Malala Yousafzai’s memoir, I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up For Education and Was Shot by the Taliban, is an inspirational and mind-opening narrative. Raised in Pakistan, a country with political struggles, Malala had to overcome the oppression she faces due to one of the many facts that she is a woman. The Taliban has taken control over Pakistan but she went against the Taliban, and insisted on women receiving education as well. In response to this, the Taliban shot her in the head and she miraculously survived. Since then, Yousafzai has been an activist to promote children’s education. The three reviews that are going to be analyzed are from The Washington Post, The Guardian, and The Star.
These three reviews allow the audience to get a better understanding and context of the autobiography prior to reading the actual autobiography. In all three of the book reviews, the author of these reviews starts off with setting a situation for the audience to imagine. In The Washington Post, the author promotes the situation of an economic growth if females were educated (Arana). The Guardian, however, talks about the day the Taliban was looking for Yousafzai when she was heading home from school. Lastly, The Star sets a situation of the reality in Pakistan, with the gun shootings, police sirens, and screaming throughout the neighborhood.
After their introduction, each author emphasizes the selflessness, determination, and courage Yousafzai showed to the world. Despite having been shot in the head, Yousafzai strives to empower and inspire women. In The Washington Post, the author mainly focuses on the history of Yousafzai’s familial background, including from how Malala Yousafzai’s father founded a school to the miracle his daughter experienced (Arana). The Guardian, on the other hand, focuses more on how Yousafzai’s life has affected those in Pakistan and around the world, as well as the impact she has made through her story (Bhutton). Similarly to The Guardian, The Star also signifies the importance Malala Yousafzai has contributed to her society as well as informing people outside her country of the situation Pakistan is facing. The Star, however, mentions how the autobiography is from the perspective of a sixteen year old, giving it limited views to be generalized. This review is one of the few that has a opposed connotation against the inspiration that Yousafzai has spread by saying, “Part of the difficulty is, of course, that a biography of a 16-year-old is necessarily limited in scope.” (Eggertson)
All in all, the three reviews exemplify and explain the positive things that Yousafzai has done to her community by encouraging not only females, but also children to be educated. All three ended their reviews with the positive outcomes due to Yousafzai’s horrific experience.
Works Cited:
Arana, Marie. “‘I Am Malala’ by Malala Yousafzai.” Review of I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up For Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb, The Washington Post. The Washington Post, 11 Oct. 2013. Web. 6 Oct. 2016.
Bhutto, Fatima “I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai – review” Review of I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up For Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb, The Guardian, 30 October 2013
Eggertson, Laura “I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai: review” Review of I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up For Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb, The Star, 22 November 2013
Kettler, Sara. “Malala Yousafzai Biography.” Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 1 July 2016. Web. 07 Oct. 2016.