Wonder

I was late to the game, when it came to reading Wonder by R. J. Palacio. Everyone I know had read it and loved it--but (and I hate to admit this--how embarrassing!) the cover turned me off. Finally, a majority vote in last year's 2nd block convinced me, so I read it.

Oh. My. Wowness. It was worth the wait!

Everyone is unique--but August wears his uniqueness where no one can ignore it. Born with facial deformities so shocking that Halloween and its prerequisite masks are his only chance at anonymity, homeschooling has offered a safe haven where Auggie can live like a regular kid. Now it is the beginning of 5th grade and time for him to leave the nest and head to the academy his older sister attends. The students are predictably cruel, but not everything is as it seems. With an ending guaranteed to touch the hardest heart, Wonder will appeal to adults as well as children.

By switching up narrators from chapter to chapter, Palacio takes what could have been just another disease/disability story and turns it into a contemporary must-read. Themes of family, friendship, loss, and guilt are explored as bullying is visited honestly--without the cartoonish broad strokes one usually finds in children's literature. 

Palacio, R. J. (2012). Wonder. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.

Lagniappe (an extra treat, just for you!):  R. J. Palacio turns the book on its ear by publishing a separate chapter (on Kindle and audiobook only) from the perspective of the most controversial character in Wonder--The Julian Chapter: A Wonder Story. I haven't read it yet--but will review it, when I do!