Book Review: Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 9, 2010
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Eleven-year-old Melody is not like most people. She can’t walk. She can’t talk. She can’t write. All because she has cerebral palsy. But she also has a photographic memory; she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced. She’s the smartest kid in her whole school, but NO ONE knows it. Most people—her teachers, her doctors, her classmates—dismiss her as mentally challenged because she can’t tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by her disability. And she’s determined to let everyone know it…somehow.
I decided to read Out of My Mind when my 5th-grade daughter was assigned to read it for school. It’s the story of Melody, a 5th-grade girl with severe cerebral palsy. She’s in a wheelchair and can’t talk at all. However, she’s extremely intelligent. One day, she gets a computer that can talk for her, similar to what Stephen Hawking uses, and that changes everything. Almost. Even though Melody can speak, she is still vastly underestimated by both children and teachers at school. Some of the students are downright mean. Almost no one has any faith in her when she decides to try out for the school’s quiz bowl team.
I have seen some adult reviewers who thought it was unrealistic that Melody learned to use the speaking computer so quickly without the help of a speech pathologist. I’m sure it is. It’s also unrealistic that she never had any doctor’s appointments or physical therapy. However, I don’t think the point of the story was to teach 5th graders the specific medical details of a person with CP’s life. I think the simplified version accomplishes what the author set out to do. If a reader is interested in learning more about the medical side of having CP, I’m sure there are other books for that.
Out of My Mind is a great story for kids around Melody’s age to show them that you can’t always tell what’s inside a person by just looking at them. Melody is in a special education classroom with kids that not only have physical disabilities but intellectual disabilities as well. Children reading this book will see that all types of kids with disabilities have feelings and young readers will empathize with them. Actually, any age reader will emphasize with them – this book made me cry! My daughter and I both give Out of My Mind our recommendation, especially for middle-grade readers.
Another book by Sharon M. Draper I’ve reviewed:
