【1995 Archives】

995 Archivesfirst thing you'll notice about author R.J. Palacio is her incredible optimism.

Even while talking about school bullying, the author refuses to believe that children are inherently mean.

“I feel like kids really do want to do good, they want to be their best selves, and sometimes they don’t know how to do that. There’s never a kid who’s irredeemable,” she says.

SEE ALSO: This browser extension turns your angry Facebook emoji into real social action

That's a major theme of Palacio's best-selling book Wonder,which was recently adapted into a movie staring Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson.

The novel for young readers follows a year in the life of Auggie Pullman, a 10-year-old boy who is starting the 5th grade. Auggie was born with facial differences resulting in numerous surgeries, which have kept him homeschooled and away from his peers until now. Now, entering school for the first time, Auggie and his community must find the courage to accept each other, despite their differences.

In addition to outlining Auggie's journey, Wonderis a moving treatise on the power of extreme kindness in the face of unthinkable adversity.

"When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind," Palacio writes.

This week on The MashReads Podcast,we talk to R.J. Palacio about her novel Wonderand kindness.

Mashable Top Stories Stay connected with the hottest stories of the day and the latest entertainment news. Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Wonder

R.J. Palacio

Interview Highlights

(Interview edited for length and clarity. For the full interview, listen to the MashReads Podcast episode above.)

What inspired this story? I heard that it was based off a true encounter.

About 10 years ago, I was with my two sons outside of an ice cream store, and we found ourselves sitting in very close proximity to a little girl who had very significant craniofacial differences. My little son got a little frightened and started to cry, and in my haste, I whisked him away to avoid her seeing him react to her face. Afterward, I regretted it because I missed this opportunity to turn this situation into a teaching moment for my son. That’s what prompted my thinking of what it must be like to face a world every day that doesn’t quite know how to face you back.

A lot of people have cried while reading this book and will cry watching this movie. Did you make yourself cry [while writing]?

I did! Because I had a 9-to-5 job and two children, the only time I could find to write was in the middle of the night, from midnight to 3 in the morning, because it was the only quiet time. I would find myself at 2 in the morning sobbing over my little keyboard.

There is a word I heard a lot while talking about this book, which is “heart.” That's a hard thing to approach, especially when you're talking about kids in 5th grade, where people imagine they can be cruel. How do you write about this age group with so much heart and empathy?

The narrative we’ve come to expect and accept about middle schoolers being mean and middle schoolers being cruel and all of that is one that don’t subscribe to. While kids can be mean, I’ve also experienced tremendous nobility. What I’ve seen in children is they reach out to support each other when they’re down. Kids have an innate nobility that needs to be urged on a little bit and inspired.

Then, as always, we close the show with recommendations:

• R.J. recommends City of Thievesby David Benioff. “It was such a great read, it was a perfect airplane read, it was really a lot of fun.” She also recommends the Wondermovie, of course.

• MJ recommends Caity Weaver’s GQprofile of Gal Gadot “The Gal Gadot Next Door.” “It’s phenomenal. Once again [Caity Weaver’s] just flexing her writing muscles and showing off.”

And if you're looking for even more book news, don't forget to follow MashReadson Facebook and Twitter. 

---

Featured Video For You

---

Connie Britton reveals how "clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose" applies to the real world

---

Topics Books

• Entertainment
• Shopping
• Deals
• Digital Culture
• Science
• Tech
• Games
• Social Good

• Best Amazon Fire TV Cube deal: Save $30 at Amazon
• The Burning House by Hanya Yanagihara
• BeReal introduces new features to draw users back to the platform
• TikTok is full of diet, nutrition, and weight loss advice. It's a mess to navigate.
• 'Mario Kart World' Nintendo Direct: 3 takeaways
• City Dreams by Bodys Isek Kingelez
• Bumble launches badges for Mental Health Awareness Month
• The Legend of Joaquín Murieta: A History of Racialized Violence
• The fat bears are already extremely fat
• Redux: In Dire Straits by The Paris Review

• Apple M2 MacBook Air teardown reveals an odd detail
• How erotic fanfiction lets women explore their sexuality without shame
• How to link your lock screen to a Focus mode with iOS 16
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4 pictures leak
• Facebook launches new Feeds and Home tabs on its app
• How to buy an NFT safely without getting scammed
• 7 easy ways to not annoy your teammates when gaming online with a microphone
• Donald Trump says he's down for a comedian
• CNN sues White House over Jim Acosta's press pass
• 'Elden Ring' Grand Lift medallions: Where to find them, what you'll face

• Best rope light deal: Save 25% on Lepro N1 AI Smart RGB LED Strip Lights
• A Life of Reading Is Never Lonely
• How TikTok turned reading into an aesthetic
• The internet goes wild over a bonkers NFL Draft Round 1
• Put Me In, Coach!
• The Melancholy of the Hedgehog
• An Editorial Exchange: Donald Hall and George Plimpton by Donald Hall
• Michael Stipe, R.E.M., and the Anxiety of Influence
• How to Reboot and Reset Android Devices
• Behold, 20 of the funniest YouTube videos ever, according to Reddit

• Best earbuds deal: Save 20% on Soundcore Sport X20 by Anker
• Donald Hall, Who Gave His Life to Work and Eros
• TikTok is full of diet, nutrition, and weight loss advice. It's a mess to navigate.
• Doja Cat, Lil Nas X and more 2023 Met Gala cat looks
• Patched Desktop PC: Meltdown & Spectre Benchmarked
• The Art of Spooning
• Redux: Snared By Sin by The Paris Review
• Poetry Rx: There Will Never Be More of Summer Than There Is Now by Sarah Kay
• 4GHz CPU Battle: AMD 2nd
• Early Cyber Monday Kindle deals: Kindle Scribe at its lowest price ever