Malala Yousafzai is a young activist for education and girls’ rights in Pakistan who was shot by the Taliban about a year ago. Her story captured the attention of people all over the world—as the mother of a young girl who feels strongly about injustice, I was definitely drawn in.
Malala’s autobiography, I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban, isn’t written explicitly for young readers—it delves into religion, injustice, and politics and assumes a certain knowledge of geography and current events in a way that most books for young readers wouldn’t. However, I’m sure many young readers will feel drawn to Malala’s story, and the book is very much in her voice. Sometimes this means the thread of the text gets a bit tangled and unraveled as she jumps around among ideas and memorable events, but there were enough dates and other facts to help bring things back in line.