These past couple of weeks have been extremely hectic and busy. Between work, graduate school, and my personal life, I have found very little time and motivation to read. I am human, as we all are, and hopefully this February Vacation will provide some much needed time alone with a good book.
While I am challenging myself to read for pleasure outside of school, I am also reading in school with my students. This past month, I have been reading Wonder by R. J. Palacio. This is by far one of the best books I have ever read, and my students enjoy it so much so they beg me to keep reading when it is time to stop.
The story begins from August Pullman's point of view, a fifth grade boy who is attending school for the first time. However, August has many facial deformities due to a number of surgeries from a genetic disease he suffers from. The first part of the book follows the ups and downs of August's first weeks at school and ends on a tragic cliff hanger on Halloween. The story then picks up and continues through time from several characters' points of views, including August's sister Via, August's friend Summer, and August's other friend Jack Will.
The story is captivating to not only my 5th grade students, but to any reader. It covers the ins and outs of childhood issues, from bullying, to popularity, to insecurity, and most importantly friendship. Palacio has an unparalleled ability to draw the reader in from the beginning lines to the last chapter. The lessons and themes of the novel resonate with me as an adult and hit home for my students. They become ecstatic, enraged, and impassioned at every turn of the page. They love this story, and its popularity is a testament to how wide reaching its messages are.