Reviews tagging 'Mass/school shootings'

I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai

23 reviews

zydecovivo's review against another edition

adventurous informative tense slow-paced

4.5

Malala and I are very close in age, so I assume that is why I didn’t know who she was until after she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize (no, I didn’t even know why she had been nominated at the time). Learning about her campaign for girl’s education around the world intrigued me and I have wanted to read her autobiography ever since. It is somewhat unfortunate that I did not find the time until recently. 

The book itself is structured in the form of a flashback. It begins just as Malala is shot on her school bus om the way home after exams. It then goes all the way back to when Malala’s father was a child and his struggle for his own education before going through the events that shaped not just Malala, but her family as a whole, and finishes during the family’s exile in Birmingham. There are some minor flashbacks within the initial one, but they are generally small and short memories. 

As an American, the most important things this story brings is perspective. American history and news is generally never critical of the United States. But I Am Malala shows how the US government can be like making a deal with the devil and why Pakistan, as well as many other countries in the Middle East and surrounding area, distrust it. This does not excuse the Taliban for the violence they cause or the Pakistani government for their inability to protect Malala (and many others). But the best way to empathize with people and understand where they are coming from is to learn their history and see things from their perspective. I also got to know Malala much better than any third-person summary of an interview that I’ve read previously. It’s interesting to see our similarities and differences and think of what I was doing at the same age, just in a different country. 

There are only two critiques I want to mention. First, there are sections that drag a bit because they are essentially lists. They vary from lists of accomplishments to people to hardships. As an audiobook listener, I was able to tune these out and never really lose the narrative. I also found the narration of the book to be a bit flat. While the narrator’s pitch and intonation fluctuate, they seem to move in the same cadence with every few sentences, making for a long and somewhat repetitive 10 hours. 

Overall, I still enjoy the book and would recommend it to anyone looking for other viewpoints on the Taliban and conflicts in the middle east that are not 100% biased towards the United States. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

Moderate: Misogyny, Body horror, Confinement, Grief, Violence, War, Colonisation, Mass/school shootings, Blood, Islamophobia, Death, and Deportation

Minor: Animal death and Sexual harassment

garglytical's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Gun violence

passionatereader78's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Murder, Violence, War, Death, Medical content, and Medical trauma

rhiannon814r's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Misogyny, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Grief, Death, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Sexism, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Incest

urfriendash's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

4.75

malala yousafzai started speaking out for girl's education when she was a young girl; in pakistan, early 2000's, the taliban started terrorizing her town and harming people who spoke against their beliefs. after malala started getting attention for advocating for girl's rights, the taliban attempted to take her life. after this event, malala had even more eyes on her while she stood up for girls rights.

i think this novel was phenomenal! it informs you on this very important issue of girls education, terrorism, and the taliban, while also being very intriguing and fast paced. if informational novels usually bore you, this one definitely wont!

one of my favorite parts about this book is how it tells you all about malalas life during the talibans terrorist attacks, but while it talks about that devastating topic, it cast a light on the good parts of her life during these struggles, like playing games with her friends after school, or watching ugly betty. another example is when malala reflects on her thoughts about her brush with death; while it is a terrible thing to happen, she writes that shes grateful to be alive and that the situation put so many eyes on her to advocate for the rights of women!

i would highly recommend this to anyone!! the topics malala discuss are very salient and i think everyone should give this book a chance.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Murder, War, Emotional abuse, and Hate crime

angeldevoursliterature's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

I want to clarify that my rating is solely for the book and not for Malala as a person.
The book covers Malala's life story in great detail, from her childhood to the time when her family stayed in Birmingham. However, I did face some issues with the writing, particularly with the way the political and historical accounts were intertwined with its personal reflections. Nevertheless, it was still worth reading, and her story is truly enlightening and inspiring. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an eye-opening read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Animal death, Gaslighting, Gore, Violence, Death, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Death of parent, Mass/school shootings, Blood, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Sexism, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Stalking, and War

mikebond's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

4.5

I can split this book into two parts: the first part deals with Pakistan's history and politics, the second with Malala as a girl.
I found the first part interesting but slow and sometimes boring. On the other hand, the last 30-40% of the book touched me deeply, and I read the last few chapters at a much faster pace.
Definitely a must-read book for the role model Malala is for lots of people all around the world.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings and Gun violence

Moderate: Police brutality and Religious bigotry

alisonfaith426's review against another edition

informative inspiring medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Violence, Animal cruelty, Classism, Medical content, Murder, Sexism, Animal death, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, and War

Moderate: Grief and Gore

fkshg8465's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

4.0

I always think it’s a little funny when memos are written by young people - what and how much could they have loved to write about something worthwhile reading? She was certainly old enough after all she has endured and done for girls and peace worldwide. Looking eagerly forward to see what becomes of her as an adult. Perhaps she’ll write a second or even third memoir worth reading again someday.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings

anneebel's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings, War, Violence, Medical content, and Medical trauma