Wonder, by R. J. Palacio

 A couple years ago, I read Sharon Draper's Out of My Mind, a novel told from the perspective of an 11-year-old girl living with cerebral palsy.  In the same vein, R. J. Palacio's book Wonder tells the story of August, a 5th grader with a cranio-facial condition.  He has been homeschooled all his life, and now is entering 5th grade at a prep school in his neighborhood.  Wonder takes us through his fifth grade year, telling his story through first-person narratives of August, his sister, and some of their friends and classmates.

I don't know anyone with a condition like August's.  If I have ever met or seen someone with it, I don't remember.  But I'm sure I would be one who might take a double take, or try to sneak a look.  August  is on the receiving end of those looks and stares every day of his life.  Worse, he gets bullied and mocked in his new school.  It's bad enough being the new kid.  It's bad enough being a kid, period, when so many kids are mean.  But August endures the worst of it.

The story of Wonder shows that awful side of kids, but, more importantly, Palacio paints a picture of how it ought to be.  August has a loving, supportive family (I've read of children with such conditions whose parents give them up for adoption shortly after birth).  At his new school he quickly makes friends with kids who are willing to see past his appearance.  He's a smart, gifted child.  I'm sure August's experiences are much better than those of many people with facial anomalies, and some might criticize Wonder as being too idealistic, but I think Palacio wants to model more than report.

August reflects on how other people see him: "It's like people you see sometimes, and you can't imagine what it would be like to be that person, whether it's somebody in a wheelchair or somebody who can't talk. . . . I know that I'm that person to other people. . . ."  Wonder reminds us, as the middle school director reminds his charges, "always to try to be a little kinder than is necessary," especially when we see "those people," whoever they are for us.