Why I So, So, So Loved the Julian Chapter

Wonder by R.J. Palacio
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

With the Julian Chapter added, I moved my rating from three stars to four; it made a story I liked into something that inspired me.

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This book has gotten lots of well-deserved attention on its own, so I don't need to describe the plot or even say how wonderful it is.  A chorus of voices have already said that.  I'll just say what might add something new to the discussion, which is: why I so, so, so loved the Julian Chapter.

First, Julian's grandmother was a well-rounded character, complex, human.  She had survived the Holocaust, and learned the importance of kindness, but "she still liked good clothes." She had been through a refiner's fire but had a frivolous pursuit or two.

Moreover, her son and grandson were not copies of her; they hadn't been through what she had been through.  Although she herself probably would have behaved kindly to Auggie had she met him, her grandson had yet to learn compassion.  And eventually, with her, his heart did change.

Second, Julian's change of heart took place away from Auggie.  That's realistic because in real life, people pass in and out our lives without neatly tied-up endings.  Someone who was a complete jerk to us may someday change, but it's unusual that we would get to see it.  We just carry the memory of how awful they were.  But God sees what they can and do become.  That's why he tells us not to judge.  He commands us to forgive because He intends that every person can rise above the bad they were before, and when they change for the better, he doesn't want others tying them down to how they were before.  We don't usually get it right on the first try, so "sometimes it's good to start over."