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Description edit
From award-winning author Sharon Draper comes Out of My Mind, the story of a brilliant girl that no one knows about because she cannot speak or write.
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Summary edit
Melody, an 11 year old girl, with Cerebral Palsy, can't talk but is brilliant. She doesn't fit in and gets frustrated because she is more intelligent than anyone her age. With the help of neighbor, Mrs. V., and her aide, Catherine, she finds a computer that allows her to finally speak her... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Characters/People edit
- Melody: The main character. Melody has cerebral palsy and she has photographic memory, and is incredibly smart. She hates being treated differently and unfairly because she can't speak and she is not able to walk.
- Catherine: Melody's special aide at school. She is in college. She usually wears funny outfits.
- Rose: Seemingly sweet girl who sits with Melody in music and history who begins to talk to her. She also is on the Quiz Kids Team.
- Claire: Catty, snobby girl in Melody's inclusion classes, is also on the Quiz Kids. She is always whispering with Molly about Melody
- Mr. Dimming: Melody's history teacher in her inclusion classes. He is in charge of the school's Quiz Kids team. He doesn't think Melody is smart and expects her to be dumb just because she has a disability.
- Mrs. Shannon: Melody's fifth grade teacher. She's very nice and one of room H-5's better teachers.
- Rodney: Smart boy in Melody's inclusion class, is on the Whiz Kids.
- Mrs. V: Neighbor who babysits and encourages Melody. Used to work in the hospital, wears loud, colorful dresses, extremely tall. Like a second mom to Melody. Doesn't go easy on her because she has a disability; she treats her like a normal kid.
- Penny: Melody's younger sister who calls Melody "Dee-Dee". She has a doll she drags around named doodle.
- Butterscotch: Melody's golden retriever. She got her as a puppy when she was little. She named her Butterscotch because of her love for butterscotch candies.
- Miss Gordon: Melody's English teacher who assigns the class to write an autobiography
- Ollie: Melody's goldfish.
- Mr. Kingsley: The host of the wziz kids competition.
- Ashley: Small girl in room 5H that is dressed in matching clothes (red shirt, red pants, red socks, etc.) by her mother.
- Carl: Older boy in 5H that loves Nascar and "zooming" around in his electric wheelchair.
- Jill: Student in H-5; she has a traumatic brain injury and physical disability.
- Mrs. Hyatt: Kindergarten teacher
- Mrs. Lovelace: Music teacher in inclusion classes.
- Ms. Ochoa: Channel 6 news reporter
- Elena: Sixth grader on the Whiz Kids team. The first one to remember Melody when boarding the plane.
- Mrs. Brooks: Melody's mom
- Maria: A sweet girl in H-5, who is the only one who likes Sydney the Snowman. Maria laughs at everything and has a great sence of humor.
- Elvira: Just wait and read it ;D
- Mrs. Billups: Melody's third grade teacher that treated the kids in 5H like babies, re-teaching the same preschool level lessons and forcing them to listen to baby songs.
- Molly: Catty girl. Claire's friend, also on the Whiz Kids.
- Connor: Class clown who is on the school's quiz team.
- Sydney: A snowman made of Styrofoam balls that the students in H-5 are forced to decorate each year. The students do not like Sydney, except for Maria.
- Mr. Brooks: Melody's dad
Quotes edit
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“I was going out of my mind. How can silence be so loud?”
Melody's Thoughts -
“I am surrounded by words.”
Melody -
“Dad also has the loudest, stinkiest farts in creation. I don’t know how he manages to control them at work, or even if he does, but when he’d get home, he’d let them loose. They’d start as he walked up the stairs.”
Melody's thoughts
- Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
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“You are a bird, Melody. And you will fly on Monday when you take the test.”
Highlighted by 38 Kindle customers -
Nobody gets it. Nobody. Drives me crazy.
Highlighted by 38 Kindle customers -
Dad also has the loudest, stinkiest farts in creation. I don’t know how he manages to control them at work, or even if he does, but when he’d get home, he’d let them loose. They’d start as he walked up the stairs.
Highlighted by 35 Kindle customers -
I believe in me. And my family does. And Mrs. V. It’s the rest of the world I’m not so sure of.
Highlighted by 34 Kindle customers -
It’s like I live in a cage with no door and no key. And I have no way to tell someone how to get me out.
Highlighted by 34 Kindle customers -
Mrs. Violet Valencia lives next door to us. Violets are purple, and Valencia oranges are, well, orange! Purple oranges are just plain unusual, and so is she.
Highlighted by 32 Kindle customers -
“But a person is so much more than the name of a diagnosis on a chart!”
Highlighted by 31 Kindle customers -
I’m always amazed at how adults assume I can’t hear. They talk about me as if I’m invisible, figuring I’m too retarded to understand their conversation.
Highlighted by 31 Kindle customers -
Doctors. Where do I start? Doctors really don’t get me. Mom’s a nurse, so I guess she speaks their language, but they sure don’t know how to talk to me.
Highlighted by 29 Kindle customers -
When I sleep, I dream. And in my dreams I can do anything. I get picked first on the playground for games. I can run so fast! I take gymnastics, and I never fall off the balance beam. I know how to square-dance, and I’m good at it. I call my friends on the phone, and we talk for hours. I whisper secrets. I sing.
Highlighted by 25 Kindle customers
Setting & Locations edit
First Sentence edit
Words. I am surrounded by thousands of words.
Series & Lists edit
This book is in Kirkus Reviews: 2010 Best Children's Books. (authoritative list)
Authors & Contributors edit
- Sharon M. Draper (Author)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Atheneum
Country: Add the country of publication.
Publication Date: 2010
ISBN: 9781416971702
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Atheneum
Country: Add the country of publication.
Publication Date: 2010
ISBN: 9781416971702
Page Count: 304
Awards edit
- Josette Frank Award by the Children's Book Committee of the Bank Street College of Education (young people deal in a positive and realistic way with difficulties in their world and grow emotionally and morally)
- Outstanding Children's book of 2011 by Bank Street College
- 2011 Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts (2011)
Subjects edit
- Books › Children's Books › People & Places › Social Issues › Special Needs › Fiction
- Books › Health, Mind & Body › Personal Health › Children's Health › Special Needs Children
- Books › Children's Books › People & Places › Family Life
- Books › Children's Books › Issues
- Books › Children's Books › Ages 9-12
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Links to Supplemental Material edit
- Sharon Draper.com: author's website
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