It’s been a while since we heard any news on the planned adaptation ofR.J. Palacio’sbest-selling and award-winning novelWonder, but today changed that in a big way.Julia Roberts, whose filmMoney Monsteris due to premiere at Cannes in a week, has signed on to star in the adaptation. She’ll be playing the mother of a boy with a facial deformity, a boy to be played by the breakoutRoomstar,Jacob Tremblay.
AsTHRreports, Roberts will play the mother of August Pullman, a boy attending a mainstream school for the first time as he begins the fifth grade. Due to a “facial difference,” Auggie’s hopes of fitting in and being treated like an ordinary kid are soon dashed as his classmates focus on his extraordinary face. As if the pairing of Roberts and Tremblay weren’t already great enough,The Perks of Being a WallflowerdirectorStephen Chboskywill direct from a script bySteve Conrad(The Pursuit of Happyness).
Here’s the official synopsis of the Palacio book,Wonder(viaAmazon):
August Pullman was born with a facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face.WONDER, now a #1New York Timesbestseller and included on the Texas Bluebonnet Award master list, begins from Auggie’s point of view, but soon switches to include his classmates, his sister, her boyfriend, and others. These perspectives converge in a portrait of one community’s struggle with empathy, compassion, and acceptance.
“Wonder is the best kids' book of the year,” said Emily Bazelon, senior editor at Slate.com and author ofSticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy. In a world where bullying among young people is an epidemic, this is a refreshing new narrative full of heart and hope.R.J. Palaciohas called her debut novel “a meditation on kindness” —indeed, every reader will come away with a greater appreciation for the simple courage of friendship. Auggie is a hero to root for, a diamond in the rough who proves thatyou can’t blend in when you were born to stand out.
