Listen to the First Chapter:
From the Book Jacket:
I come from a country that was created at midnight. When I almost died it was just after midday.
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-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
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.
Reviews:
Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teen shot for her activism for girls’ education, tells her story for a middle-grade audience.
Although billed as a “young readers edition” of Yousafzai’s 2013 book of the same name for adults, co-written with Christina Lamb, the designation does the book a disservice, as this is no simple redaction. With the capable assistance of co-author McCormick, the account has been effectively rewritten specifically for children. The story is straightforward, related chronologically and covering Yousafzai’s growth in activism, her shooting and her recovery in England. Yousafzai’s voice is appealingly youthful, though it often tells rather than shows and frequently goes over the top: In her school, she writes, “we flew on wings of knowledge.” Still, young Western readers will come to understand the gulf that separates them from Yousafzai through carefully chosen anecdotes, helping them see what drives her to such lyrical extremes. Unfortunately, much is lost in the translation from the adult book, presumably sacrificed for brevity and directness; most lamentable is social and political context. Although readers will come away with a good understanding of Yousafzai’s immediate experiences, the geopolitical forces that shape her culture go largely unmentioned except in a closing timeline that amounts to a dizzying list of regime changes.
Though Yousafzai’s memoir never transcends her story, that story is a powerful and inspiring one; supplemented by contextualizing information, it should pack quite a wallop.
-- Kirkus Reviews
Adapted with McCormick (Never Fall Down) from the adult bestseller, this inspiring memoir by activist Yousafzai sketches her brave actions to champion education in Pakistan under the Taliban. Her father runs a school in the Swat Valley, where Malala proves an eager student; as the Taliban gains influence, she increasingly becomes an international spokesperson for girls' right to learn. The narrative begins with a prologue in which a Taliban gunman boards her school bus and asks, "Who is Malala?" The authors then offer insight into the cultural and political events leading up to the shooting that followed and Yousafzai's dramatic recovery. Yousafzai highlights the escalating tensions as the Taliban takes hold—including the strictures against girls attending school, the obliteration of Western influence, violence, and the eventual war—but also brings the universal to life as she quarrels with her brothers, treasures her best friend, and strives to earn top grades. A glossary, color photo inserts, and an extensive timeline help establish context. It's a searing and personal portrait of a young woman who dared to make a difference. -- Publishers Weekly
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