Posted as part of Tween Tuesday, hosted by GreenBeanTeenQueen.
Out of My Mind by Sharon DraperPublisher: Atheneum
Publication date: March 2010
ISBN: 9781416971702
Source: Library
Melody has never spoken in all her eleven years. She is stuck in a wheelchair with no control over her body. But inside her head, she has so much to say! She deals with the frustrations of misunderstanding and having no voice, but when she finds a way to finally speak out, it doesn't turn out to solve all her problems. Will she find a way to feel just a little more normal?
Things I Liked:
This book has spunk and a whole lot of emotion bursting from the pages. You will cheer and cry and rage with Melody as she faces more than her share of fifth grade challenges. And yet, you will see how much you fall short of her maturity and strength. Absolutely powerful and stirring. And not much else I can say about it that will be more than just gushing. Here are some good parts:
From the time I was really little - maybe just a few months old - words were like sweet, liquid gifts, and I drank them like lemonade. I could almost taste them. They made my jumbled thoughts and feelings have substance. My parents have always blanketed me with conversation. They chattered and babbled. They verbalized and vocalized. My father sang to me. My mother whispered her strength into my ear. p 2
These aides - usually one guy to help with the boys and one lady to help with the girls - do stuff like take us to the bathroom (or change diapers on kids like Ashley and Carl), feed us at lunch, wheel us where we need to go, wipe mouths, and give hugs. I don't think they get paid very much, because they never stay very long. But they should get a million dollars. What they do is really hard, and I don't think most folks get that. p 52Things I Didn't Like:
A few phrases here and there felt just a touch odd. Like things the kids would say that didn't quite sound right. Maybe I'm out of touch with fifth graders, but they just were occasionally strange-sounding. Also, the beginning was a bit slow, since not much is happening - not hard for me as an adult to want to read it, but a kid might not want to continue without much story.
Read-alikes:
Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman
Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine
BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: none
mrg-factor: none
v-factor: none
Overall rating: *****
Do you think kids will like a story like this? I haven't had any experience giving it to them, so I'm not sure.
If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage
