Wonder by R.J. Palacio

This is another student recommendation although it was already on my list as a consideration for a reading ladder. I gulped it down in about one evening, so it is a good involving read.

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with an unfortunate combination of genetic disorders that made his craniofacial structure severely deformed but left his intellect intact. He's a pretty normal kid coping with a pretty abnormal situation.

After many many surgeries, Auggie is finally ready to go to an actual school. He's still pretty disfigured though. So there is a lot of anxiety about how his classmates will react. Predictably, it's a mixed bag. Some kids really step up. Some descend into bullying the "weird kid." After years of working in a high school, it's kind of what I would expect to happen.

Palacio bounces around from point of view to point of view. While Auggie's voice is really interesting and engaging, I almost enjoyed the sections from Summer, Via, and Jack's point of view more. It's easy to forget how disabilities affect more than just the disabled person. These glimpses into the minds of the other teens are interesting because it's a reminder that even a nice kid screws up. Strong people have weak moments.

This is a good pick for Middle School and High School. The ideas, though complex, are expressed simply and without melodrama. Because of the multiple points of view, the story isn't completely linear which could cause confusion in a struggling reader.