AMOS CONTI’S PRECEPT
Don’t try too hard to be cool. It always shows, and that’s uncool. —Amos Conti
XIMENA CHIN’S PRECEPT
To thine own self be true. —Hamlet, Shakespeare
JULIAN ALBANS’S PRECEPT
Sometimes it’s good to start over. —Julian Albans
SUMMER DAWSON’S PRECEPT
If you can get through middle school without hurting anyone’s feelings, that’s really cool beans. —Summer Dawson
JACK WILL’S PRECEPT
Keep calm and carry on! —some saying from World War II
AUGUST PULLMAN’S PRECEPT
Everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their life because we all overcometh the world. —Auggie
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am grateful beyond measure to my amazing agent, Alyssa Eisner Henkin, for loving this manuscript even in its earliest drafts and being such a strong champion for Jill Aramor, R. J. Palacio, or whatever name I decided to call myself. Thanks to Joan Slattery, whose joyful enthusiasm brought me to Knopf. And most especially, thank you to Erin Clarke, editor extraordinaire, who made this book as good as it could be and for taking such good care of Auggie & Company: I knew we were all in good hands.
Thank you to the wonderful team who worked on Wonder. Iris Broudy, I am privileged to call you my copy editor. Kate Gartner and Tad Carpenter, thank you for the brilliant jacket. Long before I wrote this book, I was lucky to work side by side with copy editors, proofreaders, designers, production managers, marketing assistants, publicists, and all the men and women quietly toiling behind the curtain to make books happen—and I know it ain’t for the money! It’s for love. Thank you to the sales reps and the book buyers and the booksellers who are in an impossible but beautiful industry.
Thank you to my amazing sons, Caleb and Joseph, for all the joy you bring me, for understanding all those times when Mom needed to write, and for always choosing “kind.” You are my wonders.
And most of all, thank you to my incredible husband, Russell, for your inspiring insights, instincts, and unwavering support—not just for this project but for all of them over the years—and for being my first reader, my first love, my everything. Like Maria said, “Somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good.” How else to explain this life we’ve built together? I am grateful every day.
Lastly, but not least, I would like to thank the little girl in front of the ice cream shop and all the other “Auggies,” whose stories have inspired me to write this book.
—R.J.
PERMISSIONS
Grateful acknowledgment is made to the following for permission to reprint previously published material:
Gay and Loud Music: Excerpt from “The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side,” written by Stephin Merritt and performed by the Magnetic Fields, copyright © 1999 by Stephin Merritt. Published by Gay and Loud Music (ASCAP). All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of Gay and Loud Music.
Indian Love Bride Music: Excerpt from “Wonder,” written by Natalie Merchant, copyright © 1995 by Natalie Merchant (ASCAP). All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of Indian Love Bride Music.
Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC: Excerpt from “Beautiful,” written by Linda Perry and performed by Christina Aguilera, copyright © 2002 by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC and Stuck in the Throat Music. All rights administered by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, 8 Music Square West, Nashville, TN 37203. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC and Stuck in the Throat Music.
Talpa Music: Excerpt from “Beautiful Things,” written by Josh Gabriel, Mavie Marcos, and David Penner. Copyright © Published by Talpa Music. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of Talpa Music.
TRO-Essex Music International, Inc.: Excerpt from “Space Oddity,” words and music by David Bowie, copyright © 1969, copyright renewed 1997 by Onward Music Ltd, London, England. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission of TRO-Essex Music International, Inc., New York.
R. J. Palacio, Wonder
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