Jepp, Who Defied the Stars (Hyperion, 2012) by Katherine Marsh was eye-opening for me. I had no idea that dwarfs were treated so badly.
Jepp, who has always lived with his mother at their inn, has been offered a chance to go to Coudenberg Palace. He takes it and then finds he is to be humiliated to serve as entertainment for the Spanish Infanta and her royal court. He and the other dwarfs are held prisoner and live at the whims of those around them. However, this intelligent young man doesn't resignedly accept his fate.
The story was inspired by real characters in history and the author's mother's interest in astrology. Read more here.
I encourage anyone who starts reading this book and finds the formality of the writing a bit off-putting to push through--soon you'll not notice it at all as you become engrossed in the story.
Wonder (Random House, 2012) by R.J. Palacio is a wonder of a book. It's about ten-year-old Auggie Pullman who has a facial deformity, who himself says "Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse." Due to all his surgeries he's never gone to school before, but now in fifth grade is going to go. He knows kids will stare. But what he wishes they knew was how ordinary he is inside. Takes one brave kid to face being the new kid in these circumstances.
Anything But Typical (Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2010) by Nora Raleigh Baskin has a main character who is "anything but typical." 12 year old Jason Blake is autistic kid living in a neurotypical world. "School doesn't always go very well," he says. Jason flaps his hands if excited, when he's going to say something, or if thinking. Others think he is weird. He knows he's supposed to look people in the eye, but he doesn't like to. Besides most people look the same to him. "I know no girl will ever like me," he says. But then PhoenixBird likes his stories on the Storyboard website. Maybe she can be his friend. But when they both get to go to the Storyboard conference, he's afraid once she sees him she won't like him anymore.
Words in the Dust (Arthur A. Levine Books, 2011) by Trent Reedy is an amazing story inspired by a true story of a real girl in Afghanistan. The author uses sensory details and language to make the reader see Zulaika's world and how many in that culture view us.
