A review of Out of My Mind

Out of My Mind is one of my favorite books. This is a book about a girl named Melody whose biggest dream is to go to school and fit in with everyone else around her instead of sitting in class room H5 with all of the other kids with disabilities like her. Melody is in 5th grade and even though she is paralyzed from the neck down she is the smartest in her class. To Melody it feels as if her brain may explode with only a few words on her talking board which helps her communicate with the people around her. You learn more about this in the book. She is very limited with things to say, and she can only express herself through small hand gestures and the very few high pitched sounds she can make. 

This book draws you in in so many different ways. One of them being the suspense you feel in one of the ending chapters. It is filled with chaos, miscommunication, and disappointment felt all throughout Melody’s family. You also feel a deep sorrow for them when some unexpected, sad and aggravating news arrives from one of her classmates; they could not believe it. Had that really just happened?

This book is written from the perspective of Melody so you get to know her on a deeper level which really adds to the book. Throughout this book you develop a strong connection to her. Being one of the only people that actually knows what she is thinking and feeling in her everyday life, you feel like you are one of her close friends. This connects back to the title Out of My Mind; because Melody is so limited in her movement and speech sometimes it feels as if she could explode. It represents that emotion of feeling stuck, limited, restrained or driving yourself crazy because you can’t express how you truly feel or what you want to say or tell somebody. 

I loved this book because it draws you in and communicates what it may feel like to have a disability like Melody’s. This book is realistic fiction and throughout all of the twists and turns, the ups and downs, and the emotional roller coasters it feels as if you are walking into her life and living it. To everyone who loves reading realistic fiction I would strongly encourage you to read this book; with everything that happens you will not be bored but instead, not be able to put the book down.