"I Am Malala:
The Girl Who Stood Up for Education
and Was Shot by the Taliban"
by Malala Yousafzai
No one else could truly convey the resilience, the courage, the love of this extraordinary young woman, except Malala Yousafzai herself. We can read about her life and be amazed at all her accomplishments, such as being the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner. But reading her own words at just 16 years old brought me into her world, into the story only she could tell. Her great love for her people and country shook me to the core.
As Malala shares her heart in this autobiography, you see how she is your average teen, who enjoys listening to music and watching movies. What makes her story remarkable is her response to adversity. Where many would shudder in fear and make sure to “stay in their lane” as a form of survival, Malala faces danger head on, publicly speaking against the Taliban and advocating for a girl’s right to education.
Yet, Malala is not alone in this fight. We get to meet her family, in particular, her father, who was a trailblazer himself and empowered his daughter to not only have a voice, but to be a voice for the powerless and the forgotten. We witness his bravery time and time again, in moments such as when a funeral was bombed and they lost friends, causing a young Malala to ask her father if he was now scared, to which he responded:
“At night our fear is strong, Jani,” he told me, “but in the morning, in the light, we find our courage again.” And this is true for my family. We were scared, but our fear was not as strong as our courage. “We must rid our valley of the Taliban, and then no one has to feel this fear,” he said.
This is the atmosphere in which Malala was raised. Amidst the terror and the fear, she learned that in this life we are created for a greater purpose, one greater than ourselves. When Malala’s life was first being threatened, her parents began to worry. Her father suggested hibernating for some time, and we see the tables turn when his daughter responds:
“How can we do that?” I replied. “You were the one who said if we believe in something greater than our lives, then our voices will only multiply even if we are dead. We can’t disown our campaign!”
Malala’s strength and determination is awe-inspiring, both before the shooting and her miraculous recovery after. We learn a tremendous amount about her country and culture as well. Her detailed descriptions of her beloved Swat Valley are absolutely beautiful. Malala provides us with much of Pakistan’s history and her first hand accounts of the beauty of her people, along with tragic stories, leaves us with a better understanding of her world.
This is a perfect example of wonderful inspirational literature that can be read for leisure or school. The audiobook is also a great option as the narrator was excellent and authentic. I highly recommend for middle school/high school history/geography, depending on the maturity of your student(s).
(Although I always recommend that educators preview books with their students in mind, I found there was no real need for a Young Readers Edition in terms of content if the student is 12 and up. The most detailed description of the shooting is actually found in the prologue and not within the chapters of the book.)