Wonder

　　命運對他開了一個殘酷的玩笑，但愛，讓生命化為不可思議的奇蹟！
　　十萬讀者鼓掌淚推！一個天生缺陷的男孩克服萬難、勇敢長大的感人故事

　　「我不會把我的長相描述給你聽的。無論你腦中有什麼想像，恐怕都比那要糟得多。」——奧吉，十歲

　　成長，對他來說，是一條異常艱辛的道路，每跨一步，都需要比別人還多的勇氣……

　　怪物、外星人、噁心鬼、蜥蜴臉、突變人……別人總是在他背後交頭接耳、竊竊私語。

　　他是奧吉，一個遺傳罕見基因，天生臉部有殘缺的男孩。一出生，醫生就斷定他活不過三個月，但奧吉卻憑著旺盛的生命力活了下來，經過大大小小的面部整容手術，他逐漸朝「正常人」的路走去，但五官仍然非常扭曲，像有人用大鉗子把他的臉從中間壓扁。小時候，他不論走到哪都戴著一頂太空人頭盔，因為唯有躲在頭盔之下，才不會引來別人異樣的眼光。

　　十歲這一年，奧吉第一次踏進學校，進入了醜的、胖的、和別人稍有不同就會被霸凌的殘酷青春期。就在他即將融入新學校之際，一場萬聖節的惡作劇把奧吉的自信打到谷地。惡作劇背後的真相究竟是什麼？因奧吉所掀起的戰爭，又有什麼驚人的內幕？在充滿潛規則的中學校園，一不小心，就會從「受歡迎」淪落為「被排擠」的邊緣人……到底誰是敵、誰是友？敵友的分界，是否真的如此壁壘分明？奧吉要如何靠著他的智慧和幽默感，化解危機？每個人的不同抉擇，又將如何扭轉自己和他人的命運？

　　奧吉的入學像是一顆震撼彈，深深影響了他周圍的人。作者除了描繪奧吉眼中的世界，也加入他同學、姊姊、姊姊的男友等六個青少年的多重敘事觀點，透過他們不同的快樂、煩惱、困惑和掙扎，逐漸拼湊出事件的全貌。

　　一個充滿淚水、愛與希望的生命旅程，述說一個平凡的男孩，如何接納自己、勇敢長大的不凡故事；也述說他的出現，如何奇蹟似的改變了所有人的一生……

　　I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.

　　August Pullman was born with a facial deformity that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face. WONDER, now a New York Times bestseller, begins from Auggie’s point of view, but soon switches to include his classmates, his sister, her boyfriend, and others. These perspectives converge in a portrait of one community’s struggle with empathy, compassion, and acceptance.
 
　　In a world where bullying among young people is an epidemic, this is a refreshing new narrative full of heart and hope. R.J. Palacio has called her debut novel “a meditation on kindness” — indeed, every reader will come away with a greater appreciation for the simple courage of friendship. Auggie is a hero to root for, a diamond in the rough who proves that you can’t blend in when you were born to stand out.

　　★本書中譯版《奇蹟男孩》由天下雜誌出版。

作者簡介

R. J. 帕拉秋

　　知名出版社的藝術總監和書封設計師，和先生和孩子住在紐約，曾為無數小說設計封面，但寫作一直是她最大的心願。

　　《奇蹟男孩》的寫作契機源於一個特別的小女孩。大約五年前，帕拉秋和她的兩個兒子在冰淇淋店前，遇到一個顏面傷殘的小女孩。她三歲的小兒子，一看到馬上放聲大哭；十歲的大兒子雖然努力壓抑自己，卻露出像是被人揍了一拳的表情。就在這個尷尬的時刻，她聽見女孩的媽媽用極為親切且鎮定的聲音說：『好了，我想我們該走了。』這個媽媽的話，深深觸動了她的心。事後帕拉秋不斷想起這個小女孩，以及她所面臨的生命處境，於是動筆寫下了奧吉的故事。

　　R. J. PALACIO lives in NYC with her husband, two sons, and two dogs. For more than twenty years, she was an art director and graphic designer, designing book jackets for other people while waiting for the perfect time in her life to start writing her own novel. But one day several years ago, a chance encounter with an extraordinary child in front of an ice cream store made R. J. realize that the perfect time to write that novel had finally come. Wonder is her first novel. She did not design the cover, but she sure does love it.