How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"If I looked like that," said the Julian voice, kind of laughing, "I swear to God, I'd put a hood over my face every day."
"I've thought about this a lot," said the second mummy, sounding serious, "and I really think…if I looked like him, seriously, I think that I'd kill myself." (1.The Bleeding Scream.8-9)
Julian has worn the Darth Sidious mask on Halloween probably in hopes of upsetting Auggie—and before Auggie is even on the scene, Julian uses the mask to initiate an Auggie-bashing session. While it's understandable that kids in Auggie's class try to imagine how they'd cope with having a face like Auggie, they've just likened him to Darth Sidious, a shrunken head, and an orc.
Quote #8
His eyes are about an inch below where they should be on his face, almost to halfway down his cheeks. They slant downward at an extreme angle, almost like. […] His head is pinched in on the sides where the ears should be, like someone used giant pliers and crushed the middle part of his face. He doesn't have cheekbones. There are deep creases running down both sides of his nose to his mouth, which gives him a waxy appearance. Sometimes people assume he's been burned in a fire: his features look like they've been melted, like the drippings on the side of a candle. (2.August Through the Peephole.1)
Do you or someone you know have a facial difference? Has reading Wonder made you better prepared to navigate these sorts of variations in appearances? That's really all this is, after all—a variation in appearance.
Quote #9
"I bet you they put a picture of their dog on the card every year," I said.
She took the card from my hands and looked at the picture carefully. Then she raised her eyebrows and her shoulders and gave me back the card. "We're very lucky, Jack. There's so much we take for granted…"
"I know," I said. I knew what she was talking about without her having to say it. (4.Season's Greetings.4-6)
Just go there with Jack's mom for a minute, and think about all the things most people generally take for granted. Are you grateful every day for your face? Probably not. And let's not stop there—for most of us, our lives are filled with things we take for granted, like walking, talking, seeing, hearing, and much more. Now try to imagine how your life might be different without any one of these gifts.