Out of my Mind by Sharon Draper (EXAMPLE)

Out of my Mind by Sharon Draper is about Melody, an 11 year old girl with cerebral palsy. She is brilliantly smart, but has almost no way to communicate all she knows. Melody is confined to a wheelchair, unable to walk, talk, or feed herself (among other things). In this story, she leaves the special ed. classroom she's always known and enters the world of "inclusion" where she, and her special classmates, are included in the "regular" classrooms with the other students at school. Melody makes a friend in her new music class, but is also subject to snide remarks and ridicule by some really mean "mean girls". Eventually, Melody is given an assistant who helps her get to classes and works with her on her assignments. Melody and Catherine find information about a new system for communication - a computer that sits on Melody's wheelchair that is programmable with words, phrases, sentences providing thousands of words and combinations! Melody is finally able to get her thoughts out into the open. She even earns a spot on the prestigious Quiz Whiz team, astounding most of her classmates and teachers! Things aren't as great as they seem as Melody continues to be subjected to the quiet nastiness of the mean girls, but she plows through, seemingly overcoming all obstacles thrown her way. However, with everything going smoothly, there are bound to be some unexpected turns of events...

I recommend this book to anyone and everyone. I experienced every single emotion imaginable as I learned more and more about Melody's world:I laughed right out loud, I cried, I got angry, I was sad, I felt excited and triumphant, and on and on. This book is told in 1st person through Melody's voice, the one she has never been able to accurately express. It goes through all of her personal thoughts, emotions, struggles, and successes. I wish I knew Melody. Melody could be any one of us, whether we have a disability or not. She has the same kinds of hopes, dreams, battles, and victories all of us experience at different points in our lives. She wants to "fit in" but struggles to find her niche. She is misunderstood and struggles to find her voice. And, when she finally does, wow is it powerful.