A review by curatoriallyyours
Wonder by R.J. Palacio

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: Grief and Medical content

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.