Hole in the Middle
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
For every reader who grew up loving R.J. Palacio’s Wonder comes a hilarious, heartbreaking, and magical YA debut about what it means to accept the body you’re given.
What if the empty space was what made you whole?
Morgan Stone was born with a hole in her middle: a perfectly smooth, sealed, fist-sized chunk of nothing near her belly button. After seventeen years of hiding behind lumpy sweaters and a smart mouth, she decides to bare all. At first she feels liberated . . . until a few online photos snowball into a media frenzy. Now Morgan is desperate to return to her own strange version of normal—when only her doctors, her divorced parents, and her best friend, Caro, knew the truth.
Then a new doctor appears with a boy who may be both Morgan’s cure and her destiny. But what happens when you meet the person who is—literally—your perfect match? Is being whole really all it’s cracked up to be?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Morgan, 16, was born with a literal hole in her middle. This physical difference which serves as an allegorical and metaphorical device throughout the novel has forced Morgan into isolation; she only associates with her best friend and roommate, Caro, and her boyfriend, Todd. In a moment of self-acceptance, Morgan decides to "out" herself at a local club by wearing a cutoff T-shirt that exposes her midriff, not realizing that her act will bring unwanted attention, and she is mystified when she becomes famous on the internet. Then Morgan learns of Howie, a boy with a lump of similar size and shape as the hole in her midsection, who may not only be her cure but also, possibly, her missing piece. Debut author Fortmeyer delivers her messages overtly rather than weaving them in with subtlety: Howie's mother, for example, imparts wisdom on how to be a good person with every line of dialogue. For many readers, though, this directness won't reduce the impact of Fortmeyer's otherwise powerful, witty, and funny tale, which integrates a sprinkle of magical realism into the mix. Ages 14 up.
