Wonder
Series: Wonder, Book 1
By: R. J. Palacio / Narrated By: Kate Rudd, Nick Podehl, Diana Steele
Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
One itsy bitsy teeny tiny caveat but, dude! what’s not to love?!
First, lemme give Wonder a shoutout for hitting a 10th year of being a much-loved tale, but then I shall stop here to add a much-deserved Boooooo! for the Powers That Be’s deciding to re-record it for a rerelease audiobook. I mean, whazzaa? Y’all, hey hey hey: You’ve got Kate Rudd and Nick Podehl, and here I’ll add that Diana Steele as Auggie is stellar! Why in Jiminy H. Cricket’s Big Ol’ World would ya even dreeeeam of messing with what turned out to be drop dead AWEsome?!
Well, they did, and of COURSE I refuse to get the newer version because hey! Nick Podehl rocks Middle Grade and Young Adult like nobody’s business. Besides which, I’m a cheapskate…
So there’s that.
Auggie Pullman is going into 5th grade after being home-schooled his entire young life. Prior to this, no no no, twasn’t because of his birth defects that could inspire teasing and bullying. It’s because he’s had, like, over 20 surgeries to address a Perfect Storm of Deformities (The book’s oft-used word by shocked and insensitive people). You see, tho’ Auggie feels Normal, IS a Normal Kid… His face? Oh good golly gosh: As he says, Whatever you’re imagining? It’s worse…
But he’s kinda holding two emotions in separate hands at the very same time: A sense of NOT wanting to go to a demanding Prep school that he was accepted into -and- being desperately excited. He decides he will go, and imMEDiately author R. J. Palacio sets things up, to where you thiiiiink the entirety of the story will go, but it does not.
The only Given is that one of the trio who were requested to show Auggie around the school during Summer Break, Julian, is right off the bat, a major toad (No offense to toads).
Then the surprises start coming where Palacio makes some verrrrry wise choices. Her characters are just sooo very human, with even Auggie showing a manipulative streak when it suits him. I loved that. And then (And this absoLUTEly unhinged one reviewer) tragedy can strike, and Auggie discovers that no, contrary to the way the world has functioned this far, it really isn’t all about him.
Then Palacio’s choice to break up the narrative to give different character’s their own perspective is wise as well. From Via, Auggie’s big sister, we see just what it’s like to be the always-shunted off sibling, the one who, no fault of her own, not even any fault of Auggie’s, is never given a chance to shine, is never given a chance to be anybody BUT the sister to That Deformed Kid.
And Jack! Who can NOT love Jack, one of the kids who took Auggie on the pre-Tour of the school who comes to see Auggie, as in really really SEE Auggie as just another kid, one who’s really pretty funny and just all-around cool. Even Jack turns out to be all too human, suffering from his association, feeling the slights, being on the end of the tormenting. How many “mature” choices can a 5th-grader make, one who is for all intents and purposes, just a little boy himself.
Narration? Heavenly! Knowing (And shaaaamelessly fawning over) Nick Podehl, I full-well expected him to be doing the honors for the singular Auggie. Nope,that role was left to, what I initially judged “ill-considered”, Diana Steele. A female? Really?! Ahhhh, but her voice for Auggie is spunky, a trifle scratchy, humorous when he’s cracking wise, and irate when he’s flying off the handle at perceived -and- All Too Real! indignities. Podehl does Jack and Via’s boyfriend to a T. Kudos. And Kate Rudd? As Via and Summer (The one truly truly brave through and through kid who makes excellent choices based on just doing the Right Thing), she shines in her own right. I s’pose the newer release of Wonder wanted to give each character their own performer, but Jeez-Jiminy, why on earth fix what is Oh Soooo NOT Broken, ya know? If you’ve the original version, from saaaay, early on in your Listening Journey, do indeed give it a listen. You shan’t be disappointed in the slightest with such seasoned performers as Podehl and Rudd. Don’t have any Diana Steele in m’ Library, but she was excellent and made Auggie lovable even in the brief moments where I considered him Throttle-Worthy.
So, like, the oooone caveat: Y’all know I, well, am rather FOND of Romances, and those of COURSE mean: Happily Ever Afters. But after hours of Life’s Difficulties, I found Wonder’s end to be a bit too much of a: Wrapped Up In A Bright Shiny Bow. I’ve worked with kids with severe impairments, and when they were Mainstreamed into public schools, Life NEVER got any easier for them. Their only solace was coming back to a place where all the kids were in a very similar boat. So there’s that.
But hey! When all was said and done: Lovely and heartwarming gem of a book about kindness and just trying not to wig out over Different. M’ sister did some heavy duty googling/searching, and she saw that the story came from an experience Palacio had that—’twould appear—she p’raps wishes had gone differently.
Empathy comes from some pretty tough lessons at times.
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