The book and movie Wonder was very powerful as it challenged the idea of judging a person purely based on their looks. Prior to watching the movie I had read the book which I believe is the more impactful version of the story, however, the movie provides a visual aid to the issue and really puts it into perspective.

In Wonder, August looks different to everybody else due to a disability and the book and movie portray his struggles and how people treat him when he finally enters school life and is exposed to other people and society as a whole. His single story is his face, but the writer goes beyond that single story. I have never discriminated against people depending on their looks but with someone who looks like Auggie, it may be a little more intimidating to befriend them and Wonder made me really reflect on the fact that people are so much more than their looks. August is so much more than just his face and his identity goes far beyond the surface and people who look or seem different deserve to be treated equally. Wonder made my heart ache for all the feelings that August felt, reading the book made it feel first hand and no person deserves to feel those feelings. I read this book many many years ago and thinking about it again today makes me think about how little I see people who have facial differences represented on social media or normalised in general and it is a reminder of how important the message in the book is. It taught me as a young child to always look beyond a persons looks or disability and to always be kind!

Palacio, R. J. (2012). Wonder. Knopf Books for Young Readers.