Wonder

R.J. Palacio lives in New York City with her husband, their two sons, and two dogs. For more than twenty years she worked as an art director and graphic designer, crafting book jackets for other authors while waiting for the right moment to write a novel of her own.

That moment arrived after a chance encounter outside an ice-cream store with a child who had a striking facial difference — an experience that became the seed of Wonder, her first novel. Fittingly, she didn't design its cover — but she loves it all the same.