Wonder by R.J.

Palacio
Close Reading Notes pages 3-32
Part 1, August
August is a ten-year old boy living in North River Heights Manhattan,
who has a mother (who used to be a children’s books illustrator), a
father, and an older sister called Via. The book begins at a point in
time when August is only a week away from entering 5th grade in
school. This is the first school he will be attending: the many
operations he’s had to endure since birth have kept him from
attending school (roughly 2-3 per year). August had three very good
friends, but they do not meet up very often.
The book opens with a first-person narrative description of a 10-
year-old boy who likes to “do ordinary things” (p3) but who
describes his own physical appearance as something that makes
“other ordinary kids run away screaming.” (ibid)
Important themes: ordinary/normal vs. extraordinary, compassion &
confidence, self-realisation & self-acceptance, transformative
actions, self-care and the care for others, kindness/politeness,
compare & contrast, individual vs society, unconventional
Character List: August (Auggie), Mother (name Isabel), Father (name
Nate), Via, Christopher (only mentioned), Zachary (only mentioned),
Alex (only mentioned), Joel (only mentioned), Eamonn (only
mentioned), Gabe (only mentioned), Doogie (only mentioned), Lisa
(Christopher’s mum), Mr. Tushman, Mrs. Butt (“Roberta” only
mentioned), Mrs. Garcia (Mrs. G), Jack Will, Julian, Charlotte, Ms.
Petosa (Only mentioned), Mr. Haller (only mentioned)

p. 3 Chapter 1 Ordinary
The “extraordinary” protagonist’s name is “August”, which is
revealed at the end of the first page, where we are also introduced
to one of the central themes in this novel: August’s struggle to be
viewed and understood in the same way that he views and
understands himself – as ordinary. There is an interesting
discrepancy in August’s self-perception on the first page. This arises
from August’s statement that he knows that he is “not an ordinary
ten-year-old kid” (ibid) at the beginning of the page, which contrasts
his statement that he is the “only person in the world” (ibid) who
realizes “how ordinary” (ibid) he is. The way “others” react to him
shapes a lot of August’s daily experiences, his self-perception and his
struggle to be viewed as ordinary.
 Question 1: How is August’s sister Via described in the first
chapter?
 Question 2: “I would wish that I had a normal face that no
one ever noticed at all.” Why does August wish he had a
“normal face”?
 Question 3: How and in which ways is August’s daily life
impacted by his condition? What do you imagine his daily
struggles are?

p. 4 Chapter 2 Why I Didn’t Go To School

Chapter 2 begins with August’s report that he will attend a school for
the first time in his life when he enters 5th grade “next week” (p4),
and he reveals many other important details, such as being
“homeschooled” by his mother, or that he is “completely petrified”
(p4) to start school. The chapter doesn’t force the narrative, but
instead, gives us much needed character details.
In this chapter we also find out that he had three good friends whom
he’s known since they “were babies”, but that they have drifted
apart and only occasionally see one another in passing. At the end of
the chapter, the protagonist mentions the friends he has now: Joel,
Eamonn and Gabe. He emphasizes that these friends “not as good”
as his old friends and uses birthday parties to draw an example on
his exclusion from ordinary things.
 Question 1: What kind of effects, both positive and negative,
can home-schooling have on a student and their
development?
 Question 2: August has been enduring operations all his life.
How do you think he feels towards his own body?
 Question 3: What reason does August give for not having
attended school until now?
p. 6 Chapter 3 How I Came To Life
This chapter explores August’s condition anecdotally and begins with
him mentioning a story that his mother tells him and Via. The author
uses characters such as the nurses and doctors in the hospital to
attribute details such as “small anomalies” to August.

The “funny” (p6) story that August remembers is a story from the
night of his birth, when the doctor fainted and the “smelliest fart in
the history of farts” (p7) from one of the nurses was what finally
woke him up. Palacio appears to use this story to provide his reader
with other important details which are not “funny” but rather
moving. This includes the fact the nurse comforted his mother when
they discovered August’s condition, or that his mother had to
“prepare herself for the seeing of (him).” (ibid) August describes his
face in his mother’s eyes as “tiny mushed-up” (ibid), but also
suggests that she noticed “how pretty (his) eyes were.” (ibid) The
chapter ends with August’s reflection that both his parents and sister
are pretty.

