The Julian Chapter: A Wonder Story
To prime fans of Wonder (2012) for the upcoming 365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne’s Book of Precepts (2014), Palacio has dropped this bite-size, but still tear-tugging, Kindle Single. Readers know Julian as the bully who gave the facially deformed Auggie a hard time, but this story shines light on Julian so that his blacks and whites become shades of gray. Julian, who delivers his story in exclamation point–filled prose, is revealed to be an emotional kid prone to nightmares, and Palacio allows that some kids would be flat-out scared by Auggie’s looks. Julian’s shock upon first meeting Auggie is almost inexpressible: “Dude! Dude! Dude! Dude! Dude! Dude! Dude! Dude!” Given Julian’s personality, the notes he writes Auggie feel less relentlessly cruel and more the acts of a kid who doesn’t think things through; Julian is shocked to hear himself described as a bully. It’s his parents who guide the rest of his story, taking up arms against the school with Julian as a mere bystander, and this, more than anything, will earn readers’ sympathy. Palacio hits her “choose kind” message hard enough to border on didacticism and the plot has a brick-by-brick linearity, but she remains a wonderfully readable and expressive author. This feels as if it is excised straight from Wonder, making it a perfect addition. Grades 5-8. --Daniel Kraus--This text refers to theAudio CDedition.