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starsnstitchin's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Ableism, Bullying, and Fatphobia
Minor: Car accident, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Vomit
ekmoore11's review
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Medical content, Chronic illness, and Bullying
Moderate: Animal death, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit and Toxic friendship
aceofsphades_reads's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Amazing, super enjoyable. I reread it often and it’s still one of my favorite books ever.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Bullying
Minor: Vomit
theseasoul's review
challenging
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
|| 4 stars ||
For a middle grade book, this one was incredibly deep and eye-opening.
Melody, a girl diagnosed with cerebral palsy, is very physically limited. She can’t talk or walk, but she has a brilliant mind which few people have made an effort to discover. This book follows her complex inner world, and her struggle to communicate with the outside world. There are many rich lessons to be learned as she struggles to find a voice for herself that others will understand. And even after a life-changing communication device enters her life, as she continues to be misunderstood on many different levels. I found myself in her shoes frequently as I read, feeling the frustrations, joys, and disappointments with her.
I don’t tend to enjoy the school drama in books, and the second half of the book had a lot of that. But it was still drama that usually made sense given the context, so I can mostly forgive it.
If you have a desire to understand people who communicate differently, this is a simple yet excellent book for any age group to take the time to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Vomit
zombiezami's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
When I was in high school, Sharon Draper was my favorite author. I’m revisiting this book since I saw she published a sequel to it last year.
This book has a lot of heart, and I enjoyed Melody’s internal monologue. I didn’t enjoy the casual fatphobia, and I hope it’s not present in the sequel.
This book has a lot of heart, and I enjoyed Melody’s internal monologue. I didn’t enjoy the casual fatphobia, and I hope it’s not present in the sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Bullying
Moderate: Car accident, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Vomit, Excrement, Medical content, and Gaslighting
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
morganperks's review
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Chronic illness, and Car accident
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Medical content
Minor: Vomit
__hel__'s review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Car accident, Chronic illness, and Vomit
backpackingbookworm's review
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3.5 stars
I read this book as part of my reading challenge, where January's theme was 'characters with a disability.' It certainly puts you in Melody's shoes as she tries to navigate all the issues of pre-teenage life along with the frustrations of being unable to voice her thoughts. It opens your eyes to how children who don't conform to ideas of 'normal' are treated like they're babies/stupid/non-existent. Melody had a perfectly functioning brain and was incredibly smart, but many overlooked her intelligence because she had cerebral palsy, was wheelchair-bound, and non-verbal. I loved how the author gave Melody a voice and felt so much pride when the mainstream children accepted her in their classes. I also felt anger, humiliation, and despair when she was teased and purposefully left out.
I wasn't a huge fan of the writing in this one which is where my rating dropped the most points. Much of the language is now dated and could have easily been avoided by staying generic to give the book a longer shelf-life. I also felt that the author was trying to hard to speak 'kid' (maybe I'm just the wrong audience but it felt a little overdone to me).
The plot was basic but for a younger audience, the main points were definitely addressed and the morals were clear - accept people for who they are, never judge someone just because they aren't what you deem 'normal,' and always, always be kind.
I read this book as part of my reading challenge, where January's theme was 'characters with a disability.' It certainly puts you in Melody's shoes as she tries to navigate all the issues of pre-teenage life along with the frustrations of being unable to voice her thoughts. It opens your eyes to how children who don't conform to ideas of 'normal' are treated like they're babies/stupid/non-existent. Melody had a perfectly functioning brain and was incredibly smart, but many overlooked her intelligence because she had cerebral palsy, was wheelchair-bound, and non-verbal. I loved how the author gave Melody a voice and felt so much pride when the mainstream children accepted her in their classes. I also felt anger, humiliation, and despair when she was teased and purposefully left out.
I wasn't a huge fan of the writing in this one which is where my rating dropped the most points. Much of the language is now dated and could have easily been avoided by staying generic to give the book a longer shelf-life. I also felt that the author was trying to hard to speak 'kid' (maybe I'm just the wrong audience but it felt a little overdone to me).
The plot was basic but for a younger audience, the main points were definitely addressed and the morals were clear - accept people for who they are, never judge someone just because they aren't what you deem 'normal,' and always, always be kind.
Content Warnings
Minor: Vomit
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