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Guests | February 8, 2012

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Tonight is the first event for the new book, and I've spent most of the afternoon at home with curlers in my hair and cucumber circles on the eyes... Continue »
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Out of My Mind

by Sharon M. Draper

Out of My Mind Cover

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

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 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.

From multiple Coretta Scott King Award winner Sharon M. Draper comes a story full of heartache and hope. Get ready to meet a girl whose voice you'll never, ever forget.

Review:

"Melody Brooks, in a wheelchair and unable to speak, narrates this story about finding her voice. The first half of the book catalogues Melody's struggles — from her frustration with learning the same preschool lessons year after year to her inability to express a craving for a Big Mac. Draper, whose daughter has cerebral palsy, writes with authority, and the rage behind Melody's narrative is perfectly illustrated in scenes demonstrating the startling ignorance of many professionals (a doctor diagnoses Melody as 'profoundly retarded'), teachers, and classmates. The lack of tension in the plot is resolved halfway through when Melody, at age 10, receives a talking computer, allowing her to 'speak.' Only those with hearts of stone won't blubber when Melody tells her parents 'I love you' for the first time. Melody's off-the-charts smarts are revealed when she tests onto her school's quiz bowl team, and the story shifts to something closer to The View from Saturday than Stuck in Neutral. A horrific event at the end nearly plunges the story into melodrama and steers the spotlight away from Melody's determination, which otherwise drives the story. Ages 10–up." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

"Uplifting and upsetting, this is a book that defies age categorization, an easy enough read for upper-elementary students yet also a story that will enlighten and resonate with teens and adults....[T]his moving novel will make activists of us all." Booklist (starred review)

Review:

"Kids will benefit from being introduced to Melody and her gutsy, candid, and compelling story. It speaks volumes and reveals the quiet strength and fortitude it takes to overcome disabilities and the misconceptions that go with them." School Library Journal (starred review)

Synopsis:

From a multiple Coretta Scott King Award-winning author comes the story of a brilliant girl that no one knows about because she cannot speak or write.

Synopsis:

Melody is not like most people. She cannot walk or talk, but she has a photographic memory; she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced. She is smarter than most of the adults who try to diagnose her, and smarter than her classmates in her integrated classroom—the very same classmates who dismiss her as mentally challenged because she cannot tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by cerebral palsy. And shes determined to let everyone know it…somehow. In this breakthrough story from multiple Coretta Scott King Award-winner Sharon Draper—reminiscent of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly—readers will come to meet a brilliant mind and a brave spirit, and remember that every voice is important.
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About the Author

