Out of My Mind had me really thinking about how many nonverbal people are trapped inside brilliant minds, just waiting to be understood. As someone who works in special education, this story hit me right in the feels.

Sharon Draper took on a major challenge writing from the POV of an 11-year-old girl with cerebral palsy—and she did a beautiful job capturing Melody’s frustration, intelligence, and spark. I wanted to love this book completely. And while there were definitely moments that moved me, the overall storyline just didn’t work for me like I hoped it would. The ending, especially, was a letdown… enough to drop it from 4 stars to 3.

That said, I’ll absolutely be watching the movie—and I hope we keep seeing more books and films that center around disability, amplify these voices, and show just how special and strong these individuals really are.