August Pullman was born with a rare genetic disorder, his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears not being placed correctly. Although only ten years old, August has been through many painful moments both physically and mentally. He has undergone many surgeries since birth and considers it normal when people stare at him. Younger and older kids teasing him being part of his regular routine, he is homeschooled. One day, his parents gently ask him to consider going to a public school. August disagrees the second he hears the suggestion, but changes his mind because his mother wants him to give it a try.
School turns out as August expected. He is famous for being the “freak.” No one tends to sit next to him during lunch or class times, with the exception of two students kind enough to make him feel welcome. Jack, a student from his homeroom, is extremely nice to August and they soon become friends with each other. Summer, a student from another class, always sits next to August at lunch (it seems as if they are not able to find Jack because he is “apparently” sitting at another table). On the other hand, Julian tends to dislike August for some reason. He tries to persuade his classmates to make them feel the same way towards August.
Everyone in the school gets used to August’s face after a few weeks of school, but he does not gain more friends since then. The bullying gets worse, with Julian leaving unkind notes on Jack’s and his locker. Jack and Summer continued to stick up for August because they knew that Julian was considered the “mean” kid to them. Not only do a few students get involved, but Julian’s parents don’t want August to attend the school anymore. This is extremely unfair because the only problem with August is his face — he was one of the smartest students in class and didn’t cause any problems in school. Luckily, the principal explained to Julian’s parents how this is unfair to August.
Towards the end of this book, the bullying eventually stopped after the end of the annual trip. All students from August’s grades are invited to go to a nature camp, which was a few hours away. Bravely, August decides to go, but for some reason doesn’t feel nervous at all. This is probably because Julian isn’t attending the camp for some reason. During the last night of the trip, a few older kids from another school spot August and tease him because of his face. However, a few students from his class stand up for him, leading to a fight. Although August and his friends run away, everyone in the school hears about it and congratulates him and his friends on their bravery. Everyone realizes that August isn’t as bad as they thought. Julian decides to leave the school because his parents believe that this isn’t the right place for him. The book closes with August receiving an award at a graduation ceremony from the principal for showing good “spirit” for the school.
I enjoyed reading this book and how August was courageous enough to attend school and make it through the whole year. Although there were many unfortunate events and misunderstandings, the result was fair because he was spirited enough to keep on going to school. The author makes the novel realistic by writing how the students from August’s school didn’t like him from the beginning. If a student like him came to our school, I am not sure if anyone could be Jack or Summer. It would be hard for the two students to stick up for him. Unlike before, his rare disease didn’t stop him from doing anything such as going to camp or taking a picture for his graduation. Although this book was aimed at young readers and teenagers, it would also be good for adults because they will definitely have a chance to rethink how they see others who are slightly different from them.
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