Story features imperfect middle and high-schoolers acting in authentic ways, which provides much to discuss. However, the authentic narrators relate events and perspectives that illustrate the power of kindness. Beautiful, moving, thought-provoking, and unforgettable! Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected to survive, goes from being home-schooled to entering fifth grade at a private middle school in Manhattan, which entails enduring the taunting and fear of his classmates as he struggles to be seen as just another student.