(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Melody Brooks hates being treated like an idiot.  Just because the 10-year-old can't walk or talk doesn't mean she can't think.  In fact, with her photographic memory, plus a sensory condition that makes her experience the world more fully than other people, Melody is probably the smartest kid in her elementary school.  Too bad no one but her will ever know it.  Most people, especially other children, can't see past Melody's wheelchair—they don't realize she's not just a gawk-worthy freak, but a real person with feelings, thoughts and ideas. 

Without a way to communicate more complex sentences than "I'm hungry" or "I have to go to the bathroom," Melody's not sure how to share all the things brimming inside her mind.  And it's making her crazy.  She has so much to say, she just needs a way to get it all out.  When an opportunity's presented that will allow Melody to do just that, she's ecstatic.  A little terrified, too.  What if people don't want to hear her thoughts and feelings?  What if her classmates just make fun of her more?  Can Melody find the courage to express herself, even if she says things no one else wants to hear?  

I read Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper not just because I loved its premise, but also because my 11-year-old daughter's been raving about how amazing it is.  The book didn't blow me away quite as much as it did her—still, Out of My Mind offers an important and thought-provoking story about the assumptions we often make about people, especially children, with special needs.  It also says a lot about the need for caring, positive teachers, doctors and therapists as well as parents who believe in their children no matter what limitations they might have.  Out of My Mind is a novel for any child who's ever felt misunderstood and for any adult who's ever wondered what goes on inside the heads of the kids they're rearing and/or teaching.  Really, it's a story for all of us.   

(Readalikes:  Reminded me of Wonder by R.J. Palacio)

Grade:  B

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  PG for subject matter most suited for kids 10 and over

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of Out of My Mind at Deseret Book.      

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Kelle Hampton is the kind of woman who plans things down to a T.  Including the birth of a child.  As her belly swelled in anticipation of her first baby's arrival, she wrestled with every last detail to ensure the event would go off perfectly.  The 31-year-old knew who would be in the delivery room when her baby came (her husband and best girlfriends), what they would listen to while she pushed (carefully-selected birthing music), which outfit she would don while receiving visitors (a slinky nightgown and a tiara), and that she would distribute handmade party favors (yes, really) to everyone who stopped by to see the newborn.  Everything about the day would be perfect.  Absolutely flawless.  

Then, Nella Cordelia arrived.  With Down syndrome.  And all of Kelle's work toward having the perfect birth experience with the perfect baby flew out the door.  Because, despite her obsessive planning, the baby in her arms was far from the one Kelle had been expecting.  Although she looked as pink and round as the healthiest infant, Nella carried an extra chromosome—and that made all the difference.  As Kelle absorbed the devastating diagnosis, she went through every possible emotion.  Bottom line: she had to learn to love her baby.  The question was how to do so when she felt so scared, so let down, so helpless. 

Kelle found the process so difficult that she poured out all of her feelings about it on a blog that became enormously popular.  In 2012, her blog entries, along with dozens of family photos, were assembled and published as the best-selling memoir, Bloom.  And it's a lovely book, in lots of ways.  The photographs are striking, the prose stirring.  The journey Kelle recounts feels so real and raw that it's almost as if it's happening right here, right now, to you.  It's touching, no doubt about it.  Because even as Kelle recalls even her ugliest thoughts and emotions, she does it with a sincerity that underscores her ultimate message—beauty can be discovered in even the most surprising packages. 

Now, I admit that I almost set this book aside a few times.  The prologue made me roll my eyes and wonder if I could really relate to an adult woman who wore a tiara while receiving visitors in the hospital.  But I persevered.  Later, as Kelle took two hundred pages to work through her grief and disappointment, I found myself more than a little irritated with her self-indulgent whining.  It's eloquent whining, don't get me wrong, but since I'm more of an accept-what-you-can't-change-and-move-on kind of person, it grated on my nerves.  As did Kelle's constant neediness.  Still, I appreciated the honesty and passion with which Kelle told her story.  And even though the book isn't really about the ins and outs of parenting a special needs child, it is about learning how to accept them, to nurture them, and to endow them with the fiercest, most empowering gift you can give them—your undying love.  I can get behind that message, even if it comes from a whiny woman wearing a plastic tiara.

(Readalikes:  Hm, I can't think of anything.  Can you?)

Grade:  B

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  PG-13 for language (no F-bombs), and very mild sexual innuendo/content

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of Bloom from the generous folks at Harper Collins via those at TLC Book Tours.  Thank you!