 Why do you think did the author choose a first-person

narrator to tell this story? Why is it effective?
  How are the two nurses described that are in the funny
story that August’s mother tells?
 When August’s mother saw his face for the first time
after birth, what did she see first? What does this tell
us about her?

p. 8 Chapter 4 Christopher’s House

In chapter 4 we can easily observe the caring nature of August’s

parents and the dynamic that exists in the family. The subject of their
conversation is if/when August is “ready for school.” (p8) August,
referred to as “Auggie” by his parents, is presented as intimidated
and overwhelmed by this thought, suggested by the description of
his voice as “a little babyish.” (p9) However, the author restlessly
conveys the parent’s caring nature and their commitment in
everything they say to August, such as when August’s father says,
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.” (ibid)

 In this chapter, through which techniques and descriptions

does the author present August’s mother as compassionate
and caring?
 Considering everything you have read so far, what is the
relationship like between August and his parents?
 Why does August’s mother seemingly not want to have a
conversation about August going to school in Lisa’s house?

p. 10 Chapter 5 Driving

In this chapter the narrative picks up pace and we are placed into the
“now” from which August had been telling the story so far. In the
beginning, the family is in the car on their way home. August and Via
are pictured sleeping in the back seat while their parents “talked
quietly about grown-up things.” (p10) The author highlights that it is
not only August who has to deal with his condition, but also his
parents: “We can’t just pretend he’s going to wake up tomorrow and
this isn’t going to be his reality, because it is (…) and we have to help
him learn to deal with it.” (p10) The choice of the word “reality” is
interesting here, suggesting that August and his parents experience
different realities because of his condition, instead of sharing a
reality. The simile “sending him off to middle school like a lamb to
the slaughter…” presents an authentic and interesting
implementation of turn taking rules as August interrupts his father
here which results in incompleteness of the latter part of the simile.

The fact that August is only a child and is still learning things about
himself shines through in this chapter when August expresses the
feeling that his mother and father “were on the same side” (p11)
from which we can deduce that August often feels like it’s “him vs
the rest of the world.”

We find out other details such as that August’s parents applied to his
new school a year ago, and that “the lady who came to the house
that time” was not coming to conduct an “IQ test” but was part of
the admissions process. The sense that August views himself as
fighting alone against the world is strengthened in this chapter when
his mother explains that every 5th grader will feel just as anxious.
Interestingly, his mother tries to remove him from that position and
group him together with the other children by saying “that’s the first
year of middle school – for everyone. You won’t be the only new
kid”, but August rejects this and replies that there is no other kid that
“looks like” him. While his parents seem to constantly try to tie him
in with the others, August appears to reject this and distance himself
from the others, repetitively drawing attention to the ways in which
he is different.

A wholesome moment occurs between August and his father when

August finds out that the principals name is Mr. Tushman. This leads
to his dad making a series of puns on the principals name “I see
you’re running behind today! Did your car get rear-ended again?
What a bum rap!” (p13) Continuing the puns on bottoms, the
chapter ends with August’s mother and father reminiscing about the
past, especially their old professor “Miss Butt.” This last moment
conveys a strong sense of togetherness: they all laugh together and
August is not isolated.

 When August’s mother says that they “can’t keep protecting

him”, what does she mean by that? Who is a potential threat to
August and why?
 Why do you think it might not be a good idea for August to go
to school?
 Why do you think August’s parents waited so long to tell him
about their plan and his school acceptance?

p. 15 Chapter 6 Paging Mr. Tushman

Chapter 15 really picks up the pace and opens with a very interesting
moment: August does something that “the others” typically do, and
therefore briefly becomes a part of them. As we have learned from
the other chapters, people react strangely to August, looking the
other way or giggling and screaming in the case of children.
Therefore, while August is typically the one getting looked at and
made fun of, he is here part of “the other”, looking and laughing at
someone else: “and I saw Mr. Tushman standing there (…) I started
giggling right away.” (p15)

The theme “extraordinary vs normal” is further emphasized in this

chapter when Palacio describes what Mr. Tushman said as “totally
normally” rather than choosing adverbs such as “quietly” or “loudly.”
The chapter ends with Mr. Tushman, August and his parents
embarking on a tour of the school, which August is reluctant
towards. The protagonist compares the school to the school his sister
attends and points out that his is “smaller” (he seems compelled to
always draw a comparison in a competition like manner) and
“smelled like a hospital.”

