I'm not sure why I found it so easy to get into the head and heart of this ten-year old boy. I wasn't born with what he has, and I don't know anyone who was. In that way Auggie is unlike anyone I've ever known. And yet in just about every other way he's like every other child in the world. So while I can't know what it's really like to walk in Auggie's shoes, I can try and put myself in his situation, and that of his sister and his parents and his friends. I've always loved the underdogs of the world. And I've always admired those who can pull themselves up by their bootstraps and march on. I love Auggie's pluck most of all.

In the chapter called How I Came to Life Auggie tells the story of his birth. The delivery room nurse, who in the beginning seems like she isn't going to be very nice, ends up staying with Auggie's mom in the hours after the delivery. She is the one who holds Auggie's mom's hand as the doctors break the news that her baby might not live through the night, whispering soothing words of comfort that she paraphrases from the bible: "Everyone born of God overcometh the world." I find this scene, although framed in humor, to be among the most touching in the book.

For anyone who doubts, I did have teacher named Mr. Butt in college.

_Otherwise known as Emperor Palpatine. He's the dude that gets his face all shriveled up by his own Force Lightning when fighting Mace Windu. Julian (boo-hiss) asks Auggie about this character when they are first getting to know one another. We find out later that Julian thinks Auggie resembles Darth Sidious.

Jack is a wonderful kid. He's not perfect. He's not sensitive like Summer is, but he knows what's right and wrong. He's not the kind of kid who thinks a lot about the things he does or its impact on others, but he's good-hearted. And courageous. He's the kind of person who will protect the underdogs of the world.

What can I say? I love Summer. She's truly a great person. To me, she most represents the kind of person I wish I had been. I wasn't as nice as she was. I wasn't as aware. Maybe it was the death of her father made her more sensitive to the feelings of others. Or maybe she was just born like that. Some extraordinary people are.
   

I'm a big Tolkein fan. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings tell one of the greatest sagas of all time. The themes in those books—particularly about the nature of friendship and the courage it takes to do the right thing—are themes that have always resonated with me. I love how the hobbits, though not heroic by nature and too little to even be noticed as a potential threat by the dark forces in the world of Middle Earth, are the saviors of that world.

It's a great book! Read it! I was fifteen the first time I read it, and yes, I admit, I skimmed through most of the war scenes because I was so eager to get to the wonderful "peace" scenes. But then I went back and reread it all, and it's so full of beauty and wisdom. People wrongly assume it's very highbrow and literary, but at its core it's a soap opera of sorts: lots of characters, people falling in and out of love, dramatic scenes, characters you root for and against. I was in love with Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, so I made Via be in love with him, too.

I kept Auggie's condition a little ambiguous, because I don't think what he looks like is that important—other than the fact that he looks different. If I had to name a condition, I would say Auggie has Treacher-Collins Syndrome, complicated by another syndrome that, as via puts it, "made war on his face."

I love this song! The lyrics are so beautiful, and they really got me to thinking about how someone like Auggie can really make it in this world, "with love, with patience, and with faith." He'll make his way.

"They say I must be one of the wonders
Of god's own creation
And as far as they can see they can offer
No explanation"

This is the song that Miranda and Auggie used to love to sing together when Auggie was little. It's also the opening part of Via's chapter because the theme of the song, about an astronaut that chooses to stay in outer space rather than return home, is something that resonates with her. I think Via is torn between her own version of returning to Earth, which is the world Auggie inhabits (and sometimes inhibits), and choosing the freedom of space, which is the world beyond Auggie and everything he represents.

"Planet earth is blue and there's nothing I can do." There's nothing she can do about Auggie,and she adores him. But a part of her wants to be free to begin a life that's not defined by him.

The father and son bounty hunters from Star Wars, and favorite characters of Auggie's. Auggie dresses up in a Boba Fett costume that everyone keeps referring to as a Jango Fett. For Star Wars fans, there's a big difference between the two, but for those who might get their Phantom Menaces mixed up with their New Hopes, it's kind of an understandable mistake, no? You be the judge.

Native Americans belonging to the Algonquin, Mohecan and Lenape groups lived on the upper west side of what is now called Manhattan before the arrival of the Dutch in the 1600s. Many artifacts have been found in parks like Inwood Hill Park and Fort Tryon Park and others along that area.

_The dude from Star Wars Episode 4 who wears the funky headphones wrapped around his head.

The costume Auggie unexpectedly wears on Halloween.

Beautiful play that Justin gets the lead part in. I think every high school, or middle school, should put on Our Town.

people have asked me why i had justin's part in lowercase, and all i can say is that he's a lowercase kind of guy.

So much to say about Via, a character as near and dear to my heart as Auggie is. She's so fierce and tender at the same time, so grown up before her time, too. She has a good head on her shoulders, and knows better than to even try to pull any of the typical teenage rebellion stuff: there's just too much stuff going on in her parents' lives to burden them with that. She's not perfect, though: she has a temper, and she gets resentful at times. But when she loves she loves with all her heart, and she's a loyal friend. Auggie coudn't have asked for a better older sister. "The universe takes care of all its birds."

Great song by The Magnetic Fields: joyous, funny. Auggie and his dad listen to it in the car.

The lyrics don't make a whole lot of sense, but this song is infectious and happy and upbeat. I picture how the middle school chorus would sing it at graduation: a real crowd-pleaser.

Auggie's parents, they met in college, fell in love, and have been together ever since. I think they're very special people. They may seem a bit idealized, but that's only because we never really hear from their point of view, and the only thing we know about them is through the eyes of their children and their children's friends. I think Isabel is very careful to only show one side of herself to her kids—especially Auggie. She's had no choice but to learn how to be incredibly patient and hopeful that the world really will take care of her boy, but I'm sure she gets exasperated and frustrated and incredibly sad sometimes, too. You get a glimmer of those feelings when Auggie tells her about what Julian said to him that first time at school, or when Auggie asks about who's rsvp'd to his party and she says with uncharacteristic snideness, "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." As for Nate, he's just a good guy, a funny guy, who likes to lighten everyone's spirits with a laugh. I imagine him working long hours to try and pay all the medical bills not covered by insurance, which is why he gets stressed about being late to work. They're good people, Isabel and Nate.

I hope no one goes hating on Miranda because I love her. She's so complicated. She can be a mean girl, but deep down inside she has this incredible love for Auggie that has given her a depth she might not have had without knowing him. Knowing Auggie has made her a better person, and being around the Pullman family. I get the idea that years later, when she's an adult, she'll look back on her childhood and some of her fondest memories will have been of times she spent in the Pullman house.

Another amazing song from the Wonder "playlist".

A song Justin plays on his violin, "Soldier's Joy" is an old fiddle tune that first appeared printed as sheet music in the late eighteenth-century, though the tune itself was probably around for much longer than that.

I kind of hope Auggie listens to this song everyday.

"You are beautiful,
No matter what they say,
Words can't bring you down..."

This is the song that intorduces Miranda's part. I don't know a lot about Andain, but I thought these words were so apt for Miranda, who needed to be reminded of what was really important...
"I forgot that I might see
So many beautiful things
I forgot that I might need
To find out what life could bring"