August tells his story in first person. In the first chapter August describes himself as ordinary in the fact that he likes to ride his
bike, eat ice cream, and feel ordinary.
He then goes on to say, “But … ordinary kids don’t make other ordinary
kids run away screaming in playgrounds.”
He says later, “I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably
worse.”
Because of his physical condition from the time of birth,
August was unable to attend school. He was home schooled instead. When he was in fifth grade, his mother decided
it is time for him to break into the real world of children, the school
classroom filled with, “ordinary” kids.
It was a terrifying challenge for August, but off to school he went.
The academics was a
piece of cake for the most part. The
social encounters were many and truly mountainous. We sometimes judge a book by
its cover. Regrettably, we often judge a
person by their appearance. And so it was with August.
