Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

Draper, S. M. (2010). Out of my mind. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
Melody is an eleven year old with Cerebral Palsy. The teachers and students at school think she is incapable of completing the same assignments as “regular” students. Her family, school aide, Catherine, and Mrs. V., her neighbor, know she’s as smart as everyone else. Melody discovers a device that can talk for her. This device opens up the world for Melody. Teachers and classmates realize she’s as smart as them. Melody enters a quiz competition and wins. She gets to be on the team with her classmates that travel to Washington D.C. for the quiz championship competition. When Melody and her family get to the airport, they learn the flight was cancelled, however, everyone on the team was able to get an earlier flight. The team did not tell Melody, which hurt her feelings. The team loses in the national competition, and when Melody and the class get back to school, the conflict is resolved when the class apologizes for what they did. The way the author uses such vivid conversion from the main character, Melody, significantly helps the reader get a clearer understanding of the vast struggles people with disabilities encounter. Based on the way the author expresses Melody’s emotions, the reader can begin to empathize with the way Melody feels about her disability. Because the setting is mainly based in the classroom and at Melody’s school, it makes the story more realistic and relatable for the reader. Because the point of view of the story is told by the main character, Melody, the story is more realistic, and the reader feels more connected to Melody. If readers enjoyed reading about how people with disabilities overcome life’s obstacles, then they will love the book, “Colin Fischer” by Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz. This book follows a boy with autism and how he struggles to prove a fellow classmate’s innocence.