Wonder, by R. J Palacio

Written for a young audience, one presumes since the main character is in the fifth grade, this book would be appropriate for middle-schoolers as well.  August Pullman, who lives in New York, is the son of a Brazilian mother and a father whose heritage is Eastern European Jewish.  Unfortunately, though from very different parts of the world, each parent carries a recessive gene that in combination produces a rare and very deforming facial anomaly in their son August.  Auggie has survived many major surgeries, but even after these, his appearance still makes him an object of curiosity and sometimes horror.  Home-schooled until now, he is to enter a regular classroom in the fall.  Wonder is the story of his first foray into coping with the world outside his protective family.  His older sister, Olivia, known as Via at home, is also in transition from childhood to young adulthood as she enters high school.  Readers will sympathize with the struggles of both children and their parents.  The book hits the right note between compassion and humor and the author’s ability to see the world through Auggie’s eyes (which are set, like his ears, too low) is remarkable.  His favorite holiday is Halloween, when he can hide behind a mask, like other children who are temporarily odd looking and still accepted.  Olivia is torn between her love and protectiveness for her brother and her need to fit in with her peers.  Well done and affecting.  315 pp.