Out of My Mind
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 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 two-time 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.
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Melody is the smartest kid in her grade, but she has cerebral palsy, can't talk, and gets stuck in a special classroom that doesn't see her. A new communication device finally gives her a voice.
Out of My Mind is middle grade, recommended for readers 9 to 12. Sharon M. Draper drew on her own daughter's experience with cerebral palsy. The novel is widely taught in classrooms.
Yes. Disney+ released a 2024 film adaptation directed by Amber Sealey. The film follows the novel's first-person narration and was widely well received.
Out of My Mind was written by Sharon M. Draper, published in 2010 by Anthuem.
Out of My Mind is 315 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Out of My Mind takes most readers 5 to 7 hours to finish.
Out of My Mind is a standalone novel by Sharon M. Draper, not part of a series.
Out of My Mind is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
