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

Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb

“I was a girl in a land where rifles are fired in celebration of a son, while daughters are hidden away behind a curtain, their role in life simply to prepare food and give birth to children.”

The title serves as a perfect summary of the story, literally. I Am Malala is a memoir of Malala’s experiences fighting for girl’s education in the middle east while terrorist groups imposed extreme laws. She is a fighter for peace and education for all, and you will love her.

I loved this book. I have been telling everyone I speak with to read it. Malala writes about recent history in a way that relatable yet alarming, like you should have know that was going on. Often I kept forgetting she is of this time, of our time. It can be easy to get lost in the long history of her land and events you may not be familiar with. You’ll find pop culture references to relate with as you read, my favorite being Twilight.

“I was ten when the Taliban came to our valley. Monica and I had been reading the Twilight books and longed to be vampires. It seemed to us that the Taliban arrived in the night just like vampires.”  Who wasn’t reading Twilight in their tweens? A sweet reminder of how The Twilight Saga took the world by storm, even the parts of the world that were facing severe problems like extreme terrorism.

There were many events and names that I have no idea of the significance behind. This is ignorance on my own part and a reminder of how little world history we are taught in school. Malala writes as if the reader has an idea of what has happened, luckily my copy had a timeline in the back and a glossary. These were useful. I found myself not only admiring Malala but her family as well. Her father fought for education, and her mother allowed her to be who she wanted to be. I can’t much more because I will quickly spoil the story for you.
If you have not read I Am Malala, I highly encourage you to do so. If you have what did you think?