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A review by rsuray
I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai
5.0
I went into this book with no expectations. All I knew was that Malala was the girl who got shot in the head by the Taliban for attending school. I was ignorant of her accomplishments and surprised that she was a known activist before the attempted murder even occurred. I listened to the story on audiobook while running and am so glad I did. Though Malala herself does not narrate further than the introduction, Archie Panjabi's narration was so poetic that she brought Malala's words to life in clear, vibrant way.
The book is what is promises: a story of a girl who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban. But what I really enjoyed was that so little of the book focuses on the shooting and the aftermath. Malala winds us through her childhood through the lens of the Taliban's rise to power in Pakistan's Swat Valley, her homeland. She had the immense blessing of growing up close to her father who encouraged girls' education and had very progressive ideas for the country. The book really focuses on their relationship, and she tells us his backstory and arduous journey to open a girls' school in Swat. Even when she describes what went on while she was flown to Birmingham, it's told almost as a dual-narrative between father and daughter. This helps cement Malala not only as a social activist but as a teenage girl. She narrates in a way a child would--by asking questions. This childlike innocence heightens the severity of the crime committed against her and her valley, and it heightens the entire reading experience.
I highly recommend this book. Though critics thought the co-writer thinned down a lot of Malala's substance, her voice still rings strong. It's a quick read and introduces a perspective most Westerners only read about second-hand in papers. Malala is refreshingly raw, and I will likely turn soon to her recent book on refugee displacement.
The book is what is promises: a story of a girl who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban. But what I really enjoyed was that so little of the book focuses on the shooting and the aftermath. Malala winds us through her childhood through the lens of the Taliban's rise to power in Pakistan's Swat Valley, her homeland. She had the immense blessing of growing up close to her father who encouraged girls' education and had very progressive ideas for the country. The book really focuses on their relationship, and she tells us his backstory and arduous journey to open a girls' school in Swat. Even when she describes what went on while she was flown to Birmingham, it's told almost as a dual-narrative between father and daughter. This helps cement Malala not only as a social activist but as a teenage girl. She narrates in a way a child would--by asking questions. This childlike innocence heightens the severity of the crime committed against her and her valley, and it heightens the entire reading experience.
I highly recommend this book. Though critics thought the co-writer thinned down a lot of Malala's substance, her voice still rings strong. It's a quick read and introduces a perspective most Westerners only read about second-hand in papers. Malala is refreshingly raw, and I will likely turn soon to her recent book on refugee displacement.