Wonder: Events of Adversity

"Maybe no one got the Darth Sidious thing, and maybe Julian didn't mean anything at all. But in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Darth Sidious's face gets burned by Sith lightning and becomes totally deformed. His skin gets all shriveled up and his whole face just kind of melts. I peeked at Julian and he was looking at me. Yeah, he knew what he was saying." (Palacio 44)

"I hate the way I eat. I know how weird it looks. I had a surgery to fix my cleft palate when I was a baby, and then a second cleft surgery when I was four, but I still have a hole in the roof of my mouth. And even though I had jaw-alignment surgery a few years ago I have to chew food in the front of my mouth." (Palacio 50)

"I could tell I was being stared at without even looking up. I knew that people were nudging each other, watching me out of the corners of their eyes. I thought I was used to those kinds of stares by now, but I guess I wasn't." (Palacio 49 - 50)

"It was actually because I was playing Four Square with August that I found out about the Plague. Apparently, this is a "game" that's been going on since the beginning of the year. Anyone who accidentally touches August has only 30 seconds to wash their hands or find hand sanitizer before they catch the Plague." (Palacio 120)

"Where's your boyfriend, Summer?" I didn't even know what she was talking about. 'I guess he doesn't have to wear a mask at Halloween, right?' she added. And then I knew she was talking about August." (Palacio 122)

"Basically, he heard Jack bad-mouthing him and saying really horrible things behind his back. It kind of explained his attitude, and now I knew why he'd been out 'sick'." (Palacio 126)

"The notes to Jack were stupid, like: You stink, big cheese! And Nobody likes you anymore! I got notes like: Freak! And another that said: Get out of our school, orc! " (Palacio 208)

"You think I don't know what's going on?' I yelled. 'You just don't want your brand-new fancy high school friends to know your brother's a freak!" (Palacio 218)

"All of them started half laughing and half covering their eyes now, pushing each other and cursing loudly. 'What is that?' said the kid who was pointing the flashlight at us, and it was only then that I realized that the flashlight was pointed right at my face, and what they were talking about- screaming about- was me." (Palacio 265)