Wonder

You GUYS...  Read this book!  Not tomorrow, not next week.  Then let's talk about it afterward, because I'm dying to hear your thoughts.

For each of the past three summers, I have read one book that utterly slayed me with its incredible-osity.  Two summers ago, it was The Hunger Games, a stay-up-'til-all-hours-of-the-night-gasp-out-loud adventure.  Last year, it was Anything but Typical, a heartbreaking but hopeful journey into the thoughts and daily life of an autistic teenager who struggles with the pain and anxiety of growing up.  This summer, I was sure my far-and-away favorite would be Hatchet (because, well, it's awesome).  Then I read Wonder.

Wonder tells the story of Auggie Pullman's year at a new school.  Actually, it's his first year at any school, even though he's entering fifth grade; Auggie has been homeschooled his entire life because he was born with severe craniofacial deformities and has had to endure more than twenty reconstructive surgeries in his short life.  Auggie feels like an ordinary kid: he likes to play video games, he has a great sense of humor, and he wants friends just like anybody else would.  However, he looks far from ordinary.  How will Auggie deal with the precarious social world of middle school when he is such an easy target for bullying?

I loved the way that R.J. Palacio alternated narrators so that I could understand so many of the characters more fully.  The emotion of the book -- its glorious highs, its devastating lows, its knots-in-the-stomach suspense and its never-saw-them-coming surprises -- makes it really special.  So read it!  Tell me who emerged as your favorite character.  Which parts made you laugh?  Did any parts make you cry?  Let's discuss the wonder of Wonder.  :-)