Wonder: A Short Description

 

In school, we write essays about various topics. For most of these essays, we have a word limit. Due to this, I have learned to keep my writing concise and straight to the point. In this post, I will try my best to summarize the storyline of a book I have adored since 7th grade. I have written a short description that highlights my favorite aspects of the book, in around 250 words. Hopefully, by the end of this post, you will feel the need to read the book as well.

Wonder – R.J. Palacio

The themes of the story include the importance of friendship, the consequences and effects of bullying, and the pain of wanting to be accepted by others for your looks.

The book follows the story of a boy named August (Auggie) who suffers from Treacher Collin’s Syndrome which leaves him with deformed facial features. Because of his condition, August has been home-schooled his whole life, but his mother insists that he be able to experience high school for once. He is bullied because of his appearance and betrayed by his best friend Jack. The story later follows his journey to accepting Jack’s apology, and slowly making his way into the hearts of other students at his school.

Parts of the book are also written from his sister, Via’s perspective, who has always felt somewhat neglected by her family because of August needing more attention. Her struggles with being ignored by her old friends are actively illustrated as well.

There are multiple other people’s perspectives included in the book, which adds to its uniqueness and justifies the actions of each character.

What I believe is the best part of this book, is its simplicity. There is no complex worldbuilding, no complex plot, just a simple boy and the people surrounding him, along with their everyday problems. Every side character is beautifully written, their backstories are included as well. Overall, this is a beautifully written book, which I will never get tired of reading.