Weird Kids

 

"He's just a kid. The weirdest-looking kid I've ever seen, yes. But just a kid."

 

 

This was absolutely, by far, my favorite line in the entire book. This picture is my favorite picture. The quote is so true. The difference in August from the other children may be largely noticeable to the human eye, but he is the same kid within. This picture portrays the differences in each child. Every child is uniquely different and our differences is what makes us all so special. 



This is my favorite part of the book, because it is the most important message the book contains. "Don't judge a boy by his face" and the original saying "don't judge a book by it's cover" is a valuable lesson for not only Via, but for the reader. It is so important that reader takes away the understanding that our packing does not necessarily identify the contents. It is not until we take the time to look inside and recognize the beauty of every individual that we will fully appreciate a person. Once we are able to see past August's deformity we see a beautiful spirit.

Miranda

 

 

Miranda's character is most  interesting to me, and the one I most relate want to understand. She seems confused and lost in her life and I wondered if she made up the lies to be more interesting or if she needed a sense of belonging. I felt this way especially when she tells the people at camp that she has a brother who is deformed.  When she tells these lies about her family it helps to pass the time makes camp go by faster. Miranda wants to be included in the attention August receives from his deformity. She wants people to feel sorry for her and she likes attention. 
This is not the first time Miranda seeks out attention by telling the lie that she had a brother that was deformed. She also, used this story when she realized what play the teacher had chosen in  theater.  .

Justin

Justin

Sometimes I think my head is so big

because it is so full of dreams.

-John Merrick in Bernard Pomerance's

The Elephant Man

 

"i like to think i'm able to hide my surprise. i hope i do. surprise is one of those emotions that can be hard to fake, though, whether you're trying to look surprised when you're not trying to not look surprised when you are."

 

I like Justin and his mature character. He is nurturing and kind and treats the boys like they are his own little brothers. I like that he was conscience of his reaction and wants to make sure that he is able to hide his surprise. I love Justin's insight that he will never mistreat his kids like his parents did and is already showing his ability to tend to the needs of children by his kindness to Via, Jack and Auggie.

Jack

I liked Jack's character, not because of the horrible things he said to August, but because of his regret. I think Jack is one of the most relatable characters, because we have all been guilty of saying and doing things that we are not proud of and wish we could take them back.

I like the progression of the relationship as Jack develops a genuine friendship with August and becomes his friend. Jack being frustrated because some of his closer friends had stopped hanging out with him is completely normal behavior. 

"I got notes like: Freak! And another that said: Get out of our school, orc!" pg. 208

"The didn't play tricks on me, I think, because they knew that if they got caught "bullying me" it would be big-time trouble for them. Jack, they figured, was an easier target." The monkey in the middle in the locker room, swiping the paper off his desk and other torments of dropping pencil shavings in his backpack. Bullying is terrorizing regardless of who you are. Picking on Auggie because he was deformed is no different than teasing Jack and picking on him because he was an "easy target". Bullying is mean and something that seems to be taking it's toll in schools today. I hate bullying and the effects it has on kids. I hate kids feeling unsafe, unwanted and unloved.

 

"I had warned Mom about August's face. I had described what he looked like. I did this because I know she's not always good at faking her feelings, and August was coming over for the first time today." pg. 127
This reminded me of how as a mother I have explained to my kids time and time again that first impressions are so important and how we react and what we say will be remembered, so be careful. I loved how it was the child asking his mother to be mindful. This rings so true, because even as adults we have a tendency to judge the package instead of its contents and react with disgust even when we don't know we are.  The mother struggles to hide the expression on her face at first, an expression of horror that she did not even realize she was portraying.