YOUth Review: I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

I hope that you all know, or have heard of Malala!  Talk about inspiring!

Malala, born in Pakistan, lived the life of a typical teenage girl of the area…wearing a  burqa, never leaving the house except for groceries, cooking, cleaning, and doing what men tell you to do.  Not to mention the states.  Whenever you go out, or people come over, the men stare and stare, like you’re an alien.  Did you know that where Malala grew up in Pakistan, a woman was not allowed to leave her house alone? She had to be accompanied by a man, and if a woman was caught on the streets alone she would get beaten by the Taliban, or thrown in jail.  Basically, Malala and her friends had no rights, and couldn’t do anything.  But, Malala and her family didn’t believe in this, so secretly, Malala and some of her friends started going to the school that her father taught at.  After about 7 months, every girl in the whole town was going…there was even a tiny yellow van for a school bus!  Until, one day some of the Taliban forced their way onto the bus and shot Malala in the head.  She survived though, and has never stopped speaking about women’s rights, especially pakastani rights!  Malala was a changemaker, and her story is so inspiring!

– Rachel

Interested in being a YOUth Reviewer? Contact Nicole at youth@tbpl.ca to get more info and to sign up.