Part 9?: Julian

One question that I had after finishing Wonder was, where is the chapter on Julian? He is a pretty big character in the book, but he is one without his story being told. Julian is a bully and the author gives you great reasons to dislike him, but in the end, Julian is a child and I can't but help to believe there is reason behind his actions. 

I know most people probably have no sympathy for Julian, but something inside me does. I think I really started to feel for him when the email from his mother was placed in the book. The mother was very cold and callous toward August. She even photoshopped August's picture out of the class photo. She is an adult, she knows better. This is when I started to look at her as a villain over Julian. Julian was a child that was being molded by his narrow minded mother.  It's sad really, to think Julian might follow in his mother's footsteps. I hope this isn't the case and I hope Julian's mother realizes what she is doing to her son before it is too late.

Part 8: August

The last part of the book is filled with love, pain, courage and growth. We start out by finding out that August and his class are going on a field trip that last 3 days and 2 nights. Unlike most of the students, August has never stayed away from home expect in a hospital. He is nervous yet excited. We start to see growth from August at the very beginning of this part of the book with a act of love he does for his mother. August was going to secretly bring his bear that he slept with when he was scared with him, but decided to leave it for his mother with a note telling her she can sleep with it when she misses him. I though this was a very sweet, kindhearted gesture that August did for his mother.

The beginning of the trip was very fun for August. He was really enjoying himself and was very happy. That all changed the night of the movie. August and Jack ran into some older kids from another school that reacted very cruelly to August. The sad thing is, this is a reality for August. The students at his school were used to him now, but there is always another world of people outside of the walls of the familiar. A world that people aren't used to you and that can be cruel. The other students said some terrible things and physically attacked the boys. During the fight, Amos, Miles and Henry stepped in to defend August and Jack. This came as a shock to August since these boys had not been that kind to him throughout the year. August was left with a bloody elbow and missing hearing aids, but he was also left with knowing what it felt like to have friends stand up for him.

Later in Part 8 we find out what happened to the astronaut helmet that August used to wear at all times, his dad threw it away. I really liked this part between August and his dad. The dad didn't get  much story in the book, but he was portrayed as very kind and loving. He told August he took the helmet because he did not want August to cover his face, it made him sad. August was upset at first that his father took the helmet, but he understood and I think this brought the two closer. It was a nice moment between the two. 

The book ends with a very touching graduation. The principal gives a very moving speech about the importance of kindness. 

After the principal's speech it was time for the awards. The typical awards were given out, then a very special award was given to August. It was an award for having great strength and courage. An award for being an amazing human being. As August walked on the stage to get the award the crowd all stood in applause, August got his standing ovation. This was a very magical ending to a wonderful book. 

Part 7: Miranda

One thing I really enjoyed about this book is the fact it lets us understand each character from their point of view. We aren't just told from one person's views of why people are the way they are, we get to see inside each characters mind. Throughout the book, we see Miranda as Olivia's old friend that ditched her when she entered high school. We know she was once a nice girl, being very caring and loving to Auggie, but we don't know why the sudden changed emerged. We find out why in Miranda's part of the book. 

Miranda is going through a very difficult time of her own. Her parents divorce before high school year, leaving her lost and confused. Miranda attends camp after finding out about the divorce and makes up lies to cover her pain. One lie that she tells is she has a "deformed" brother. People take sympathy in this and the lie make her popular. She feels great guilt about this lie, but continues with it because the hurt of her parents divorce is worse. She also starts to rebel by smoking, meeting up with boys, dying her hair pink and dressing more provocatively. Miranda's changes were a result of her trying to hide from the pain she was feeling as a result of her parents divorce.

When Miranda arrived back after summer camp, she did not want to contact Olivia. She felt guilt that she lied about Auggie to the other people at the camp. Miranda also did not want to deal with her parents divorce, so she distanced herself from Olivia. She knew Via would ask her questions and she was not ready to talk. Miranda was a young teenage girl in pain and this was her way of acting out because of the pain. 

Miranda really did love Via and her family, but being around them was a constant reminder of what she lost. Miranda loved the dynamics of Via's family, but the love they shared only brought her pain right now. I think Miranda stepping down from the part in the play and letting Via go on stage was somewhat her way of apologizing to Via. Miranda looked out in the crowd and did not see any of her family or friends, but she saw Auggie. She really did love Auggie and she knew how happy it would make him and his family to see Via perform, so she stepped down. I also think that Miranda knew that stepping down would allow Via to be something she rarely is, the center of attention. I know Miranda is another character that made some mistakes, but it is a reminder that our pain can cause us to act in ways we never would. At the end of this part, it seems Miranda and Via make amends and this was very pleasing to me. 

