"Wonder" Book Review

Summary

Wonder is the story of August, a boy with a facial deformity, who is going to attend school with other kids his own age for the first time after being home-schooled for years. The story is told through short interconnected vignettes incorporating various characters' points of view.

Thoughts

• I liked how the story was told from the point of view of different characters, but was disappointed that I didn't get the point of view of Julian, a boy who bullies August.
• I could never tell if August prefers to be called Auggie or August. He never states a preference and all the characters call him either one at various times throughout the book. It kind of annoyed me a bit, frankly. Most kids have a name/nckname they prefer to be called.
• I was surprised by how smart August is. It's also interesting to see how aware he is of how others perceive him.
• Was shocked when I got to the sister's point of view. Before her section came up, she seemed (to August and the rest of the family) like August's biggest supporter, but it turns out that she has always been resentful of how much attention he gets from their parents and how embarassed she is to be seen with him around the neighborhood and at her school.
• Many of the other characters in the book are jealous of August's family.
• I liked hearing about the same event from different prospectives.
• Quotes are used at the beginning of different sections of the book from a diverse range of sources such as Christina Aguilera, The Little Prince, and Shakespeare.
•  The book also incorporates text messaging and emails to great effect.
• At August's school there appear to be graduations for every year. I don't think I liked this concept much, since by the time high school graduation rolls around it won't be as special then.
• This book reminds me a lot of the movie Mask, starring Eric Stoltz and Cher. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it!

Bonus Feature: Other Movies/TV Shows About Facially Deformed Characters

I mentioned Mask in my review, but here are some other movies and TV shows that feature facially deformed characters.

• The Elephant Man (movie)-Perhaps one of the most famous in this category, it depicts a Victorian doctor who rescues a disfigured man who is being abused as he wrks as a sideshow freak.
• Beauty and the Beast (TV show) Just want to clarify tht I'm talking about the three-season TV show that ran from 1987-1990 and starred Ron Perlman as Vincent and Linda Hamilton, and not the current remake. 
• Beauty and the Beast (classic animated version) Bookworm Belle stays in the Beast's castle in order to save her father from being a prisoner of the Beast. Belle does not know that the beast is actually a handsome prince in disguise unde a witch's spell. Many of my friends have said that they think the beast is actually bettr-looking than his handome prince persona, but I'm not sure I agree.
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame  There are numerous movie versions of this clasic Victor Hugo tale of the title hunchback Quasimodo's doomed love for the gypsy girl Esmaralda. They include an animated version, one made in 1939 starring Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara, and a third film made in 1956 starring Anthony Quinn.

Here's a link to a fun blog that mentions a few other facially deformed characters in various movies: http://www.screenjunkies.com/movies/movie-lists/11-classic-deformed-movie-characters/