Do you want to read a fun and awesome book? Do you want to hear what happened to Melody from Out of My Mind? Then you should read Out of My Heart, the sequel to that book.
Melody begs her mom to sign her up for a camp for kids just like her: kids with disabilities. In case you didn’t know, Melody has a disability called cerebral palsy, which disables her speaking and walking abilities. She goes to the camp and has a counselor named Trinity. Melody hopes to have a good time while being in her group: Orange Falcons.
The other members, Karyn, Jocelyn, and Athena are part of this group. Melody hopes to also make more friends, including these people. She starts talking to Karyn a bit, but not much. She gets bathed, dressed, and does activities in this camp. At night, they have something called Fire Time in which they gather around the fire, chat, and eat s’mores.
As the days of camp pass by, Melody starts to talk to more people with her Elvira, which allows her to type stuff she wants to say to others. It’s not as efficient as words just coming out of your mouth, but it works at least. And the best part is that people accept her there and there are things to do for people like her. Even though she is in a wheelchair, she goes ziplining, experiences foot painting, plays drums and plays on a playground. However, most essentially, she finally feels like she has friends: a cute boy she met named Noah, Karyn, Jocelyn, and Athena!
When it’s the last day of camp and everyone has to say goodbye, Melody and her friends from the Orange Falcons make a pact to come back next year to this camp. Once their parents come to pick them up, they say their goodbyes. And who knows? Maybe, if Sharon M. Draper, the author of the two books, makes a third book, it might include Melody’s next year at camp! But, hopefully, they reunite at some point.
This book is an amazing one. The sequel’s theme shows that even if you’re different, you can fit in, even for people like Melody. I would recommend this to 10 years and older people who like realistic fiction. Try reading it, though, because even though you don’t like realistic fiction, you might like it! So try reading this heartfelt book.
Written by Kruti Patel
