with equal skill." The Wall Street Journal "What makes R.J. Palacio's debut novel so remarkable, and so lovely, is the uncommon generosity with which she tells Auggie's story...The result is a beautiful, funny and sometimes sob-making story of quiet transformation." The Huffington Post: "It's in the bigger themes that Palacio's writing shines. This book is a glorious exploration of the nature of friendship, tenacity, fear, and most importantly, kindness." "Full of heart, full of truth, Wonder is a book about seeing the beauty that's all around us. I dare you not to fall in love with Auggie Pullman."- Rebecca Stead, Newbery award-winning author of When You Reach Me "It is the deceptive simplicity and honesty of the work that make Wonder so memorable. Every single character seems real and well drawn and oh-so human...This book is beautiful." - Christopher Paul Curtis, Newbery award-winning author of Bud, Not Buddy "A beautiful story of kindness and courage. There are many real and well-developed characters, and they each have their shining moments. Of course, Auggie shines the brightest." - Clare Vanderpool, Newbery award-winning author of Moon Over Manifest "Wonder is a beautifully told story about heartache, love, and the value of human life. One comes away from it wanting to be a better person." - Patricia Reilly Giff, two-time Newbery honor-winning author of Lily's Crossing and Pictures of Hollis Woods "Wonder is a shining jewel of a story that cannot help but encourage readers of all ages to do better, to be better, in how they treat others in life. I'm totally in love with this novel." - Trudy Ludwig, anti-bullying advocate and author of My Secret Bully, Confessions of a Former Bully, Better Than You, and Just Kidding Starred Review, Publishers Weekly "Few first novels pack more of a punch: it's a rare story with the power to open eyes--and hearts--to what it's like to be singled out for a difference you can't control, when all you want is to be just another face in the crowd."Starred Review, Booklist "Palacio makes it feel not only effortless but downright graceful, and by the stand-up-and-cheer conclusion, readers will be doing just that, and feeling as if they are part of this troubled but ultimately warm-hearted community." Starred Review, School Library Journal "Palacio has an exceptional knack for writing realistic conversation and describing the thoughts and emotions of the characters...A well-written, thought-provoking book." Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews "A memorable story of kindness, courage and wonder." About the Author R.J. Palacio lives in New York City with her husband, two sons, and two dogs. For more than twenty years, she was an art director and graphic designer, designing book jackets for other people while waiting for the perfect time in her life to start writing her own novel. But one day several years ago, a chance encounter with an extraordinary child in front of an ice cream store made R. J. realize that the perfect time to write that novel had finally come. Wonder is her first novel. She did not design the cover, but she sure does love it. Her other books include 365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne's Book of Precepts and Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories. Learn more about her at rjpalacio.com or on Twitter @RJPalacio.
D**W
A sparkling story of love and hope - highly recommended
When this book came into my local library I was intrigued by the image of the kid in an astronaut's helmet on the cover and also by the fact that this book had been made into a movie so I wanted to find out what the fuss was about.And wow. I loved this book and I think that almost no amount of fuss would be too much. It's that good.It's a very mature book - bad things happen but there's more than one side to most of the stories and with the multiple viewpoints the reader gets to see incidents from many sides. I often find the multiple viewpoint thing distancing but in this book it just got me further inside the heads of the people who matter in this story. And I loved the portrayal of the teachers in this story. You can really see the difference that outstanding teachers can make in the lives of their students.And of course, most of all I loved Auggie. What a character! I hope we get to meet him again in a future novel.Highly recommended.
M**1
Five Stars
Great book
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