 When will August overcome his feeling of severe nervosity

when he is meeting new people? Do you think he will
overcome his self-doubt? If so, how?
 Why is August reluctant to take a tour of the school?
 How does Mr. Tushman “break the ice” between them?

p. 17 Chapter 7 Nice Mrs. Garcia

Chapter 7 reveals some of the contrasting experiences that August

has when in has social interactions. At the beginning of the chapter
he meets the middle school director, Mrs. Garcia, whose “eyes
dropped for a second. It was so fast no one else would have noticed”
(p17) when she saw August. Interestingly, while Mrs. Garcia is
making an effort to look at August and hide her reaction, August on
the other hand makes an active effort to avoid looking at her and
instead looks at the glasses that were “hung from a chain around her
neck.” (ibid) In a way, August has again switched positions with “the
other” here: he is experiencing something that others often
experience when they interact with him.

At the end of chapter 7 Mrs. Garcia and August’s mother bond over a
picture of Mrs. Garcia and her grandson, which the author also uses
to expresses the profound care she has, and the fact that “she was
just as nervous as (he) was.” Again, this pairs them together in this
experience and August becomes a part of “the other.”

 What is Mrs. Garcia’s initial reaction to August? Is it a good

reaction or a bad reaction?
 What does the author mean when he describes Mrs. Garcia’s
smile as “shiny”?
 What does Mrs. Garcia do to reassure August’s mother?
 p. 19 Chapter 8 Jack Will, Julian, and Charlotte

In this chapter, the characters are in the school building, partly in the
office, partly in the hallway and other rooms. This is set a month
before the official start of school. August, his mother and his father
have a more personal discussion with Mr. Tushman, in which he
succeeds to make August laugh. Eventually August hears kid’s voices,
and Palacio uses the simile “I’m not exaggerating when I say this, but
my heart literally started beating like I’d just run the longest race in
the world.” (p20) Rather awkwardly, Mr. Tushman introduces the
children to one another, an experience that August summarizes for
himself as “took my hand, forced a smile, looked down fast.” (p22)
Palacio uses this as another opportunity to show how caring,
concerned and committed August’s mother is by describing her voice
as “sounding a little higher than normal” and through August’s
observation that “she seemed more scared than (he) was.” (p23)

 How does Mr. Tushman “break the ice” between August and
himself?
 What does the framed painting behind Mr. Tushman’s desk
depict?
 How does August feel about meeting students that day and
going on a tour?

p. 24 Chapter 9 The Grand Tour

The children leave the office to go on a school tour, their first

destination being their homeroom for the year, the next one the
science lab. Here, August experiences one of the moments that make
him feel like he is different: “Julian moved out of the way quickly, like
he was afraid I might actually accidentally touch him as I passed by.”
(p24) Julian’s physical reaction mirrors the reaction of someone close
to someone with a very contagious illness. August’s condition is not
contagious, and therefore Julian’s behaviour alienates him. The
character Jack Will is presented as impolite through descriptions
such as “Jack Will rolled his eyes a little as he turned around.” (p26)
or “’You know what an eraser is, right?’ asked Jack Will.” (p25) At the
end of the chapter the leave the science lab.

 What do you think is the UK equivalent of “homeroom”? What

does Charlotte mean when she says that it is “just your group”?
 What is the relationship like between Jack Will, Julian and
Charlotte? Do you think they are friends?
 Where do the children go after they saw the science lab?

p. 27 Chapter 10 The Performance Space

In this chapter, the children are in the drama room, the

“performance space.” Charlotte tells August about the play they put
on last year, and the author reminds the reader again how August is
treated as different. He shows how other people’s reactions to
August’s physical appearance makes up so much of his negative
experience as shown by this quote “although she was talking to me
she really didn’t look at me much” or through this observation:
“While she was talking, I noticed Julian staring at me out of the
corner of his eye. This is something I see people do a lot with me.
They think I don’t know they’re staring, but I can tell from the way
their heads are tilted.”

They talk about the play, but the atmosphere becomes tense when
Julian begins speaking “sarcastically” (p28) and offensively addresses
August, questioning if August is “smart enough to take the science
elective” because his mother “is not a real teacher.” (p28) Julian
becomes more rude when he asks August if something happened to
his face: “were you in a fire or something?” although he insists the
he is “not being rude.”
Charlotte and Julian argue, and it is revealed that Mr. Tushman had
briefed the children by telling them that August “was born like that.”
(p29) Jack breaks up the argument and urges everyone to the library.
He also manages to turn the moment into something positive when
he smiles back at August, highlighting how powerful a small gesture
like that can be: “But somehow Jack Will got that I had smiled at him.
And he smiled back.” (30) Jack then encourages August to break out
of his shell by calling Julian a “jerk” and telling August that he will
have to communicate more, “like he was trying to help (him).” (p30)

Julian and Charlotte argue over his mispronunciation of the word

“supposedly” before they make their way back to the office. Julian is
further presented as a bully by cutting “right in front” of August
which made him “stumble backwards.” (p30) Lastly, Palacio again
attributes immense power to the stare and the act of staring through
the following quote at the end of the chapter: “But I could tell from
the way he looked at me that he wasn’t really sorry at all.” (p30)

 What is “Oliver!” and why does Charlotte get excited when she
talks about it?
 Which part (or parts) in this chapter makes Julian appear rude?
Do you think he is being rude intentionally or by accident?
 How can Julian improve his behaviour? What does August’s
reaction to Julian’s rudeness reveal about August’s character?

p. 31 Chapter 11 The Deal

The children return to the office where the parents and Mr. Tushman
are talking. The awkward atmosphere resumes and the children talk
about which rooms they went to. August signals to his mother that
he wants to leave by asking her if it isn’t time to pick up his sister,
which is a lie he made up. However, his mother plays along with the
lie which allows them to leave “kind of quickly after that.” (p32)
August notes himself how quickly they then left, and admits to the
reader that Julian had made him feel bad: “even though it was really
only Julian who made me feel kind of bad.” (p32) At the end of the
chapter, August and his mother leave the school building. August is
described as facing the floor.

 Do you think August is being truthful towards his mother when

he says that he liked the school?
 When the students are back in the office, why does August
want to leave and why does his mother play along with his lie
about his sister?
 “but I didn’t look at them – or look up at all – until I left the
building” Why did August not look at the other children when
he walked out?
 Why did August tell Mr. Tushman that “everyone was really
nice” as he was leaving?

Vocabulary Table
Page Word Definition
6 Cleft palate A cleft is a gap or
split in the upper lip
and/or roof of the
mouth (palate). It is
present from birth
6 Anomalies (plural noun) a person or thing
that is different from
what is usual, or not
in agreement with
something else and
therefore not
satisfactory
7 Overcometh (verb) Archaic third-person
singular simple
 present indicative
form of “overcome”
16 Electives (plural noun) an optional course of
study
25 Incubator (singular noun) a device for keeping
birds' eggs at the
correct temperature
to allow young birds
to develop until they
break out of the shell
25 Bunsen burners device for combining
a flammable gas with
controlled amounts
of air before ignition;
it produces a hotter
flame than would be
possible using the
ambient air and gas
alone
Events timeline

August introduces himself to the reader. He

tells the reader briefly about his parents,
Chapter 1
his protective sister, and his
“extraordinariness” (we are not given a
specific time or place for the beginning of
the novel)

Time: one week before the start of school.

Place: North River Heights (NY, USA)August
Chapter 2
explains why he has not gone to school so
far. He also talks about his old friends

August tells the reader the funny story of

his birth. A story that his mom apparently
Chapter 3
tells best.

Re-tells what happened when they

visited Christopher last spring.
Overhears his mother and Lisa talk
Chapter 4 about him attending school in the fall.
Expresses to his parents that he would
rather not go to school.

Place: on the road in the car. Time: after

Chapter 5 visiting Christopher. They talk to August
about starting school, meanwhile Via is
asleep.
Events Timeline Time: sometime after the drive home,
before the official start of school
Mother and August go to Beech prep
Chapter 6
and meet Mr. Tushman. He offers a
tour of the school

Place: in the school, hallway, and

office. Time: just a few minutes after.
Chapter 7 Mr. Tushman introduces August and
his mother to Mrs. Garcia who is the
middle school director
Same place. Same time
Mrs. Garcia and Mr. Tushman further
Chapter 8 talk to mother and August. Mr.
Tushman brings in three children to
give August a tour of the school

Same time same place

They visited the homeroom and after
Chapter 9
that the science lab. August feels
alienated through Julian, who is rude
to him

Same time, in the Performance space

The children come to the performance
Chapter 10 space. Charlotte talks about the play
they did last year.

In the office, same time

The children go back to the office and
Chapter 11
they talk about their tour briefly. August
urges his mother to leave so they leave