TITLE: I AM MALALA

AUTHOR: MALALA YOUSAFZAI WITH CHRISTINA LAMB

GENRE: NON-FICTION, AUTOBIOGRAPHY

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.

“We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced.” – Malala Yusafzai.

It is an autobiography of a brave girl Malala who selflessly fought against the evils rooted deep in her homeland, for the right to education of girls. Malala won the Nobel prize for peace in the year 2014.

I discovered this book as a real pageturner, where she describes her life in Swat, Pakistan. I was crying while perusing the concluding pages of this book. The account of her protest against the terrorist group to restore the right to education is heart-wrenching at the same time inspirational. I don’t understand the rationale behind the terrorist invasion which claims that the Quran teaches so. Being a Muslim, I know the Quran, and my religion never instructs us to breach one’s peace and kill innocents. Islam is a religion of peace and brotherhood, not of terror and violence. I should say these people distort the truth of Islam for their benefits.

She narrates the incidents with utmost transparency without losing its intriguing factor. The language used is intelligible. The book contains photographs from varies occasions of her life. The reader can feel the warmth of the beautiful relationship between a father and daughter. I salute Malala’s father who raised her to be independent and strong even though the place they lived were against girls education and freedom.

The beauty and serenity of Swat transformed into ashes at the time of the Taliban’s inhuman reign. The devastating experiences of people lives under the terrorist reign are so very heart-wrenching. This book is very inspirational and motivating. I would highly recommend this book to everyone especially all the girls. A must read!

“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” – Malala Yusafzai.