Wonder by R.J.Palacio :Book review
First things first, thank you all raccoons for this \”wonder\”ful recommendation.
I read this book every night with my 9 yr old and both of us absolutely loved it, irrespective of the fact that I had a perspective of an adult and he that of a child. This book weaves a wonderfully humane story of a boy with facial birth defect through multiple narrators ( all of whom are children and adolescents) and moves one emotionally in almost every chapter, but still the author manages to keep the wit and humour intact. I was very impressed with how the author keeps the age of the child in mind, and accordingly varies the narrative, making it sound authentic. But to say this book is for children would be a mistake ( although my son connected personally with the school and friendships part) as the narrative is layered and thought provoking, with some gems of life altering philosophy incorporated in seemingly innocent and naive words of children. But the reason I loved this book the most is because it makes one seriously think about one of the most underrated but important qualities that we must posses towards fellow human beings- EMPATHY, especially in this day and age. That this book started a conversation about it everyday with my 9yr old, was an added bonus. I would highly recommend to parents to read this book with their grown up kids(8-14yr olds) for books which talk and make them think about qualities like compassion, equality for all, empathy, and most of all kindness towards a fellow human being without being preachy or boring and talking to them in the language that they use and understand are very rare and must not be missed at any cost.
P.S- My profession requires me to closely work with children of facial defects( I am an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon by training) and having worked with so many cleft lip and palate patients who are very young children especially during my post graduation, I connected to this story as a doctor too at a very personal level and this book gave me a rare opportunity to introduce my profession to my child in as humane a way as possible…
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