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 teacher and doctors included—don’t think she’s capable of learning, and up 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 insider 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.
I wanted to read this book because I work with special needs kids and they are the highlight of my day. I was interested by this story because it's something I've often wondered about the kids that cannot communicate; are they really unable to do so, or do they have voices that we simply cannot hear? Melody's story is one of love and bravery. This book is a wonderful tool to help others understand the difficulty of raising a child with any kind of special need and help them to understand how the children feel too. Sharon Draper did a wonderful job with this story, I found myself rubbing my eyes and smiling to myself and wishing more people could really get to know these truly special and unique children who embody pure and perfect love.
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