Author: Sharon M. Draper
Content Warning: Bullying, ableism, accident involving minor, usage of intellectual disability slurs.
A heart-warming story. I had never heard anything about this book. But even if I had, it's not something that you can prepare for. There are only two options
1) You are greatly touched by the intense wave of feelings- it goes the full ride. You are aggravated, rage, have an intense sense of injustice, and wish to smack sense into people, flabbergasted at the insensitivity of others. On the other hand, you get the best family vibes imaginable, loving and nurturing people as well.
2) You have no feelings- you're a rock.
It's a middle-grade contemporary story. The main character suffers from cerebral palsy. Honestly, I know very little about it, so I am not the best judge of accuracy. But it's not focused on the medical side. The main focus is on the experience the child has as she struggles with school and the arrival of a new baby sister on top of the struggles that come with being nonverbal and unable to walk or have full control of her extremities.
Melody is very smart but people have a hard time looking past her physical limitations. You see her underappreciated and underestimated by doctors, schoolmates, and teachers. It's very sad but unfortunately realistic.
Also, the fact that it takes only 11 years for her family to be able to afford a device to allow her to communicate is realistic but still very optimistic. Her parents struggle for a few paragraphs fighting insurance and trying to get doctors to prescribe the one thing their daughter needs to communicate. It does touch very lightly on the not-so-nice side of limitations depending on their budget. This is very hard to read, you don't need to be a parent to feel the grief this family goes through and imagine the financial struggles they face.
She does not have a best friend from school because most 11-year-olds are clearly trying to fit in and children are normally very cruel or superficial. You look different - then they look down on you. It makes you feel the rejection and humiliation
Melody is a strong-willed person who still feels bad for herself and wants nothing more than to be a normal kid. Regardless of how many times people tell her she should not want to be like the rest of the kids because they're spoiled and fake. She really shows resilience, but her wish for normalcy is not really squashed, she simply keeps going because there is no other option really.
I will keep looking for more stories on the topic because it made me realize I know very little about cerebral palsy so I can't speak for the accurate representation. Still, the story was one I greatly enjoyed.
This is not the only information available but you can find more information about cerebral palsy in the following links:
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