Name: The Julian Chapter: A Wonder Story
ISBN: 9780553499087

R. J. Palacio

WONDER IS NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING JULIA ROBERTS AND JACOB TREMBLAY! Over 6 million people have read the #1 New York Times bestseller Wonder—the book that inspired the Choose Kind movement—and have fallen in love with Auggie Pullman, an ordinary boy with an extraordinary face. From the very first day Auggie and Julian met in the pages of R. J. Palacio's life-changing book Wonder, it was clear they were never going to be friends, with Julian treating Auggie like he had the plague. And while Wonder told Auggie's story through six different viewpoints, Julian's perspective was never shared. Readers could only guess what he was thinking. Until now. The Julian Chapter will finally reveal the bully's side of the story. Why is Julian so unkind to Auggie? And does he have a chance for redemption?

The Julian Chapter: A Wonder Story

Darcy Lambert

I read Wonder first. It was interesting to hear Julian's perspective. It would make for an interesting discussion if part of a group read Wonder first, and then the Julina Chapter, and another part of a group read The Julian chapter first and then Wonder and yet another group only read Wonder. The perspective of the initial story would be very different.

Hannah Yang

For those of you who've read Wonder, you know that Julian is the bully who makes life pretty tough for Auggie Pullman. In The Julian Chapter, we can finally hear his side of the story.

I think R.J. Palacio does a fantastic job of writing from a kid's perspective. Julian comes off as being a normal, decent kid, who's just a bit afraid of his new classmate. Of course, people do different things about the things they fear, and Julian turned to hatred. Obviously, not the best way to 'face' your fears, but completely normal considering that Julian was just a kid.

  "Sometimes we hate the things we are afraid of," she said.

I liked getting to know Julian's perspective, and though the way he treated Auggie was really despicable, I enjoyed watching him grow as a character. I thought it was nice to know how he felt during his time at Beecher, because you can see him struggle between wanting to be a good kid but at the same time not knowing what to do with his fear. Also, we can see how he learned from these experiences afterwards.

  I mean, some of the stuff she was saying sounded kind of... I don't know. Kind of harsh, I guess. It's like when she gets mad at a waiter. You end up feeling sorry for the waiter.

The other characters in The Julian Chapter were wonderfully crafted as well. I especially liked his grandma, who was not only a wonderful person but also one with a lovely backstory. I don't like Julian's parents, especially not his mom (until the end), since they made a load of excuses for their son's clearly unacceptable behavior. I think that's why we see Julian act the way he does - he is spoiled by his parents. I'm happy that he realizes this, (view spoiler)[and I felt like a proud momma bird when he wrote an apology to Auggie. (hide spoiler)]

  REMORSE. I was shaking with remorse. I was crying with remorse. [...] "I called him a freak. I laughed behind his back. I left mean notes!" I screamed. "Mom kept making excuses for why I did that stuff... but there wasn't any excuse. I just did it! And I don't even know why. I don't even know."

Overall, I think The Julian Chapter is a well-written, wonderful addition to the Wonder series, and to put it bluntly: I am happy that Julian isn't as much of a jerk as he seems. I think that as kids, Julian is actually one of the most relatable characters in the Wonder universe. Most kids do stupid things when they don't know how to react to someone; that's why bullying happens and why some kids become social outcasts.

So, if kids can see Julian as a role model: someone who let their hatred go, and became better by starting over, then I think The Julian Chapter has fulfilled its job.

brianna

i.. enjoyed this and i love anything to do with wonder. the writing was a+ and i liked the story i just hate julian and his parent so much i could hardly handle it

Stefanie Sugia

"There's no rule book that tells you how to act in every given situation in life, you know? So what I always say is that it's always better to err on the side of kindness. That's the secret. If you don't know what to do, just be kind. You can't go wrong."
The Julian Chapter is written in Julian's perspective; the character who's known as the bully in the book called Wonder by R.J. Palacio. I'm pretty sure a lot of people who read Wonder are not really fond of Julian's character—obviously because he's a bully and mean to August Pullman, the main character in the book. In this extra chapter, R.J. Palacio took the reader inside Julian's mind to see why he acted the way he did to August? Because there are two sides to every coin, and I'm really intrigued to know what's the story behind this character.
"I'm sorry the year didn't turn out to be a happy one for you, but I hope you take a little time to ask yourself why. Things that happen to us, even the bad stuff, can often teach us a little bit about ourselves."
When Mr. Tushman asked Jack Will, Charlotte, and Julian to take August around school, Julian was the only person who wasn't prepared for August's condition. In fact, meeting August brings back the nightmares that he haven't had in so long. In the past, Julian was traumatized by something terrifying and needed a psychiatrist to finally be able to get past it. Julian hated August for bringing back the nightmares he dreaded so much, and he started making everyone at school hate August. And despite the school's warning about Julian being a bully, Julian doesn't feel any kind of remorse for what he's done—especially since his mother always stood by him for whatever reason. But Julian finally came to a realization when his grandmother told him a story. A story that will change Julian's perspective and took a courageous decision to own up to his mistakes.

I'm amazed at how R.J. Palacio managed to warm my heart with such a short book (or novella). To be completely honest, I was a bit annoyed by Julian's demeanor at the beginning of the book. Even though he have reasons behind his actions, I think that doesn't justify what he did. Julian's mother was equally annoying—but of course I can understand the heart of a mother who only wants to protect her child. My favorite part about the novella is of course Grandmère's story, and how Grandmère can sympathize with what Julian's going through—because she did the exact same thing in the past. I think it's a really heartwarming way to make Julian realize that what he did was wrong and that it's never too late to become a better person. When the story ended, I felt relieved and happy to know that Julian will be okay even if he had to switch school. Below is one of my favorite passages from the book :)) 
"You are so young. The things you did, you know they were not right. But that does not mean you are not capable of doing right. It only means that you chose to do wrong. This is what I mean when I say you made a mistake It was the same with me....
But the good thing about life, Julian, is that we can fix our mistakes sometimes. We learn from them. We get better.... One mistake does not define you, Julian. Do you understand me? You must simply act better next time.".....

Read the full review here: 
http://www.thebookielooker.com/2015/0...

Elaine

This was a really nice addition to the story. You kind of got to see where Julian was coming from and got reasons for why he did what he did, which are not an excuse for his behavior but explain it a little. 
This just added a whole new dimension to the story and also makes it a bit more real, in my opinion. You get to see that there a reasons for certain behaviors, and although these don't excuse a thing, people can learn for their behavior, learn form their mistakes and continue to grow as a person.