From the Bookshelf of Mock Newbery 2026…
Find A Copy At
Group Discussions About This Book
No group discussions for this book yet.
What Members Thought

I'm surprised I did not review this book the first time I read it, as this is such an incredible book. Out of My Mind is about a girl named Melody who has cerebral palsy. She also has a photographic memory. Only problem (well, beside the CP) is that she has no ability to communicate all that she knows to those around her. She is non-verbal, and unable to control her basic functions. When her mother insists on putting her in school, she, of course, is put in a class with other "like" students, an
...more

Heartbreaking and triumphant all at the same time. Melody is an eleven year old girl with smarts and sass; she also has cerebral palsy. The book chronicles her struggles to fit in at a normal school and show the world what she really knows and is capable of. I thought the beginning was a bit uneven and hard to get into, but around page 50, the story picks up. I loved Melody--strong and resilient in the face of the idiots at her school, but still a kid in her voice telling the story. A former stu
...more

Eh. Schools assign this, and maybe it's a useful compassion-builder. Maybe. And you know I love a side of didacticism with my reading. But I cannot understand the starred reviews. Characters are flat and boring and cookie-cutter. Plot is roll-your-eyes predictable. Language, especially the dialogue, is stilted and her use of slang seems both overeager and already dated though it's only three years old. ("That would be so tight!" "That's what's up!") It's beginning to make me think of The Rainbow
...more

Sad story about an 11 year old girl with cerebal palsey. She has no way to commu6nicate until they get her a special computer, which opens up her world. She competes on a knowledge team.
Good for 5-6. Just will need to get the right excited kid to read it and get others excited about it. In Peggy Sharp's top 10 list. ...more
Good for 5-6. Just will need to get the right excited kid to read it and get others excited about it. In Peggy Sharp's top 10 list. ...more

Jun 25, 2012
Holly Foley (Procida)
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
young-adult-juvenile
I had an itsy bitsy disagreement with a stranger who rated this book a 1 and had many horrible things to say about it. My need to defend the book is simmering, but to be fair, some of the depictions are not so realistically based. With that being said, there is still so much value to 9-12 year olds, and those who work with them, to read this book. The very fact that it is written from the perspective of someone with disabilities opens up your mind to make sure you put yourself in someone else's
...more


Sep 15, 2012
BunnyDumpling
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
children-s-fiction,
school,
family,
girl-main-character,
cerebral-palsy,
outcasts,
empathy,
cruelty

Jun 13, 2013
Sylena
added it

Jul 13, 2014
Christina
added it