I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
Nonfiction
Malala
Yousafzai obtained international renown when, at the age of fifteen, she was
shot in the head by the Taliban for speaking out for girls’ rights to
education. In this book, readers are able to understand her origin story.
Through her beautiful prose, Malala depicts her serene childhood in Swat and
paints pictures of snow covered mountains and trickling streams. We also get to
learn more about Malala’s family history, and the amount of support she
received from her dad. Malala also shows the atrocities committed by the Taliban
with a bit of history thrown in. Driven to fight for her rights and not wanting
to stay silent, young Malala delivered speeches and wrote in the diary for BBC,
both of which led to the day she was shot in the head. Since then, Malala has
continued to fight for education for all, notably having won a Nobel Prize. All
of this is baffling when you realize that she is only twenty. Many only know of
the time she was shot in the head and that she won a Nobel Prize. Here we get
her personal history and some history on the conflict in the Middle East. Malala’s
story serves as an inspiration to all, especially young girls, and as a
testament to the importance of education.
