Whether you are a bully or have been bullied: WONDER by R.J Palacio Book REVIEW!

Don’t judge a boy by his face, don’t judge a book by it’s cover.

I want to express myself, but I can’t. Wonder brings out this emotional side of me that no other book has done recently, not only is it beautifully written for those in middle grade, but it comes with so much courage and overcoming of fear, you can’t help but want to hold August, and Summer, and Jack, and Via, and August’s parents, and even Mr. Toshman.

The story is about a boy name August Pullman ( We will know him as Auggie ) and he lives with his mom, dad and his sister named Olivia (We will know her as Via), as well as their senior dog named daisy. He’s been home school his whole lifetime until he begins 5th grade. Auggie has some enetic condition which resulted in his face to looking deformed with his eyes an inch below where they should normally be, his skin looks like it’s melting, he eats like a tortoise because has a very big and over proportional jaw, and he has cauliflower ears, if he even has any. He gets looked at when he walks through his neighborhood, and the first reaction you get when you see of August is a frighting one, and you can’t help but push your children away (And yes some parents are that heartless). His parents have been over protective over their son, and have been home schooling him, keeping him at a close distance so that no one hurts him, but Auggie knows that he isn’t a normal boy, even though he really wants to be.

Once 5th grade comes around and Auggie isn’t visiting surgical doctors (or the doctors in general) and middle school is about to start his parents decide to enroll him in a very good school, especially since he won’t be the only new kid. Auggie is scared to go to school, he knows people will stare at him, and he’s worried no one will want to be his friend. Meanwhile Olivia will be starting high school in a new school as well.

The best part of this book that it’s told in different perspectives, and you come to love everyone of the characters and hate others ( none of the bad characters have perspectives in the book). I loved this book because I can relate to Auggie, I was a small child going through a number of surgeries, constantly getting bullied maybe not for my physical being, but for who I was. Maybe I was bullied for my physical being but who knows, I was never told. I thought that Auggie was lucky to have so many people around him, even if he could count them on his fingers. This book teaches children, respect, friendship, and courage. You start to notice that in Auggie’s world, the people who are in it also face some challenges.

You notice that Summer and Jack who befriend August have difficulties standing up to the rest of middle school for August and themselves. Especially when the kids in this school decide to start up a trend called “The Plague” in where anyone who touches August has cooties and must wash their hands in 30 seconds before they catch it. Theirs also parts in which Jack and Summer are bribed by offering spots in the popular group if they ditch August, and Jack and Summer must refused not only to be part of the cool kids, but also to be liked by the student body in general.

You also see the problems Olivia faces, having to share her parents with her little brother who always needs more attention. In Olivia’s world, everything and everyone has always been there for August, but no one has ever been there for her. She’s starting High School, and she also wants a regular life, she doesn’t want to be known for her face deformed brother, you can say Olivia’s point of view sort of starts out selfish, but I understand that a kid needs his parents around, and it’s kind of hard to get their attention when your brothers problems are always a little bit more “bigger” then your own. You also get to know Olivia’s boyfriend point of view, which I thought was rather sweet, and her old best friend, Miranda who was always a friend of the families.

I would love to go into more detail, but I don’t really want to ruin this book for you. It’s great, and if you have children or anyone that really matters with situations in which they feel different and unloved, pick this book up and understand them, let them know their is someone out there. That in order to be normal you don’t have to look a certain way or be of a certain status, and you really need to do is have a big heart.

It’s about to be another ten days and I still haven’t posted.

Wow, I’m letting this get to me.

I need to write on this blog more! I haven’t read at all, i’ve been skipping from book to book and I can’t keep myself on one book. I will now force myself to read for my cousins sake. I am going to start writing a middle grade list for my cousin who is in the fifth grade because he doesn’t like to read as much, and his mother has asked me to tutor him and read books with him. I will be updating reviews that I hope help some teachers or mom’s picked out a good book for their children or students.

 

XOXOXO,
Abby

 

P.S I WILL BE POSTING MORE. JUST GIVE ME TIME TO GET OVER THIS.

I haven’t posted in 10 days so here’s a sincere apology and more.

Hey Guys,

I haven’t updated by blog in ten days and I am sorry for not keeping up like I said I would. I have also been slacking on my book resolution (read 100 books by the end of the year) even if goodreads say’s I am on the right track, but so far i’ve only finished two books in the month of February, which I will be putting a review up as soon as I feel that I can put them up without feeling like it’s a load of work. I also have decided to move away from the novels and the YA, and all the fictional stuff. I want to move into some more interesting topics that I have felt are a bit complicated for me to tackle, so you’ll be seeing a lot of book reviews on science and mathematics. I will also be finding some more books for those who are into fiction, I won’t stop reading them, i’m just going to not give them so much focus.

I recently went to this beautiful bookstore near my house and also near the closest B&N but i prefer it a lot more. They have all these antique and beautiful books, shelved everywhere. I am a huge believer that books shouldn’t have any certain order when it comes to the years they were published, the older the better. The smell of a new book is wonderful, but the feeling of an old book in your hands is a lot better. This bookstore is run by a couple of folks and back in my YA years, I loved to be in that atmosphere. The feeling hasn’t changed. The picture below is how my cute little book store looks. I adore this freaken place.

For my reptile lovers, I have been scavenging for reptile books to share on the page. I will be getting back to you on those. I also am happy that spring is coming right around the corner which means their will be time to explore the great outdoors and record some of my field work here. I am also excited to find new topics for us to talk about, because after all this is a friendly reptile blog to help you educate yourself, or if you have a fear of reptiles, help you overcome it. That is always my goal with people! 

Now here’s my sincere apology to you guys on why I haven’t been posting (10 days). The truth is I suffer from Chronic Depression or it’s also known as Dysthymia and it’s basically when you’ve suffered from depression for a long period of time, and it’s just lingering their for a while and would need treatment (such as medication or therapeutical help) but even then it’s hard to overcome. I am not a fan of taking medications that can also cause worse symptoms, and i’ve left my therapy due to personal reasons but I am in search of one now because I can no longer deal with it.  Dysthymia normally starts in your childhood and follows you throughout your adulthood, in my case i’ve had it says I was 11.

Here’s what the WebMD has to say about Dysthymia:

Dysthymia:

What Causes Dysthymia?

Experts are not sure what causes dysthymia or depression. Genes may play a role, but many affected people will not have a family history of depression, and others with family history will not have depression problems. Changes in levels of brain chemicals are also believed to be involved. Major life stressors, chronic illness, medications, and relationship or work problems may also increase the chances of dysthymia.

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Dysthymia?

The symptoms of dysthymia are the same as those of major depression but not as intense and include the following:

• sadness or depressed mood most of the day or almost every day
• loss of enjoyment in things that were once pleasurable
• major change in weight (gain or loss of more than 5% of weight within a month) or appetite 
• insomnia or excessive sleep almost every day
• physically restless or rundown that is noticeable by others
• fatigue or loss of energy almost every day
• feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness or excessive guilt almost every day
• problems with concentration or making decisions almost every day
• recurring thoughts of death or suicide, suicide plan, or suicide attempt

Living with Dysthymia isn’t easy, and therefore I get into these moods where I can’t do what I love, I have no energy to do anything. So i am very sorry for not writing to you guys, I should really do it. It makes me feel a lot better. I also enjoy the idea of opening up to you guys about these things, since I’ve recently felt very alone and felt that i can’t open up to anybody. 

Should I post a slam poem every now and then? I like that idea. Lets make this a blog about books, reptiles, and poetry. I can’t stay away from poetry, but here’s a great poem.