Out of My Mind

February 15, 2010
Melody Brooks, in a wheelchair and unable to speak, narrates this story about finding her voice. The first half of the book catalogues Melody's struggles—from her frustration with learning the same preschool lessons year after year to her inability to express a craving for a Big Mac. Draper, whose daughter has cerebral palsy, writes with authority, and the rage behind Melody's narrative is perfectly illustrated in scenes demonstrating the startling ignorance of many professionals (a doctor diagnoses Melody as “profoundly retarded”), teachers, and classmates. The lack of tension in the plot is resolved halfway through when Melody, at age 10, receives a talking computer, allowing her to “speak.” Only those with hearts of stone won't blubber when Melody tells her parents “I love you” for the first time. Melody's off-the-charts smarts are revealed when she tests onto her school's quiz bowl team, and the story shifts to something closer to The View from Saturday
than Stuck in Neutral
. A horrific event at the end nearly plunges the story into melodrama and steers the spotlight away from Melody's determination, which otherwise drives the story. Ages 10–up.

Newbery winner Sharon Draper tells the story of a 10-year-old girl with cerebral palsy who, thanks to committed parents and a special neighbor, will not be held back. In spite of her physical limitations, Melody uses her intelligence and spunk to expand her world. Sisi Aisha Johnson gives voice to Melody's thoughts and feelings. Johnson's attempt to give each character a unique voice, however, is not quite successful; sometimes the wrong voice comes out of a character. Although the story is set in the world of laptop computers and video games, the attitudes of the teachers and the psychologist who assume that Melody can't learn predate the days of inclusion and equal access to education. N.E.M. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

Starred review from October 31, 2016
This long-overdue audio narration of Draper’s 2010 middle grade novel is a breakout performance for voice actress Johnson, who skillfully brings together childlike sensitivity and grown-up gravitas as she gives life to Draper’s character Melody Brooks. Confined to a wheelchair, Melody is physically trapped by cerebral palsy, but the condition hasn’t slowed her prodigious mind; Melody is a genius, as her parents have always suspected and her fifth-grade classmates and teachers are about to find out. Johnson captures Melody’s frustration when she cannot communicate, her elation when technological advances finally allow her to, and her sadness when others still regard her with fear or suspicion. Johnson also voices the novel’s other characters with wisdom and compassion, including Melody’s parents and the tough-as-nails neighbor who pushes the girl to excel. Older children and their parents will enjoy the way Johnson brings life to this unforgettable character. Ages 10–up. An Atheneum paperback.