Wonder by R.J. Palacio

The book Wonder  by R.J. Palacio is about a physically challenged kid named August who attends school for the first time. by the time August was 10 he had over 20 surgeries. His face is described as many mean and rude things throughout the course of the book. His experiences over the course of the book are explained sometimes from his point of view and sometimes his peers, friends and family. Attending a new school is hard, but its even harder if you have been homeschooled your entire life and your physically "deformed." August made some friends right away but some took longer to adjust to his special ability. August was immediately treated nicely by Summer and Jack, but some took longer to adjust to him such as Julien. His friend jack wasn't always nice to him. For example, on Halloween, they came to a rough spot in they're friendship, he overhears Jack talking to Julien and one other kid, "I don't know…Tushman [The principal] asked me to hang out with with him in the beginning of the year…"August is hurt by this and pretends to have a stomach ache so he can leave school. August then spends the next few weeks avoiding Jack and spending more and more time with Summer who has been very supportive of August for his whole time at the new school. Over Thanksgiving break, they made up and the worked on a history project together. Reading this book made me realize how unequally people treat people who are different then them. It's really sad that August is treated differently just because he was born differently then everyone else. This book has many themes that are bullying, inequality and disability.