Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
Hi, I am Sophie. I like to mountain bike, water ski, snow ski, and do about every other sport. But, I also love to read. My favorite author is Dusti Bowling.
Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper is about a girl named Melody, with Cerebral Palsy. Cerebral Palsy is when your body muscles don’t work, but you have a brain that is more powerful than other people’s brains. People often underestimate people with Cerebral Palsy because of how they look on the outside. Doctors think Melody isn’t smart enough to go to school, but Melody’s mom enrolls her anyway. At school, she is in a class for disabled kids. In 5th grade, the school lets Melody do inclusion classes, where Melody gets to go to normal classes. Melody gets to learn things, but no one talks to her. One day, her classmate comes to class with a new laptop. Melody wants one too, but one that is right for her. Catherine, her helper, helps look for a computer for Melody. Finally, she finds the “Medi-Talker”. The Medi-Talker can talk for Melody.
Melody later learns that her school does a competition called Whiz Kids, where schools from all over the district compete against each other, answering questions. Melody is put on the team. Melody and her team go to the competition and crush it. Their team gets to go to the finals in Washington D.C. The day they leave, there is a big storm. All flights are canceled, but one. Melody’s team makes the flight, but they leave her behind. Melody experiences many other struggles, but you will have to read the book to figure out how she deals with her hardships.
