WONDER by R. J. Palacio  

This book resonated with me because my oldest son, James, was born with a cleft palate.  Though his was definitely nothing like August's - I could still relate a tiny bit to the surgeries and the feeding problems.  And I well remember going to the Cleft Palate Clinic and sitting in the waiting room with a dozen other families and small children in various stages of plastic surgery.  

The book is told from differing viewpoints which initially caught me by surprise because the first 80 pages is strictly from the viewpoint of August (or Auggie) and then suddenly we switch to - his sister, Via, I think.  And then to someone else.  Which was good - just unexpected.  I have read reviews that did not like some of the voices that were chosen - but I thought they all had good questions and viewpoints.  If they had not been there, then some things that Ms. Palacio wanted to say would have gone unsaid, I think.     

August is entering 5th grade.  He has a severe (emphasis on the word severe) facial deformity and he has been homeschooled up to this point but his parents think it would be a good idea for him to try school.  Not public school but a smaller private school.  He is understandably against this idea. At first.  But after he meets a couple of the kids, he decides to give it a try. And so the book covers Augie's first year of school.  

The book is all about kindness and putting others before you.  Also about not judging a book (or a boy, in this case) by its cover.  Actually, all the kids have hangups.  It's just that Augie's is very visible and so it takes a while to uncover what is going on with his sister and the kids that befriend (or don't befriend) Augie.   

I would really like to hear from kids that read the book and then reviewed it or talked about it.  I think it would make a great read-aloud in a middle school classroom.  There are so many areas that could be opened up for class discussion and class projects.  But in all the comments that I read, none of them were from children - they were all from adults.  The only one that came close was a mom who said her daughter had a hard time getting into the book.  Which, I suppose, is my point.  I don't know many 5th graders that would pick the book up to read it on their own.  Eighth or ninth graders might - if you can push the viewpoint of Auggie's older sister, Olivia (or Via).  She plays a major role in the book.  But I feel like this is yet another book with the word "Newbery" buzzing around it that really is not something children would read.  

I would recommend it - just keep a box of Kleenex close by because a few tears may flow.