Wonder by R.J. Palacio

I've heard a lot about this book (like everyone on the planet by now), but I only finally got around to reading it because my family chose it for our family book club discussion for this next month. It's actually a good book club book because it is short and fast to read (super fast! I read it in maybe 2-3 hours) but also has some good discussion points since it is kind of an "issue" book. As in, the story has a point to it, which is basically: be kind. It's about Auggie, a kid born with severe facial abnormalities, and his first year at a real school in fifth grade after being homeschooled his whole life. Auggie begins to make friends, and there are obviously some setbacks, but there is a happy ending for everyone.

Some good points I'd want to discuss with everyone (I'm just doing this shorthand because I don't have time for a full well-thought-out blog post right now):
-Isn't the ending a little unrealistic? Doesn't it seem like they're kind of doing the opposite problem of treating Auggie like he's "too" special instead of bullying him? Wouldn't Auggie be annoyed with this sort of treatment too?
-Jack's mean comments about Auggie--how many times have we done the same sort of thing?
-The different points of view--what do we learn about the other characters in the story through having those? (I liked getting Via's point of view, and thinking about how the sibling of a disabled child would be affected.)

Definitely a good book, and it was easy to get into. I am excited to have people to talk to about it when we have our discussion, because I think there are some good things to talk about.