Title: I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
Author: Malala Yousafzai, Christina Lamb
Published: 2013/10/08
Genre: Memoir
Rating: ★★★★★
Synopsis
I come from a country that was created at midnight. When I almost died it was just after midday.
When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.
On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive.
Instead, Malala’s miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
I Am Malala is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls’ education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons.
My Thoughts
This was another audiobook read for me, mainly because I found out the edition I bought was an edited version for middle graders. Whoops! I’m glad I figured it out before I got too far in the book because this version is longer and I expect a lot of what I found to be of strong impact may have been removed.
I found this book to be wonderfully written. Malala did such a wonderful job of keeping her youthful perspective in what she wrote. She talks about things like reading the twilight books and going to school and studying for tests.
I think this is a book everyone should pick up, I think I walked away from this book both agreeing with her message but also being grateful for my life, for my ability to get an education and never having that right be challenged.
This book flows well, she narrates her story in such a way that it’s engaging throughout the book. There was not one moment where I got distracted or wanted to put this down and in fact found myself taking a little bit longer in my drives just to get more of this book in faster.
I know I’m quite a bit behind on reading this book but I’m so glad I did. If you haven’t read it yet I would strongly suggest it. I loved getting the insight on what it was like growing up as a girl in the middle east. We hear so much of what it’s supposedly like and to get some insight from somebody who can share her real experiences was wonderful.
Have you read this book? What did you think? Do you have any other favorites that you think I should pick up?
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I love this book because it does such a great job showing that anyone, no matter where you are or who you are or how old you are, can make waves standing up for something they believe in. It’s such a powerful message.
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