The primary setting of the Wonder takes place in August's neighborhood of North River Heights, which he says is at the tip of Manhattan.
R.J. Palacio's celebrated story Wonder explores the trials and tribulations of a ten-year-old boy named August Pullman, who suffers from a rare facial deformity, which has left him disfigured. August lives with his mother, father, and sister, Via, in North River Heights, along with their dog Daisy.
Initially, August is home-schooled but his parents decide to enroll him in a nearby private middle school named Beecher Prep, which is only a few blocks away from their house. August is hesitant to begin middle school and fears that he will be alienated and ridiculed because of his severe facial deformity. Although August is teased and bullied to a certain extent, he demonstrates incredible resolve and ends up making genuine friends.
In addition to the...
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primary setting, August and his classmates also travel to the Broarwood Nature Reserve in Pennsylvania, which is four hours away from North River Heights. During the three-day nature retreat, August is attacked by a group of seventh graders, but public opinion swings in his favor and he becomes popular among his peers. The novel was also published in 2012 and the story takes place in contemporary times. Overall, the storyWonder is set in the fictional Upper Manhattan area of New York City known as North River Heights, which is where August lives and goes to school.
The physical setting of the book is Upper Manhattan, New York City. The bulk of the story takes place in the townhouse in which August Pullman and his family live and at August's new school, Beecher Prep. Toward the end of the book, August and the entire fifth grade class from Beecher Prep go on a trip to Broarwood Nature Reserve in Pennsylvania, which is described as being a four-hour bus ride from where they live.
The context of the story is that August Pullman is a boy who was born with severe facial deformation and has, as a result, been home-schooled by his mother up until the start of the book. At that point, the decision is made that August would benefit from going into a normal school environment for his fifth grade year. The story details the ups and downs of August's first year at Beecher Prep and describes what he and his classmates learn about friendship and kindness.