R.J. Palacio is an American author, art director and book jacket designer.   Her previous works include “Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories” and “365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne’s Book of Precepts.” She is best known for “Wonder,” her first novel and The New York Times best-seller about Auggie Pullman, an ordinary boy with an extraordinary face. The feature film adaptation is now in theaters everywhere and stars Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson and Jacob Tremblay.

According to Amazon, “Wonder” tells the story of August Pullman who was born with a facial difference that has always prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Now he is starting the fifth grade at Beecher Prep and he wants nothing more than to be treated like an ordinary kid, but his classmates can not get past his looks. The narration begins from Auggie’s point of view and then switches to his classmates, his sister, her boyfriend and others. This serves to highlight one community’s struggle with empathy, compassion and acceptance. Friendship is the central theme with Auggie as the hero many will root for as he proves that people can not blend in when they were born to stand out. This book inspired the Choose Kind movement.