Book: I Am Malala

I Am Malala

by Malala Yousafzai

Length: 321 pages

Format: paperback
Price: $8.99 on Amazon (I actually shelled out the money for this because it's NEVER available at the library)

How I heard about it: the language arts teacher on our team applied for a grant which would pay for our entire team to take a field trip to view the documentary that was released a few weeks ago. It's also on my list.

Basic Premise: Born and raised in Pakistan, Malala Yousafzai became an advocate for education almost from the moment she could talk. The daughter of an education activist in a country where educating females is not a priority, she and her family quickly became targets of one of the largest and most dangerous terrorist groups in the world - the Taliban.

My Take: 9 out of 10 (scale here)
In the middle of reading this book, our principal took our team of teachers and significant others to see the documentary. As you might imagine, it was poignant and heartfelt and moving. I was in tears many times and Husband even wiped his eyes once or twice. The book is even more so, detailing the events of her childhood, what it was like to experience 9/11 and the killing of Osama bin Laden from a Pakistani perspective, and what it was like to have to worry about suicide bombers and masked gunman while going to school. It was such an eye-opening read, and reading it so soon after I finished The Kite Runner was helpful because, though the books took place about 40 years apart from each other and in neighboring countries, there were many similarities and common locations.

I taught on theme this week, and one of the criteria of a theme present in a book is that it must be applicable to humankind as a whole, regardless of race, religion, homeland, etc. I shared with the students that I was reading this book, and that nothing about my upbringing was like hers. She often didn't have electricity; I only didn't have it if the power went out. She had to fight hard for her education; I often complained about being forced into mine. But constantly, I found myself identifying with her thoughts, her feelings, her actions, her words. Although she possesses far more courage than I.

Incidentally, we received the grant and will be taking our students to view this documentary next month. I am so much more than excited!

List Progress:

1. I Am Malala by Christina Lamb and Malala Yousafzai
2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
3. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
4. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
5. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
6. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
7. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
8.  Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah
9. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Timeby Mark Haddon
10. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (read before I started blogging)
11. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
12. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
13. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (read before I started blogging)
14. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
15. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
16. Bossypants by Tina Fey
17. Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
18. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (read before I started blogging)
19. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (read before I started blogging)
20. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen *abandoned*
21. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell review here
22. She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb
23. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling - can we have a moment for whoever created this list? "Harry Potter" is not a book. It's a series of books. Sheesh.
24. Looking for Alaska by John Green review here
25. The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak review here
26. The Kite Runner by Khaled Housseini review here