Last Monday I had a long tube journey, with nothing but a very disappointing falafel sandwich (although I did not know that yet). As I was leaving the bookshop where I work, a proof copy of 'Wonder', the debut novel of graphic designer R J Palacio appeared. Website just beyond: www.rjpalacio.com. 

I took here it because I liked the cover, although the cover has now changed to the above image. No matter because what I liked most of all was what was inside. Wonder is a story about August Pullman, a 10 year old boy living in New York with a craniofacial abnormality. The story joins him as he is about to start school in fifth grade. There is little description of what he actually looks like, Auggie has come to terms with looking different a long time ago, he only says that it is worse than you could ever imagine. This is not a story of pity or pain, instead Palacio shows how Auggie gets on with life. The book follows Auggie learning how to be independent and facing up to the fact that he is an extraordinary boy. Palacio tells Auggie story for several view points. Jack, a school friend and Via, Auggie's sister both learn a lot about themselves because of Auggie Pullman. The book is very emotional and I wonder if the older fiction audience will warm to it. But the subject is challenging and engaging and the characters are some of the best I have met for sometime. I think this could be the big book of 2012, it will definitely be one of the most interesting.