A review of NORMAL:

One Kids's Extraordinary Journey

By Magdalena & Nathaniel Newman

Review by Emma

Fifth grade Reading Ambassador, Emma, came in this morning to give me this review of NORMAL.  It comes out in January. Thanks to Houghton Mifflin Kids, we received an advanced copy and Emma was the first one to read it.  Here are her thoughts in her words.  Looks like we should all purchase it for our libraries.

This is a true story.

Nathaniel wasn't what you called "normal." He was born with Treacher Collins, a deformity where bones aren't where they should be and where they should be but aren't there. The surgeries he had to have were so expensive that his family almost had no money for groceries. Before the age of 16, he had 67 surgeries.

Nathaniel had a passion for swimming but he couldn't swim because he had a tracheostomy, a whole in his throat, so if he got water in him, he would choke. He couldn't breathe through his mouth because he a bone behind his nose and his jaw was too small. He tongue would take up his whole entire mouth. 

Technically, Nathaniel was deaf. He had no ear on the outside of his face. This hurt his mom, Magdalena because she was a pianist. 

In kindergarten, Nathaniel's dad wrote a note to his class and the community saying that Nathaniel was different but the same.  His dad wrote that Nathaniel is still a kindergartener and has dreams to go after just like everyone else. Even though his dad did this ahead of time, Nathaniel still got bullied and asked why he looked so scary.  

Fast forward to when Nathaniel was 12. He had to have screws in his head to help get his skull form the proper way. This took four months. His mouth and eyes were sewn shut during this time. 

Now Nathaniel is 16 and during the filming of the movie, Wonder, the crew of 20/20 followed him around. Word got out to Christina Aguilera. Nathaniel visited her at her mansion and she sang, "Beautiful" to him.  The message they hoped others would receive is "No one is facially alike, but they are all beautiful."

Nathaniel and his mom were inspired to share their story--anything is possible even if you have a disorder.

I like how Nathaniel kept persevering.  He taught me to persevere because even though he was always sick he fought through the pain. He taught me to be thankful for the small things because not everyone is gifted with things like hearing and breathing. He also taught me that things don't always work out the way you want but keep pushing to achieve your goals and follow your dreams. 

I give this book 4 and half stars. I really couldn't put it down. I stayed up for like 2-3 hours reading the last hundred pages. I just wanted to know how Nathaniel dealt with the pain, the bullying and life. I would love to meet Nathaniel now. He seems like a really cool guy and he's a role model to me.