Wonder: Part One

by R.J. Palacio
In this novel, a boy with facial anomalies tries to navigate the sometimes treacherous world of public school.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Part One, Part Two, Parts Three–Six, Parts Seven–Eight
15 words 44474 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. petrified
    struck with fear and unable to move
    Next week I start fifth grade. Since I’ve never been to a real school before, I am pretty much totally and completely petrified.
  2. cleft
    split or divided
    They told Mom and Dad I had a cleft palate and some other stuff going on.
  3. palate
    the surface of the mouth separating oral and nasal cavities
    They told Mom and Dad I had a cleft palate and some other stuff going on.
  4. anomaly
    deviation from the normal or common order, form, or rule
    They told Mom and Dad I had a cleft palate and some other stuff going on. They called it “small anomalies.”
  5. hysterical
    marked by excessive or uncontrollable emotion
    They were practically fighting, because Mom was hysterical and the farting nurse was yelling at her to stay calm, and then they both started screaming for the doctor.
  6. hindsight
    understanding the nature of an event after it has happened
    “But you’re right, Auggie, we should’ve told you when we found out last month that you got in,” said Dad.
    “In hindsight,” sighed Mom, “yes, I guess.”
  7. elective
    a course that the student can select from among alternatives
    “But you don’t have to take the theater-arts elective if you don’t want to,” Charlotte said, shrugging. “There’s dance or chorus or band. There’s leadership.”
  8. schlep
    a tedious or difficult journey
    “It’ll be a bit of a schlep, though. The A train down to Eighty-Sixth, then the crosstown bus all the way to the East Side. Takes an hour that way but it’s just a fifteen-minute drive.”
  9. precept
    a rule of personal conduct
    Basically, a precept is anything that helps guide us when making decisions about really important things.
  10. alignment
    adjusting the parts of something in relation to each other
    And even though I had jaw-alignment surgery a few years ago, I have to chew food in the front of my mouth.
  11. contagious
    (of disease) capable of being spread by infection
    They would take the longest way around me to avoid bumping into me in any way, like I had some germ they could catch, like my face was contagious.
  12. unsuspecting
    not aware of or expecting something
    In the hallways, which were always crowded, my face would always surprise some unsuspecting kid who maybe hadn’t heard about me.
  13. coincidence
    an accidental event that seems to have been arranged
    The teachers assigned seats in every class, and I ended up sitting next to Jack in every single class, so I figured either the teachers were told to put me and Jack together, or it was a totally incredible coincidence.
  14. mortality
    the quality or state of being subject to death
    The things we do outlast our mortality.
  15. aversion
    a feeling of intense dislike
    I stopped letting anyone take pictures of me a while ago. I guess you could call it a phobia. No, actually, it’s not a phobia. It’s an “aversion,” which is a word I just learned in Mr. Browne’s class. I have an aversion to having my picture taken.
Created on Sat Aug 24 18:56:54 EDT 2013 (updated Thu Jul 10 18:55:30 EDT 2025)

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