Wonder Characters

Dream On What I wanted was to go to school, but only if I could be like every other kid going to school. Have lots of friends and hang out after school and stuff like that. (1.Why I Didn't Go To Sc...

Space OddityThe epigraph for part two of Wonder, narrated by Auggie's big sister Via, is from David Bowie's "Space Oddity." Check it out: Far above the world. Planet Earth is blue, And there's noth...

Will Jack?It's hard to beat the author for analysis of one of her own characters. So let's start with Ms. Palacio for some general thoughts on Auggie's best friend, Jack Will. She writes: Jack is a...

Hot Stuff We know there's no steamy romance with Summer (this book is about fifth graders, after all), but she's so wonderful that Warm and Sunny just wasn't going to cut it as a header for this se...

Miranda is a tricky character. Via's former BFF, she's suddenly changed a lot (hey there, hot pink hair) and isn't paying much attention to Via anymore. Since Via is so great, this makes Miranda pr...

Hey, Justin—what's your beef with the shift key? Would it hurt you to press it from time to time at the start of a sentence? Just kidding—we aren't actually complaining. Because the thing about...

August and Via sum Julian up pretty neatly in the following brief exchange:"Okay, so is he the kind of kid who's one way in front of grown-ups and another way in front of kids?""Yeah, I guess.""Ah,...

Isabel and Nate Pullman—a.k.a. Auggie and Via's mom and dad—aren't deeply drawn characters. As R.J. Palacio says:They may seem a bit idealized, but that's only because we never really hear from...

These boys start out as Julian's friends. Julian is a popular kid and they're his posse, his unquestioning minions. And while they don't do anything overtly mean to Auggie, they sure don't look for...

Charlotte's nice. That's about all we know. She takes no risks on anyone's behalf, thank you very much, and she's all about self-preservation.Savanna's a frenemy/mean girl-in-the-making. She invite...

Mr. Tushman, the principal of Beecher Middle School, appears at certain key points in the story, but we have the sense that he's always paying attention behind the scenes. In the wake of Jack punch...

Mr. Browne is probably one of those teachers that people remember forever. English class is awesome, of course, but at the root of studying great literature is learning what it is to be human. Mr....

We don't know all that much about Julian's mother, Melissa Albans, but what we do know doesn't paint a very flattering picture.She's the mom of the meanest kid in the fifth grade.She photoshops Aug...