Wonder

Via is Auggie’s protective older sister. She doesn’t understand why anyone would treat Auggie rudely just because he looks differently. She reveals that she did see Auggie like other people once before and it made her feel like a horrible person. Because Auggie needs a lot of attention, Via often finds herself suppressing her worries. She feels that her problems can’t possibly compare to Auggie’s, though she often feels frustrated at her parents’ lack of concern for her needs. Everyone knows her as Via, which proves an apt nickname as most people know her “via” her brother. By the time she reaches middle school, however, she wants to be known as Olivia. Being called Olivia effectively separates her from her past, which Auggie has overshadowed. She tests the limits of her new, separate identity when she begins dating Justin. Initially, Via doesn’t want to invite her family to the play she and Justin are involved with, but she eventually has a change of heart. As a result, her family is present to witness her finally take center stage rather than be sidelined. In the lead role, Via receives a standing ovation. 

Auggie’s parents, Isabel and Nate Pullman, are loving, caring people who look after all of Auggie’s needs. Isabel was a children’s book illustrator before she abandoned her career to care for Auggie full time. Nate is a good-natured father and the comedian in the family. Auggie notes that his father knows how to make anyone feel better just by joking. Isabel and Nate initially disagree about Auggie attending school and debate whether the experience will do him more harm than good. By the end of the narrative, however, Auggie thanks his mom for making him go to school.

Daisy is a dog whom Auggie’s father has rescued. She’s been with the family a long time, and she dies near the end of the novel. Daisy is the glue that holds the family together, as well as an example of unconditional love in that she doesn’t see Auggie any differently than the rest of the family. After Daisy’s death, the family must discover how to coalesce without the external object of Daisy. When Auggie imagines seeing her in his room on the morning of his first prolonged trip away from home, she symbolizes that things will be all right in the end.

Summer is the first person to truly befriend Auggie. She sits at his table during lunch when no one else will. She admits that it took time getting used to his face, but she hates how rude people are to him. Summer is very free-spirited, and she is disappointed that other kids in their grade think things like games and dressing up for Halloween are childish. She likes that Auggie still has a sense of wonder. We learn that Summer is bi-racial and that her military father dies a few years ago.

Jack Will is another student who is asked to be a welcome buddy for Auggie. He initially refuses because he doesn’t want to do anything school-related before he has to. Also, he knows what Auggie looks like and doesn’t want to hang out with him. His mother is shocked at the crude language he uses to describe Auggie. When Jack Will’s younger brother shows fear and loathing of Auggie’s face, however, Jack Will realizes that Auggie won’t stand a chance because of how mean older kids can be. He befriends Auggie, initially just because he’s been told to, but he eventually genuinely likes Auggie. In a moment of weakness, however, Jack Will tells Julian that he’d kill himself if he looked like Auggie. Auggie overhears this and breaks off the friendship. Jack Will spends a few chapters trying to figure out what happened and later apologizes when he realizes that Auggie overheard him. He promises to be a real friend, and he backs this up by punching Julian in the face one day when Julian badmouths Auggie. Later, Jack Will protects Auggie when a group of seventh graders threaten him. By the end of the narrative, Jack Will has shown himself to be a true friend.

Julian is approached by Mr. Tushman to be a welcome buddy for Auggie before school starts. Julian agrees, but he’s later revealed to be duplicitous: To adults, he is well-behaved, but to the other children, Julian is rude and mean. Though Julian asks Auggie if he’s been in a fire, when Auggie stands up for himself and corrects Julian’s spelling in front of Charlotte and Jack Will on the tour, Julian sees Auggie as an enemy. Julian is a bully to Auggie for the rest of the narrative. His parents are rich, and he acts like the stereotypical entitled rich brat. His parents seem just like him in that they object to Auggie being at the school and Julian’s mom photoshops Auggie out of the school picture. Julian likes Summer, but she doesn’t like him because of how he treats Auggie. Julian also is friends with Jack Will, but he enlists the entire school to stop being friends with Jack Will as a method to get Jack Will to stop being friends with Auggie. By the end of the narrative, no one wants to be friends with Julian any longer, especially as he’s still rude to Auggie. He won’t be returning to Beecher Prep.

Miranda is one of Via’s best friends—until high school. Miranda goes off to camp for the summer and becomes a different person. She doesn’t tell Via this, and the two find it hard to communicate once school begins. They eventually drift apart. Miranda, however, has always loved Auggie. She gave him an astronaut helmet once that he wore everywhere, and she nicknames him Major Tom. Miranda also loves Via’s parents. Miranda pretends to be sick later in the novel so that Via can take her main role as Emily Webb in Our Town. This act brings the friends back together.

Mr. Tushman is the principal of Beecher Prep middle school. He meets with Auggie’s parents a year prior to them informing Auggie that he’s been accepted. Mr. Tushman eases Auggie into middle school by having students act as welcome buddies for him. Though he doesn’t appear frequently until later chapters, Mr. Tushman is a fierce defender of Auggie and his right to attend school, and he doesn’t back down when Julian’s parents question the school letting Auggie attend. Mr. Tushman sees Auggie as kind and courageous, and he presents Auggie with the Henry Beecher medal for these traits during graduation.