Wonder by R.J. Palacio

August Pullman is about to start fifth grade. While middle school is hell for nearly everyone, Auggie's got a different story than most: He's never been to school before, and he doesn't look like anyone else.

This amazing, gorgeous story is told in multiple voices - we start with August's point of view, but we later hear from his sister, a classmate, and several others close to the story. The story progresses through time in these overlapping pockets of perspective.

The book's won significant accolades and praise - there's not much new I can add. It is a wonderful book - both heartbreaking and heart-warming - that should be read and discussed with preteens everywhere.

The World's Strongest Librarian: A Memoir of Tourette's, Faith, Strength, and the Power of Family by Josh Hanagarne

Mostly, this book is the personal memoir of a man who works hard every single day to manage a health problem. He's been incapacitated, given up on life, and damaged by something he has no control over. And yet he maintains a great sense of humor and perspective.

Hanagarne has the most extreme case of Tourette's that his doctors have seen. His tics cause him harm in a number of alarming ways: when medicine failed to help control it, he became ... a weightlifter? When he couldn't stop the noises, he studied to become ... a librarian? While this may seem counter-intuitive, Hanagarne perseveres as a big thinker who puzzles through problems by asking a million questions without worrying that many are unanswerable.

I really enjoyed this book because it's not a typical autobiography. Josh isn't always positive, and he's never certain he'll be successful. He loses faith, and his worst nightmare (passing Tourette's to his son) comes true. Yet he keeps putting one foot in front of the other.

This is also a book about libraries: the people who love them, the people that use them, and the philosophy behind the institution. Big-city libraries are a true melting pot, and Josh does a great job explaining what his day is like and describing the people he meets (I'm reminded to be grateful as a small-town librarian that I don't have the same characters and struggles).

Hanagarne is a Renaissance man - smart, bookish, inquisitive, and polite. But he's also a physical hulk with a hobby that includes throwing boulders for no good reason. The book is well-written, a great mix of trials and tribulations, funny library stories, and moments of faith and reflection. I'll recommend it -  and not just to librarians and fans of libraries - to anyone interested in personal stories.

Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper

Imagine the agony of being trapped; then, imagine that you're trapped inside your own body. I think this fear is nearly universal - it's why we fear major illness and why we fear aging. But this is a juvenile story. And perhaps what makes it "Out of My Mind" so extraordinary is that it's not a sugar-coated kids story about a kid with a disability - it's an honest, sometimes painful tale that's still utterly lovable.

Draper does an amazing job presenting the reader with the funny, smart and utterly amazing story of Melody. Since birth, she's been stuck inside her own head by cerebral palsy and, despite a photographic memory and amazing mental abilities, as a fifth-grader Melody is still being taught the ABC's. Only a few people recognize Melody's talents, and even they don't fully understand what a gem is hidden under the spasms and grunts - until a computerized aid helps opens the lines of communications for the very first time.

What I loved most about this story is that while the medi-talker brings the kind of  wonderful change that Melody has been dreaming about, all life's challenges don't disappear once she can hold a conversation. There's more to the story, both good and bad.