Sharon Draper is a two-time Coretta Scott King Award-winning author, most recently for Copper Sun, and previously for Forged by Fire. She's also the recipient of the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Author Award for New Talent for Tears of a Tiger and the Coretta Scott King Author Honor for The Battle of Jericho and November Blues. Her other books include Romiette and Julio, Darkness Before Dawn, and Double Dutch. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she taught high school English for twenty-five years. She's a popular conference speaker, addressing educational and literary groups both nationally and internationally. For more information visit her online at www.sharondraper.com.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 3 comments:
AMS, January 6, 2012 (view all comments by AMS)
Amazing!!!!!
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Colleen Perez, January 2, 2012 (view all comments by Colleen Perez)
Yes, this is young adult fiction (but so is "The Hunger Games"), but I have to say it is the best, most surprising story I've read all year. The main character has more "voice" in her mind than most characters do aloud. You see, the main character has cerebral palsey; she cannot walk, feed herself, or talk. However, the readers are privy to her thoughts and boy does she have thoughts. The story focuses on Melody and what she goes through being a person with disabilities. Don't feel sorry for her, though, because trapped in a body that doesn't behave the way she'd like lies a genius, really. Melody goes to school, interacts with peers ( the good and the bad) and learns what kind of person she is capable of being. Actually, everyone else learns what kind of person she really is; she already knows. Susan Draper creates a story full of voice from a person with no traditional voice, and along the way events occur that shape this into a non-predictable story. I'm usually not too surprised when it comes to young adult fiction, but Draper threw a couple of curveballs at me. Maybe I was just so engrossed that I didn't see it coming, but I was surprised by some of the turn of events. Besides the obvious, this story really enlightens the reader as to a world that most of us will never encounter. I've recommended it to many of my elementary students, but I've also insisted that my adult friends read it as well.
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kryptique, September 21, 2011 (view all comments by kryptique)
Wow!! This book was amazing! The main character has basically been trapped in her less than functional body for years, with a brilliant mind and many thoughts, but is only now beginning to be able to communicate with others through technology. At its heart, this book depicts the main character as nothing more nor less than a teenager, despite all the differences and frustrations and challenges. I love that Draper does not attempt to turn her character into someone to be pitied nor worshiped, but that she shows her humanism and similarity to other teens. Her character makes mistakes, gets angry, tries her best to be a good person but sometimes falls short. A fascinating and at times tearjerking read.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9781416971702
Author:
Draper, Sharon M.
Publisher:
Atheneum Books
Subject:
People with disabilities
Subject:
Interpersonal Relations
Subject:
Social Issues - Special Needs
Subject:
Family - General
Subject:
Situations / Special Needs
Subject:
Children s Young Adult-Social Issue Fiction-Special Needs
Subject:
Children s Young Adult-Social Issue Fiction
Copyright:
2010
Publication Date:
20100331
Binding:
HARDCOVER
Grade Level:
Children/juvenile
Language:
English
Pages:
304
Dimensions:
7 x 5 in 10.71 oz
Age Level:
08-12
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Related Aisles

Out of My Mind New Hardcover
0 stars - 0 reviews
$16.99 In Stock
Product details 304 pages Atheneum Books - English 9781416971702 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "Melody Brooks, in a wheelchair and unable to speak, narrates this story about finding her voice. The first half of the book catalogues Melody's struggles — from her frustration with learning the same preschool lessons year after year to her inability to express a craving for a Big Mac. Draper, whose daughter has cerebral palsy, writes with authority, and the rage behind Melody's narrative is perfectly illustrated in scenes demonstrating the startling ignorance of many professionals (a doctor diagnoses Melody as 'profoundly retarded'), teachers, and classmates. The lack of tension in the plot is resolved halfway through when Melody, at age 10, receives a talking computer, allowing her to 'speak.' Only those with hearts of stone won't blubber when Melody tells her parents 'I love you' for the first time. Melody's off-the-charts smarts are revealed when she tests onto her school's quiz bowl team, and the story shifts to something closer to The View from Saturday than Stuck in Neutral. A horrific event at the end nearly plunges the story into melodrama and steers the spotlight away from Melody's determination, which otherwise drives the story. Ages 10–up." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
"Review" by , "Uplifting and upsetting, this is a book that defies age categorization, an easy enough read for upper-elementary students yet also a story that will enlighten and resonate with teens and adults....[T]his moving novel will make activists of us all."
"Review" by , "Kids will benefit from being introduced to Melody and her gutsy, candid, and compelling story. It speaks volumes and reveals the quiet strength and fortitude it takes to overcome disabilities and the misconceptions that go with them."
"Synopsis" by , From a multiple Coretta Scott King Award-winning author comes the story of a brilliant girl that no one knows about because she cannot speak or write.
"Synopsis" by , Melody is not like most people. She cannot walk or talk, but she has a photographic memory; she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced. She is smarter than most of the adults who try to diagnose her, and smarter than her classmates in her integrated classroom—the very same classmates who dismiss her as mentally challenged because she cannot tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by cerebral palsy. And shes determined to let everyone know it…somehow. In this breakthrough story from multiple Coretta Scott King Award-winner Sharon Draper—reminiscent of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly—readers will come to meet a brilliant mind and a brave spirit, and remember that every voice is important.
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