Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper (Realistic Fiction)

“Out of My Mind” is a realistic fiction novel written by Sharon M. Draper. The main character of this book, Melody, is a girl who is diagnosed with a disease called cerebral palsy. This disease prevents Melody from speaking and limits her ability to control her body the way she wants it to. Over time, Melody has learned thousands of words by watching and listening to the people around her. However, Melody grows frustrated as she cannot speak the words bouncing around her head. One day, Melody's mother applies Melody to school. Melody starts school but comes to realize that people think she is different and not as intelligent as other people because of her physical disability. She is put into a class with other disabled students. Her school begins a program for the class which allows them to try classes that other students take. She is assigned to a caretaker named Catherine to help her in her classes. After a few classes, Melody imagines a computer that allows her to communicate easily. Melody makes gestures to help Catherine understand what she wants. Catherine finds a computer called Medi-Talker designed to help people like Melody communicate. With her parents’ permission,

Melody receives the Medi-Talker and names it Elvira. She brings it to school and students are intrigued by the new device. Later, Mr. Dimming hosts a quiz session after school to select the competitors on the quiz team. Melody desperately wants to join, so she takes the quiz and receives the highest score out of all the test-takers! Melody joins the quiz team and begins to study for the upcoming competition. By joining the team, Melody begins to believe that normal people are starting to understand her and appreciate her for who she is, but eventually, she learns the heartbreaking truth-she will never be accepted the same way other people are. In this book, Melody finds her voice and learns to cope with tough challenges, no matter how hard they get.

I believe “Out of My Mind” is an incredible, heartwarming story, sure to catch the attention of readers who enjoy books that show you the world through a unique perspective. I believe the author did a phenomenal job portraying the mental as well as physical struggles people with disabilities face. I really liked this book because it contains positive messages. One example is that this book teaches us not to judge someone based on their appearance. One thing that really intrigued me was the issue of discrimination, a popular discussion topic worldwide. It was interesting to see Melody’s perspective when she is treated differently due to her physical limits, and how she dealt with such inequalities. Even though Melody faces a series of misfortunes, especially in the last couple of chapters, having a bittersweet ending helped me appreciate Melody’s perseverance, determination, and compassion. The ending of this book caused me to recall a book called “The BFG” by Roald Dahl because both books ended in a similar manner. I think Draper was very ingenious to place that ending into the story. I believe this book is a perfect novel for anyone in search of a passionate, touching, emotional, and inspirational book. I rate this book 5/5 star.

Reviewed by Hannah J. 6th Grade