This book has been on my TBR for quite some time already, but of course, with so many books on my list, I never got around to reading it. Recently though, my nephew's school assigned this one for all the students to read, so I figured I would read along as well. I'm so glad I did, as I ended up loving it so much! From the first page, as August Pullman narrated his experience attending middle school for the first time after being home-schooled most of his life, I couldn't help falling in love with this smart, funny, precocious kid — a kid who had to endure more than his share of grief and pain in life because of his face, yet always managed to take everything in stride. Auggie knows he is different and by now, he is used to all the stares as well as the weird looks and whispering behind his back — but even so, that in no way prepares him for what he ends up experiencing at school or the various challenges that cropped up in his interactions with his classmates. As Auggie navigated these challenges, encountering both good moments as well as bad ones, I also couldn't help rooting for him every step of the way.
While majority of the story was told from Auggie's perspective, there were also chapters told from the points of view of various people in Auggie's life, such as his sister and her boyfriend, his classmates, his sister's childhood friend, etc. This narrative structure took me by surprise, yet I loved the way it was done, as it gave so much more depth to the story and also made the characters come alive. The narrative from the perspective of Auggie's sister Via moved me the most, followed by his classmate Jack's narrative as well as the one by Justin (Via's boyfriend).
Not surprisingly, this was an emotional read from beginning to end. Auggie's journey is heart wrenching but also uplifting, and It's impossible not to be moved by his courage as well as resilience. Even though I knew throughout the time I was reading this that the story is fictional (and R.J. Palacio emphasizes this fact in her Author's Note when she talks about her inspiration for the story), it nonetheless felt so real to me that, at times, I I would forget that Auggie isn't a real person — regardless though, what he stands for and the powerful impact of his story is the most important. Despite being marketed as a novel for children, the story actually contains life lessons for all ages and absolutely deserves to be read — though of course, be ready for the roller coaster of emotions that will undoubtedly accompany this one (I cried pretty much the entire time I was reading this, so it was a good thing that I read the entire book all in one sitting).
Lastly, I know there was a movie adaptation of the book and while I'm not a fan of adaptations in general, I heard that the movie was particularly well done, so this is one I definitely intend to watch at some point.
No comments:
Post a Comment