Out of My Mind - Sharon Draper

Goodreads Summary:  "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."

Michelle recommended this book - it's written for 5th/6th graders, but has so much meaning for everyone who reads it.  It was funny, thought provoking, sad and well written.  I am totally blown away by how the author got into Melody's head to understand her feelings and frustrations. To show how adults and kids just to conclusions, just because someone is different than them.

How many times do I say things without thinking how they will affect others?  How many times to I look at people and see them as "different" than me and not give them the time of day?  This book has made me look at others differently, to not assume that "just because they are different (or fat or dressed poorly or ....) that they don't have feelings and need a hug or be listened to - just like me.

Thanks, Michelle, for sharing this book with me.

Finished:  August 6, 2012