“Words have always swirled around me like snowflakes—each one delicate and different, each one melting untouched in my hands.” 

Melody uses a simile in this quote to describe what words mean to her, words that are as elusive as snowflakes. Interestingly, Melody appreciates the uniqueness of words, but wishes she was less unique, like her peers. 

“I have never spoken one single word. I am almost eleven years old.” 

This final line in Chapter 1 informs the reader that the smart, literate girl who has been speaking the whole chapter is trapped in her mind. She cannot talk because of cerebral palsy, but her mind functions excellently.

“Dad took videos of me getting fed, getting changed, and even me sleeping. As I got older, I guess he was waiting for me to turn over, and sit up, and walk. I never did.” 

Melody relates how her father, excited to tape and preserve each of his first-born child’s movements, took hours of video. She assumes he taped so much because he was waiting for Melody to exhibit healthy growth, which due to cerebral palsy, never happened.