Palacio - Auggie and me three Wonder stories

CONTENTS

WONDER

365 DAYS OF WONDER

THE WONDER JOURNAL

AUGGIE & ME: THREE WONDER STORIES
AN RHCP DIGITAL EBOOK 978 1 448 19728 6

Published in Great Britain by RHCP Digital,
an imprint of Random House Childrens Publishers UK
A Penguin Random House Company

THE JULIAN CHAPTER first published by RHCP Digital, 2014
Text copyright R. J. Palacio, 2014

PLUTO first published by RHCP Digital, 2015
Text copyright R. J. Palacio, 2015

SHINGALING first published by RHCP Digital, 2015
Text copyright R. J. Palacio, 2015

This ebook edition published 2015

Text copyright R. J. Palacio, 2014, 2015
Cover and interior illustrations Tad Carpenter, 2014, 2015

Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders of lyrics and extracts included in this book, but in some cases this has not proved possible. The publishers therefore wish to thank the authors or copyright holders of those lyrics and extracts which are included without acknowledgement. The publishers would be grateful to be notified of any errors or omissions and will be happy to make good any such errors or omissions in future printings.

The right of R. J. Palacio to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the authors and publishers rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

RANDOM HOUSE CHILDRENS PUBLISHERS UK
6163 Uxbridge Road, London W5 5SA

www.randomhousechildrens.co.uk
www.totallyrandombooks.co.uk
www.randomhouse.co.uk

Addresses for companies within The Random House Group Limited can be found at: www.randomhouse.co.uk/offices.htm

THE RANDOM HOUSE GROUP Limited Reg. No. 954009

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

You cant blend in when you were born to stand out.

WONDER is the award-winning story of Auggie Pullman: an ordinary boy with an extraordinary face, who is desperate to fit in.

Julian has always felt uncomfortable around Auggie but a summer spent with his grandmother in Paris makes Julian see Auggie with new eyes.

Christopher is Auggies oldest friend and knows better than most that being part of Auggies life comes with its challenges.

Charlotte has always been nice to Auggie: but in a year of torn loyalties and damaged feelings, is being nice really enough?

Now read a new side to the WONDER story, from three characters whose lives have been changed by Auggie forever.

Is there going to be a sequel to Wonder? someone in the audience asks.

No, Im sorry, I answer, a little embarrassed. I dont think its the kind of book that really lends itself to a sequel. I like to think that fans of Wonder will imagine for themselves what will happen next to Auggie Pullman and all the other people in his world.

That exchange, or something like it, has happened at just about every book signing, speaking engagement, or reading Ive done since Wonder came out on February 14, 2012. Its probably the question I get asked the most, aside from Will there be a movie of Wonder? and What inspired you to write Wonder?

Yet here I am, writing an introduction to a book that is, for all intents and purposes, a companion to Wonder. So how exactly did that happen?

To answer that question, I have to discuss Wonder just a little bit. If youve bought this book or been given it as a gift, theres a good chance youve read Wonder already, so I dont need to tell you too much about it. Suffice it to say that Wonder is the story of a ten-year-old boy named Auggie Pullman, who was born with a craniofacial difference, as he navigates the ups and downs of being the new kid at Beecher Prep middle school. We see this journey through his eyes and the eyes of several characters whose lives happen to intersect with his over the course of that pivotal year, and whose insights enhance the readers understanding of Auggies passage to self-acceptance. We dont hear from any characters whose stories dont directly expand upon Auggies story within the time frame of that fifth-grade year, or whose understanding of Auggie is too limited to shed light upon his character. Wonder is Auggies story, after all, from beginning to end. And I was very strict with myself about telling his story in a simple and linear way. If a character didnt propel the narrative forwardor told a story that ran parallel to, or before or after, the events in Wonderthen he or she didnt get a voice in the book.

Thats not to say that some of these other characters didnt have interesting stories to tell, howeverstories that might have explained their own motivations a bit even if those revelations didnt directly affect Auggie.

Which is exactly where this book comes in.

To be clear: Auggie & Me is not a sequel. It doesnt pick up where Wonder left off. It doesnt continue to tell the story of Auggie Pullman navigating middle school. In fact, Auggie is only a minor character in these stories.

What this book is, precisely, is an expansion of Auggies world. The three stories in Auggie & MeThe Julian Chapter, Pluto, and Shingaling, all originally published as short ebooksare told from the perspective of Julian, Christopher, and Charlotte, respectively. They are three completely different narratives, telling the stories of characters who only occasionally, if at all, appear in each others stories. They all do have one thing in common, though, which is Auggie Pullman. His presence in their lives serves as a catalyst by which theyre each transformed in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.

Auggie & Me is also not a sequel in a traditional sense because theres no continuation of Auggies story, other than a brief fast-forward in Julians chapter to the summer after fifth grade, which provides a nice coda to the Julian/Auggie story line. But other than that, readers dont find out what happens to Auggie Pullman in the sixth grade, or in high school, or beyond. I can guarantee that that book, the de facto sequel, will never be written. And thats a good thing, folks. One of the most beautiful by-products of writing Wonder is the amazing fan fiction it has generated. Teachers are using it in classrooms, asking students to get into character and write their own chapters on Auggie, or Summer, or Jack. Ive read stories devoted to Via, Justin, and Miranda. Chapters written from Amoss point of view, and Miless and Henrys. Ive even read one childs very poignant short chapter from Daisys point of view!