Ugly

Gr 3–6—This memoir, set in Australia, is a heartbreaking account of being born and living with severe physical deformities. As a child, Hoge was in general healthy, but his mother initially did not want to keep him because of his appearance—he was born with mangled legs and a large tumor in the middle of his face. Doctors predicted that surgery might kill him. Nevertheless, they proceeded with several operations to "fix" Hoge in the hopes they would help improve his life. As the years passed, Hoge experienced many ups and downs; he was able to make some loyal friends but was also teased by other children. Readers follow as he tries playing sports, attends summer camp, unsuccessfully auditions for a junior choir, and performs in a talent show. In the midst of all these efforts at having a more traditional childhood, Hoge underwent multiple surgeries to "improve" his face, as he understandably wished to belong. And despite wanting to look more "normal," Hoge later made a conscious decision not to have any more operations. The text is enormously accessible; Hoge draws readers in with creative language and analogies to help clarify and set the tone of his complex story. For instance, the book begins with the direction "Imagine you're in art class," with Hoge going on to detail the process of sculpting a face as a way to describe his own appearance. Pencil illustrations sprinkled throughout help set the scene for readers.