What is significant about the story of Ollie the fish? How does Ollie’s life mirror Melody’s? Describe Melody’s feelings when she is unable to tell her mother what really happened.Ĩ. What role does she play in Melody’s development? Why is she a necessary addition to Melody’s life?ħ. What does this say about her school system, or about attitudes at her school about teaching children with special needs?Ħ. Discuss Melody’s teachers since she began going to school. How does Melody feel about school? How does she fit in with her classmates and what makes her different from the rest of the children in H-5? What would be Melody’s ideal school situation?ĥ. How do they learn to communicate with Melody and help her to overcome everyday problems? Why are those efforts sometimes a complete failure?Ĥ. In a world that does not work for her, what seems to cause the biggest frustrations for Melody?ģ. How does this help capture the reader’s attention? What predictions can the reader make about the narrator of the story? What inferences can be made about the thought processes of the narrator’s mind?Ģ. The novel opens with a powerful discussion of the power of words and language. The Washington Post commented "author Sharon Draper creates an authentic character who insists, through her lively voice and indomitable will, that the reader become fully involved with the girl in the pink wheelchair".1. Children's Literature said "this is a genuinely moving novel". The Denver Post powerfully concluded: "if there's only one book teens and parents (and everyone else) can read this year, Out of My Mind should be it." VOYA Magazine praised "Melody's triumphs and setbacks as she strives to become a socially accepted classmate and team member are vividly described in this inspirational novel, which will appeal not only to middle school readers but also to anyone who wonders what might be going on in the minds of individuals with severe physical handicaps".The Horn Book exclaimed that the novel is "a powerfully eye-opening book with both an unforgettable protagonist and a dume cast of fully realized, complicated background characters". The Columbus Dispatch (Ohio) and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania) stated "Draper challenges those who read her story to become activists for those who are different". The Bulletin said the novel " students think twice about their classmates, acquaintances, and siblings with special needs". Booklist stated that Out of My Mind 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". Publishers Weekly criticized that there was a "lack of tension in the plot", although it was "resolved halfway through". Kirkus Reviews praised the book was "rich in detail of both the essential normalcy and the difficulties of a young person with cerebral palsy", and "descriptions of both Melody’s challenges-“Going to the bathroom at school just plain sucks”-and the insensitivities of some are unflinching and realistic". The novel received starred reviews from School Library Journal, Booklist, and Kirkus Reviews. Out of My Mind has received reviews from The Denver Post, The Columbus Dispatch, Publishers Weekly, Children's Literature, Washington Post, The Horn Book, and The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. And she's determined to let everyone know it - somehow.Ĭritical reception has been positive and seen as a well-written novel. But Melody refuses to be defined by cerebral palsy. 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. She cannot walk or talk, but she has a photographic memory she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced.
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