Malala: My Story of Standing Up for Girls’ Rights by Malala Yousafzai

Abstract

Reviewed by: Malala: My Story of Standing Up for Girls’ Rights by Malala Yousafzai Kate Quealy-Gainer, Assistant Editor Yousafzai, Malala Malala: My Story of Standing Up for Girls’ Rights; written by Malala Yousafzai with Patricia McCormick; ad. and abridged by Sarah J. Robbins; illus. by Joanie Stone. Little, 2018 170p Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-316-52714-9 $15.99 Paper ed. ISBN 978-0-316-52715-6 $6.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-316-52713-2 $7.99 R Gr. 3-5 By the time she was twelve years old, Malala Yousafzai and her father were speaking out against the shuttering of Pakistani schools under Taliban rule and publicly [End Page 229] advocating for female education; on October 9, 2012, a masked Taliban man shot the then fifteen-year-old girl as she made her way home from school. In this revamped version of her adult memoir, written in concert with noted author Patricia McCormick, Yousafzai’s clear, direct, and passionate voice vividly conveys what life is like under an increasingly oppressive force and how dangerous but necessary it can be to resist such forces. Much of the book recounts her experiences leading up to the shooting, her life at school (competing with friends for highest marks), her family (fighting over the remote with her brothers), and her interests (readers will delight in her love of American sitcoms). For all her cheerfulness, Yousafzai is not naïve, and she balances her optimism with realistic observations of gender restrictions in her community even before the Taliban arrive, especially when it comes to education for girls (her father has several confrontations with community members about his school’s acceptance of female students). Stone’s black and white illustrations are a bit stiff in their figures, but they nonetheless add personality and allow for breaks in the text. Insets explain some Pakistani and Muslim customs, a glossary defines bolded words, and the simple prose makes this an ideal introduction for young readers to world affairs and peace efforts. Copyright © 2019 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois