Wonder

Why does Palacio give us six narrators instead of telling the entire story from Auggie's perspective? What would we lose if the novel stayed entirely inside Auggie's head?

Auggie says 'I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.' Why does Palacio refuse to give us a clinical description of Auggie's face? What effect does this choice have on the reader?

Via says she is 'the kid my parents worry about least.' Is this a gift or a loss? How does Palacio use Via's experience to complicate the novel's celebration of Auggie?

Justin's sections are written in lowercase with minimal punctuation. Why does Palacio change the visual appearance of the text for his voice? What does this formal choice communicate about Justin's character?

Jack Will mocks Auggie during Halloween without knowing Auggie is listening. He didn't mean for it to reach Auggie. Does this make it better or worse? What does the novel say about unwitnessed cruelty?

Summer sits with Auggie on the first day of school without thinking about it. The novel treats this as a small act that changes everything. Is Palacio right that ordinary kindness has extraordinary power? Or is she being too optimistic?

Julian is never given a narrator section in the main novel. Why not? What would we lose — and gain — if we understood his perspective?

Miranda invents a disabled brother named August at summer theater to gain sympathy. Is she villainous for this? What does this behavior reveal about how disability functions socially?

Mr. Browne's precepts are philosophical maxims that structure the novel's sections. Does the novel earn these direct statements of its theme, or do they feel didactic? What's the difference between a story that shows its themes and one that states them?

The kids at Beecher Prep call avoiding Auggie 'the plague' — touching him or anything he's touched makes you infected. What does this language tell us about how group cruelty organizes itself?

At the nature retreat, it's Amos, Miles, and Henry — former Julian allies — who defend Auggie from the older boys. Why does their defense mean more than Summer's friendship or Jack's loyalty?

Auggie's family is clearly loving and functional. Does this give him an unfair advantage in the novel — does Wonder only work because Auggie has exceptional parents?

Palacio was inspired to write Wonder because she drove away from a child with a facial difference at an ice cream shop. If she had stayed and talked to that child instead, would the novel still exist — and would it be the same novel?

The first precept is 'When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind.' Is this always good advice? Can you think of situations where the precept would produce wrong results?

Auggie uses Star Wars as a framework for understanding his life — the Force, the good side, the helmet that hides a face. How does popular culture serve as an emotional scaffolding for children navigating suffering?

Via says she hoped for a normal high school experience where nobody knew about Auggie. Is this a betrayal? Is it understandable? What would you do in her situation?

Compare Wonder to a news story about a real child with a craniofacial difference. What can a novel do that journalism cannot? Why might fiction be a more powerful tool for generating empathy than documentary?

The novel ends with a standing ovation and Auggie winning an award. Is this too happy an ending? What does the choice of a warm, hopeful ending say about what Palacio thinks literature is for?

Jack punches Julian. The novel doesn't fully condemn this. What does the scene reveal about the limits of the 'choose kind' philosophy when sustained injustice has no other available exit?

Auggie says that his biggest teacher is his dog Daisy. What does Palacio gain by having the most uncomplicated love in the novel be a dog's? What can animals do in fiction that humans cannot?

If you were in Auggie's class, what do you think you would actually do on the first day of school? Be honest — and then think about what changes between your honest answer and the ideal answer.

Mr. Tushman gives Auggie the Henry Ward Beecher Medal because Auggie has 'pulled up the most people around him by the sheer force of his character.' What does this award say about how we frame the value of people with disabilities in educational settings?

Palacio uses six narrators. Which narrator's sections are the most honest? Which narrator is the most reliable? Are these the same narrator?

The phrase 'the plague' — used by kids to describe avoiding Auggie — is never used by any adult in the novel. What does this tell us about how children and adults inhabit the same social space differently?

Wonder was rejected eleven times before publication. If it had never been published, what would have been lost? Think about what a book does that a private act of moral repair — like Palacio talking to the child at the ice cream shop — cannot do.

Palacio introduces Auggie through his own voice before giving us any description of his appearance. Compare this to how you first learned about another character's appearance in any book you've read. Why does order matter when introducing a character defined by their face?

The novel is set in a private school. How would the story change if Auggie attended a public school? Does socioeconomic setting affect the kind of bullying, the kind of kindness, and the kind of resolution the novel depicts?

The Pullman parents made the decision to send Auggie to school without fully asking him whether he wanted to go. Was this the right decision? How does the novel portray parental authority over children's choices?

At the end of the novel, Auggie's face toward the sun is the final image. Why does Palacio end with Auggie's face rather than his words?

Wonder has been adapted into a film, a graphic novel, and companion books. What is lost when a novel told through multiple intimate voices becomes a visual medium? What can film do that the novel cannot, and vice versa?