Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

14 reviews

morganperks's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Medical content

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Grief

luluslittlelibrary's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

bodyThis is one of my favorites from elementary school, so I decided to go back and re-read it. It's still great, I don't love it as much as I did as a nine-year-old, but that is to be expected. I'd definitely recommend this one (especially if you are looking for a book to read as a family because although it is a middle-grade book, it is still interesting and worth reading for adults. it also teaches great lessons about acceptance that would be great to talk about as a family or in a classroom)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Medical content, and Grief

starlessnights's review against another edition

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism and Animal death

Moderate: Bullying and Toxic friendship

Minor: Death and Grief

curatoriallyyours's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I enjoyed this story - I cried in parts and found all the main characters to be very likeable. The only element that bugged me was that the main character's disability was at times treated as a fetish in the sense that the non-disabled characters (primarily the adults, to be fair) saw him as an "inspiration" and an opportunity for others to learn to be kind. I feel like this diminished his humanity and dignity - as though his existence was limited to his capacity to help those around him be better people. This did not come through the whole time - the author did a good job of creating three-dimensional, flawed characters and multi-layered situations that were a reflection of real life. Over all, this was an enjoyable read. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death and Body shaming

Minor: Medical content and Grief

There is an unexpected death of the family pet towards the end of the book. It is somewhat foreshadowed but I bawled my eyes out!

Medical content - the main character has a number of medical conditions and genetic abnormalities - some discussion of medical treatment and surgery but very mild. Body shaming - some of the children at the school make fun of the main character due to his facial abnormalities.