Out of my Mind by Sharon Draper

Out of my Mind by Sharon Draper is about Melody, an 11 year old girl with cerebral palsy. She is brilliantly smart, but has almost no way to communicate all she knows. Melody is confined to a wheelchair, unable to walk, talk, or feed herself (among other things). In this story, she leaves the special ed. classroom she's always known and enters the world of "inclusion" where she, and her special classmates, are included in the "regular" classrooms with the other students at school. Melody makes a friend in her new music class, but is also subject to snide remarks and ridicule by some really mean "mean girls". Eventually, Melody is given an assistant who helps her get to classes and works with her on her assignments. Melody and Catherine find information about a new system for communication - a computer that sits on Melody's wheelchair that is programmable with words, phrases, sentences - literally 1000s of words and combinations! Melody is finally able to get her thoughts out into the open. She even earns a spot on the prestigious Quiz Whiz team, astounding most of her classmates and teachers! Things aren't as great as they seem as Melody continues to be subjected to the quiet nastiness of the mean girls, but she plows through, seemingly overcoming all obstacles thrown her way. However, with everything going smoothly, there's bound to be some unexpected turns of events...

This is literally my favorite book of the school year. I experienced every single emotion imaginable as I experienced Melody's world - I laughed right out loud, I cried, I got angry, I was sad, I felt excited and triumphant, on and on. This book is told in 1st person through Melody's voice - the one she has never been able to accurately express. It goes through all of her personal thoughts, emotions, struggles, you name it. I wish I knew Melody. Wow, what a powerful story.