How does Wonder end?
Wonder ends with August, his sister Via, their parents, his friend Jack and his family, his friend Summer and her mother, and a variety of other people close to August heading to the Pullman family home for cake and ice cream. They have just attended August's awards ceremony at Beecher Prep, at which August had the wonderful surprise of being this year's recipient of the Henry Ward Beecher medal, which is awarded each year to a student who has proved to be remarkable and provided services to the school.
The final chapter is called "The walk home." August describes the day as being beautiful, and he is still on cloud nine in the aftermath of receiving this award. Noticing that his mother was hanging back slightly from the group, Auggie drops back to walk with her and thanks her for being the one to encourage him to give up...
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homeschooling and enroll at Beecher Prep. His mother responds by telling him that he really is a "wonder."
The only thing that comes after this chapter is a list of the precepts that Mr. Browne had given August's class throughout the year and a list of the precepts that students posted to Mr. Browne over the course of that summer. It is interesting to note that the precept written by our antagonist, Julian Albans, seems to imply that Julian wishes to change. This bodes well for August having a great sixth grade.
Does Wonder have a sad ending?
It could be argued that Wonder gets off to a sad start, as we meet this boy whose life has been shaped by his facial abnormalities. However, the ending of the book, which coincides with the end of his fifth grade year, is a happy one.
The journey of adapting from being a home-schooled child to a student at Beecher Prep has not always been smooth-sailing for August Pullman. At the end of the book, however, he has a list of new friends, topped by Jack Will and Summer Dawson. He has seen other kids from his school come to his defense when he was bullied at an inter-school camp, and he has learned that his abnormalities do not need to control his destiny.
The last event in this book is the school's awards ceremony at the end of the year, and August has a wonderful surprise coming. He discovers that he is the recipient of the Henry Ward Beecher medal, which is awarded to a student who has stood out from the crowd and offered great services to the school throughout that year.
This was a great way to wrap up the story, as it shows that August's first year at "real" school has been a resounding success. The novel ends with everyone who is important to August gathered at his home for cake and ice cream.