This is an excellent book, well written, and well worth your time. Its lessons and characters will not be quickly forgotten. Fans of vampires, zombies, and gore should go elsewhere; this one is for someone with a keen intellect and a sense of humor. Someone who'd like to learn what life might be like for a person who simply cannot communicate her higher thoughts and emotions, although they're always boiling away in the percolator of her videocamera mind.
You might know or be related to a special needs child or grownup. Then again, perhaps you don't often think about special needs people because they're "invisible" to society in general, or perhaps you look away when they pass because you don't want them to think you are staring, or perhaps you'd rather not think about it at all because you feel all creeped out. Maybe if you knew that they're actually just like anyone else, you'd feel better. Here's an eloquent peek inside just such a life.
First, let me say that I concur entirely with the researchers who say that "spoilers" do not spoil a story for most skilled readers, so I'm not going to fret about leaving behind clues to the events in this tale. On the other hand, you can get a good synopsis from just about every other review, so I won't be summarizing the story. I want to address instead the value of what you take away from the tale. From here on, *spoiler alert* for those who worry about such things.
The writing is smooth and funny, and the prose is cadenced, so readers who are accustomed to the plod-plod-thump of potboilers may be pleasantly surprised. The story is in intimate first person, and for once the reader is plunked into the mind of someone who is locked into a malfunctioning physical prison. She has no way to show or tell others about her (high) abilities and must endure constant frustration at not even being able to tell someone when something is going wrong. She eventually gets a very rudimentary way (a picture board) to communicate, but it's useless for abstract thoughts and for anything that the pictures don't tell about. Her world opens up when she finally gets a Medi-Talker like Big Steve Hawking's so people realize that there are great thoughts inside her. (Whether they appreciate this is a mixed issue.)
I do agree with the quibble that others have brought up: nowadays, when someone needs and can use a "box of words," he or she is generally issued one by the time he or she starts school. It takes an awfully long time in this book for anyone to come up with the idea of giving one to the main character. I would've liked to hear some kind of excuse as to why this couldn't be afforded previously and how someone suddenly found a charity that would pay for it. That would've given us a reason for the long delay.
I can't agree with critics who say that the author shouldn't let "bad things" and "mean people" stand unchanged. That's realistic. There have been objections saying that the bullies don't change, and the other characters in the book don't change. I believe that in this type of story, a character arc of redemption doesn't have to happen for everybody. Bullies sometimes stay bullies and often get worse over time. Didn't these readers notice that the teacher had a change of heart from not believing that Melody could have done her own work on the quizzes to knowing that she got every answer right and putting her on the team? He redeemed himself somewhat in that way. But then he fell back into the swamp like a backslider when he didn't insist on holding the flight for her. (This is, alas, typical of people. Because they are not saints. They are but mortal flesh with souls that sometimes go with the most expedient answer instead of the right action.)
Bullies like Claire and Molly are out there. We have all come across them. Ditto for Rose, who is a pleaser, a classic "I want everyone to like me" type who is not sincere about her "friendship" pose and reveals her true colors in the end. Melody's reaction of standing up for herself at the end of the novel was totally appropriate, and THAT was the lesson we were to take away--standing up for what's right. Not a pretend lesson of sweetness and light that would lie to us and tell us that all bullies turn into friends and people always repent and are redeemed. Sometimes the apology you get is too little and too late.
After seeing the reviews that bemoaned the "awful things at the end of the book," I feared that it meant the dog or a person might die; worry not, however, because everyone lives. I want to tell you that in advance because it SLAYS me when things like that happen, especially for egregious reasons. I like to know going in that no pets or grandparents or children were zapped in the course of the book. Yes, a crisis takes place, but it's ultimately OK. The incident is meant to show that Melody still faces challenges in communication, even though things are much better. And that people who are angry and in a hurry can make awful mistakes. Life is like that. I have defended similar plot choices in more than one of my published novels because even though people in publishing said they wanted YA fiction to always show that there's a second chance, I believe that sometimes there is not, and we must find ways to cope and assign meaning anyway. Sometimes the cookie just crumbles, despite our best efforts.
Still, the heroine's dream is crushed because of silly middle school posturing, and she can't communicate with her mother at a critical moment (although WHY her box of words was ever not in her hands I don't know--I know of one student with such a device, and it NEVER leaves her side, even to ride in the car!) This is life. These things happen, and we have to cope and find the meaning in the events and figure out how to do it differently next time, if we can.
So for those who claim that it's too difficult an ending to inflict on young readers--hey, this is LIFE and that is the sort of thing that happens. I can totally believe that they "accidentally" left her behind so they wouldn't have "the retard" (a term one of the bullies actually uses! If anyone wants to get outraged, get outraged about that pejorative term!) on their team. The other students were not happy about the extra attention from reporters that focused on Melody. They didn't want her at their breakfast because she couldn't feed herself and they thought it unsightly, no doubt--and when the opportunity arose to leave before planes were grounded, they skipped out on her. I can see this happening.
As for the sister being hurt--well, the mother was angry and impatient and having to do something she didn't want to do, and so she wouldn't check out WHY Melody was upset and trying to tell her something. People are just LIKE that. The lesson is that we should avoid this sort of acting in anger. It would be nice if I could learn that myself.
People have complained that the book is ageist or too "mean." I think that to invoke political correctness (always showing people of all ages being all-diversity-loving and so forth) is to dumb down a work of realistic fiction. You really have to hunt to find instances of the young being shown as "nicer" than the old here--especially since the caregiver who finally gets Melody a box of words is an older woman. Also, the author is African American, yet she gives no indication as to the races of the various characters. Color-blindness here is a GOOD thing and should be lauded.
I sort of wish that the title could be different, especially because Andy Rooney has a book in print by that same title. It isn't really indicative to me of the book's content.
In summary, the pluses of the book far outweigh any quibbles that we may have. I think young readers NEED to be exposed to realistic endings. And to the possibility that appearances can be deceptive. Next time you see someone who appears to be "slow," "dumb," hampered, or whatever . . . well, it may be decieving. You don't know what difficulties and hurts others may have. Walk a mile in someone else's shoes today, or roll a few yards in their adaptive device, and THEN tell me you don't understand . . . I think you'll start to understand.
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It’s like I live in a cage with no door and no key. And I have no way to tell someone how to get me out.Highlighted by 3,300 Kindle readers- The morning started out like crystal, but the day has turned to broken glass.Highlighted by 3,262 Kindle readers
- I can’t talk. I can’t walk. I can’t feed myself or take myself to the bathroom. Big bummer.Highlighted by 2,894 Kindle readers
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Nice and has a plot twist. Recommend for anyone 8-15
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Top reviews from other countries
Hayley
Great read with a serious topic.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 14, 2015
Amazon Customer
Disability not Inability
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 20, 2019Rainbow Reader
ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL. I couldn't agree more
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 27, 2017
Rich J Wilson
A review from my daughter (age 11)
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 13, 2015
