Young Adult Literature: Coming of Age
Since Wonder is all about ten-year-old August Pullman's struggle for acceptance in middle school, it definitely fits into the young adult lit category. From trying to be popular to just trying to fit in, and from the lunch room to the playground, all the kids—not just Auggie—are trying to figure out who they are and how they want the world to know them.
The coming of age aspect of the book centers on Auggie transitioning from the sheltered culture of homeschooling that he's always known to mainstream, private school fifth grade. He has to stop hiding his face from the world in order to navigate complicated social terrain he's never experienced before, and figure out how to handle both friends and foes with courage, kindness, humor, and dignity.