Book Club Guide

Wonder

by R.J. Palacio · 2012 · Literary Fiction

Key themes

What kindness requires — the difference between noticing and seeing
The first year of middle school as a social crucible
Multiple perspectives on the same story

About this book

Auggie Pullman, a ten-year-old boy with a facial difference, attends mainstream school for the first time after years of home education. Told through multiple perspectives — Auggie's, his sister's, his friends' — the novel asks what it takes to see past appearance and what kindness actually requires of ordinary people. One of the most widely assigned middle school novels in America.

Published in 2012, Wonder has sold over eight million copies and been translated into 45 languages. Palacio reportedly wrote it after an encounter with a child with a facial difference — and her son's reaction — outside an ice cream shop.

Discussion questions

The novel uses multiple narrators — Auggie, his sister Via, his friend Summer, and others. What does this polyphonic structure achieve — and what does seeing Auggie through others' eyes add to what we know about him?
Jack Will's treatment of Auggie at Halloween is the novel's central moral test. How does Palacio develop his character — and does his eventual redemption feel earned?
Miranda's perspective is one of the most surprising sections. What does her view of Via's family add — and what does it say about the gap between how we see others' lives and what their lives actually are?
The novel's message — 'when given the choice between being right and being kind, choose kind' — is explicitly stated. Does the novel earn this simplicity — and is the directness a strength or a limitation?
Wonder has been widely used in schools to discuss bullying and inclusion. What does fiction give teachers that a direct discussion of these topics cannot?