Part 6: August

Part six brings us back to August. In this part, a lot happens. First, August gets his hearing aids. He did not want these. He did not like the way they looked and didn't want to bring more attention to himself. He is defiant to wearing them up until the moment they are placed in his ears and turned on. When August heard clearly for the first time, he no longer complained. It was a very sweet moment knowing Auggie could truly hear for the first time.

Later in the Part 6, the family comes to find out Via's secret about her upcoming play. Her mother confronts her and Via admits to her the true reason why she doesn't want her family to come, she wants to keep her new school life separate from her home life, from August. August finds out and is hurt and hides out in his bedroom. While this is going on a terrible sad thing occurs, the family dog become very sick and passes away. I have no problem admitting that I was in tears when reading the section about the dog, Daisy. Daisy was a major part of the family and everyone loved her so much. It really was a heartbreaking moment in the book. August was very connected to Daisy. Animals did not treat August differently, they loved him just as anyone else. When Daisy died, it somewhat brought the family back together. They were drifting a little bit because of the great changes the children were going through. Olivia started high school and August was now in school for the first time. Life's were being formed outside of the family for the first time. Daisy dying reminded them how important they were to each other.

There is a quote that comes later in Part 6 that I really liked that Auggie's mother said about love. The quote is below. 

I thought this was a beautiful and powerful quote. Love is not about what you see, it is about how you feel. This is so true and fits beautifully within this story. I know the mother is talking about Daisy and the grandmother, but the quote fits with so many other aspects of the story.

Part 5: Justin

I must be honest, at first the part on Justin was my least favorite of all, but after looking deeper into the chapters, it's starting the grow on me. Justin is Olivia's boyfriend. He is not a major character in the book, but his part brings a greater in site to the other characters. The thing that really stood out to me in this part is how strong Auggie's family truly is. Justin talks greatly about the family. He says they are nothing like his own, distant and somewhat cold. Auggie's family truly loved each other and it showed. He talked about how the family always said they loved each other and genuinely cared about the well being of each other. The parents were also very interested in what Justin liked, which his own family never seemed to care about. Justin believed Auggie's family was an amazing family and honored to be apart of it.

I think this part was a little different than the rest because it really wasn't an inside look it Justin, but a more elaborate look at the characters in the book. We got to see how greatly the family functioned from an outsider perspective. We also got a deeper look at some of the individual characters; Olivia, Jack/Auggie, and Miranda. 

Part 4: Jack

I was very thankful for the chapter about Jack. Jack was a good kid, but some of his choices made it appear differently. While hidden in his Halloween costume, August over heard Jack and a group of boys saying some very terrible things about him. Jack was August's best friend and it destroyed August when he heard Jack talking badly about him. 

Jack was unaware that August could hear what he was saying to Julian and the other boys. He had no clue that his words would be heard by August. Jack expressed how he was made by the principal to be friends with August and if he looked like August, he would kill himself. These truly are terrible words, but I do not believe that Jack was a terrible person. 

Sometimes in life we do things that we regret. We make choices that we normally wouldn't because of the pressures around us. Some people are stronger than others when it comes to pressure, but we all fall prey to it at some point. What Jack did was wrong and he knew it. When he found out that August overheard him he felt such guilt and remorse. Other characters in the book stood up to those pressures; such as Via and Summer, but the truth is, Jack was a 5th grade boy that made a mistake. Should he have stood up to those boys? Yes. Should he had turned and walked away instead of bashing another student? Yes. But being a young child, sometimes that is easier said than done.  

I believe this part brought a great deal of realism to the story. Jack brought a very realistic feel to the story. People make mistakes. Some kids and adults can be very cruel. I think that Jack's mistakes reminds us that you never know what you will do when you are challenged by those around you; especially when you are very young and trying to make your place in the world. Jack didn't mean what he said, he just went a long with the crowd so he wouldn't become the victim. One thing Jack does do is he learns from his mistakes and stands up to the crowd later on, leaving him to truly be one of Auggie's best friends. If we admit our mistakes and learn from them, those who truly matter will forgive us and move on. At some point in our life, we have all probably been in a similar situation and made a decision we did regret. It does not make us bad people, it makes us humans and human beings make mistakes. 

Part 3: Summer

Summer is one of the greatest friends that August has. She is the only person that approached August by her own, not by being asked by the principal. Summer's reasoning for sitting next to August the first day of school; she felt sorry for August. I liked the character of Summer. She was another strong, female character like Via. Summer was pretty and had potential to be very popular, but she chose kindness over popularity. This is really seen at the Halloween party she was invited to just to be confronted my the popular kids about why she would hang out with August.  She left the party and never looked back.

One thing I really enjoyed about Part 3 was the explanation of life after death by Summer. She believed that we visit heaven shortly to reunite with the ones we love and from there we are born into a new life. It was a combination of the heavens and reincarnation. August really appreciated this theory. The thought that he might be born again brought him happiness. Part 3 was a very short, but sweet chapter. It was a nice look into the mind of a truly caring friend of August.