Wonder Summary: Plot, Characters and Ending
Wonder follows August Pullman, a ten-year-old boy born with a rare facial difference, as he goes to a real school for the first time. Over one year in fifth grade he faces stares, cruelty and betrayal, but also finds true friends, and the whole school learns something about kindness.
The story is told by Auggie and by several people around him, including his sister Via.
| Character | Who they are |
|---|---|
| August (Auggie) Pullman | Ten-year-old boy starting school |
| Via | Auggie's protective older sister |
| Jack Will | Auggie's friend |
| Summer | Kind girl who sits with Auggie at lunch |
| Julian | Boy who bullies Auggie |
| Mr. Tushman | Principal of Beecher Prep |
| Mr. Browne | English teacher with monthly precepts |
How does Auggie's first year begin?
After years of surgeries and homeschooling, Auggie starts fifth grade at Beecher Prep in New York. Mr. Tushman asks three students, Jack, Julian and Charlotte, to show him around. Julian is mean from the start. Summer sits with Auggie at lunch because she wants to, and Jack becomes his close friend.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens at Halloween?
On Halloween, Auggie wears a different costume than he told everyone about, and in disguise he overhears Jack saying cruel things about him to Julian. Heartbroken, he pulls away from Jack. Summer eventually tells Jack why. Jack, ashamed, punches Julian when he insults Auggie, which starts a war in which most of the class sides with Julian.
↑ Back to the topWhat is going on with Via?
Via's chapters show what it is like to be the sister whose needs come second. She starts high school, her old best friend Miranda drifts away, and she meets her boyfriend Justin. She is cast in the school play and at first doesn't tell her family. The Pullmans' old dog Daisy dies, and everyone grieves together.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens at the nature retreat?
Jack and Auggie make up, and the war slowly fades. At a fifth-grade nature retreat, older boys from another school pick on Auggie in the woods at night. Jack and two of Julian's former friends, Amos and Henry, defend him. Afterward, the class treats Auggie as one of their own.
↑ Back to the topHow does Wonder end?
Julian's parents complain about Auggie, but Mr. Tushman stands firm, and Julian's family decides he will leave the school. At graduation, Auggie is given the Henry Ward Beecher Medal for quiet strength and for having the greatest influence on the people around him. He realizes he really is a wonder, and his mother tells him so.
↑ Back to the topMore about Wonder
This summary reveals the whole plot, including the ending.