Wonder Chapter 1 Summary

Ordinary

  • Part 1 of Wonder is called "August"—as in our main man, not the last month of summer vacation.
  • With this in mind, it makes sense that the book begins with Auggie introducing himself by explaining some of the ways he is and isn't ordinary.
  • Ordinary: he eats ice cream, rides his bike, has an Xbox and a dog.
  • Not ordinary: ordinary kids run screaming when they see his face.
  • If he had only one wish ever in his entire life, Auggie would wish for a normal face.
  • Auggie's family has gotten pretty good at ignoring the reactions of others when they see his face. Except for Via, his sister, that is—she still isn't any good at tolerating rudeness.
  • Auggie can boil the ordinary/not-ordinary discussion down to "the only reason I'm not ordinary is that no one else sees me that way" (1.Ordinary.2).
  • And no, he's not going to describe himself.