Out of My Mind
By Sharon M. Draper
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Pages: 295
Rating: 5 out of 5
Summary (from the back cover): Eleven-year-old Melody has a photographic memory. Her head is like a video camera that is always recording. Always. And there's no delete button. She's the smartest kid in her whole school-but NO ONE knows it. Most people-her teachers and doctors included-don't think she's capable of learning, and up until recently her school days have consisted of listening to the same preschool-level alphabet lessons again and again and again. If only she could speak up, if only she could tell people what she thinks and knows... but she can't, because Melody can't talk. She can't walk. She can't write. Being stuck inside her head is making Melody go out of her mind-that is, until she discovers something that will allow her to speak for the first time ever. At last Melody has a voice... but not everyone around her is ready to hear it.
Review: From the very first page I was enveloped in this book. Melody is such a wonderful and relatable character that I couldn't help but fall in love with her and root for her throughout the book. Every success I cheered for and at every failure my heart sank. Melody's perspective on life and even just the ability to express words and feelings really hit me. I mean, do we really take the time to appreciate just the natural ability to talk? To be able to tell our family that we love them or to thank someone for doing something?
Draper does an amazing job at capturing the essence of Melody and her family in a realistic way. This book is filled with humor, sadness, tragedy, and joy that leaves your senses reeling. I'm sad that there is no second book after this but I applaud Sharon Draper for this novel and everything that it introduces to the world.
I say that this book is an excellent read and that readers will enjoy it tremendously!
I LOVED this book! I think it has so much going for it that it would appeal to all ages.
ReplyDeleteI have read other Draper novels but not this one yet - it sounds amazing! That's a really original plot. I'll have to add this to my never-ending list of wants-to-reads!
ReplyDeleteSue
2018 Big Book Summer Challenge