Last week, Dora contributed a book list of top ten titles for 4th and 5th grade girls. She is an avid reader and writer – she has excellent taste – and here she shares a review of one of the books on her list of favorites.

Out of My Mind, by Sharon M. Draper
Reviewed by Dora Lanigan (4th grade, Brooklyn, NY)

Melody is an 11 year old who has cerebral palsy, which means she cannot walk or talk. She must use a wheelchair and she can’t communicate with words or movements. This bugs her because she has a lot on her mind! Her classes consist of kindergarten lessons over and over again. To worsen it all, she has a photographic memory and remembers everything – good or bad – whether she likes it or not. She can’t express this to anyone, not even her family, because, again, she can’t talk.

Melody also has a younger sister, Penny, who seems perfect in every way. Most people think Melody’s kind of weird and Penny’s super-‘normal’. So when Melody does find a way to say things, it changes her life in many different ways… ­­­THIS is her story.

All in all, Out of My Mind is a great book for kids who are about 8-99. It is funny and has many surprises. It also lets readers get to know a girl with cerebral palsy, from Melody’s point of view.