Sunday, October 20, 2013

I AM MALALA (MALALA YOUSAFZAI)

 
 
 
Story Description:
 
Little, Brown And Company|October 8, 2013|Hardcover|ISBN: 978-0-316-32240-9

 
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 nominee ever for the Nobel Peace Prize. 
 
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. 
 
I AM MALALA will make you believe in the power of one person’s voice to inspire change in the world. 
 
My Review:

 
On Tuesday, October 9, 2012 just after midday, fifteen-year-old, Malala was shot in the head at point-blank range.  She was riding the school bus with her friends when the Taliban stopped the bus and a gunman reached in through the back door and shot her where she sat on the back seat. 
 
Malala was flown out of Pakistan unconscious while everyone around her said she would never return nor survive, but survive she did.  She is living in Birmingham, England and can’t go home to her beautiful Swat Valley for fear she’ll be killed by the Taliban.  Malala misses her friends, her room, the snow-capped mountains, the green waving fields, and the fresh blue rivers.  She especially misses her best friend, Moniba who she sometimes Skypes with. 
 
Malala loved school and was a good student and referred to herself as a “bookish girl.”  Since the time of the Taliban her school had no sign and the ornamented brass door in the white wall of the building across from the woodcutter’s yard gave no hint of what lay behind that door.  For the girls of the school, it was like a magical entrance to their own special world.  The Taliban didn’t believe in education for girls and did whatever they could to uncover any place that was teaching girls. 
 
The school Malala attended was founded by her father before she was born.  It was called the “Khushal School” and was painted in red and white letters inside the school.  The girls attended six mornings a week and Malala was in Grade 9 when she was shot. 
 
Malala had been given awards for campaigning for peace in their valley and the right for girls to go to school.  Her bedroom was also full of trophies for coming first in her class and she was proud of her accomplishments, as she should be.  However, the Taliban took a dim view of her campaigning for education. 
 
She had begun riding the school bus as her mother was afraid of her walking home alone for fear of the Taliban.  The Taliban had never taken a girl before and Malala thought her own father would be a target for them as they had been receiving threats all year.  Some were in the newspaper, some were notes or messages passed on by people.  Malala’s father was always speaking out against the Taliban so it was a surprise when they targeted her.  One of her father’s friends had been shot in the face in August on his way to prayers and everyone began telling Malala’s father to be careful because he was going to be next. 
 
I AM MALALA is rich in history and tells how Pakistan came to be, how the Taliban took over and the story of what happened to Malala after she was shot.  Very well written and kept me glued to my seat.  Malala is one brave and courageous young woman!
 


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