A Short Story: The Story Of Malala Yousafzai

I absolutely loved this book. I have been following this story ever since Malala Yousafzai was shot and articles about her began to appear on CNN.com. I was always captivated by the way Malala spoke in interviews before she was attacked: I simply loved the sound of her voice and the sight of her face, which seemed to shine with her spirit. She might not think she is beautiful, but to me she is stunning. I adore the bright colors she wears and the liquid wonder of her eyes.

It was difficult to read about the shameful, cowardly attack on her, from her own POV. I empathized so much that it was painful to hear the details--some of which she could only describe as being what was told to her about the shooting.

On the other hand, I will always remember one statement she made. "A Talib fires three shots at point-blank range at three girls in a van and doesn’t kill any of them . . . I know God stopped me from going to the grave. It feels like this life is a second life. People prayed to God to spare me, and I was spared for a reason— to use my life for helping people."

It will always give me chills to think that it is amazing indeed that a Talib gunman fired three bullets, intending to kill one young girl--and that, unbelievably, he failed. I find it very hard to argue with the idea that Malala was, in fact, spared for a reason.

The parts I enjoyed most about this autobiography were the beginning and end, where Malala speaks about her home, the Swat Valley, and everything that she loved and was proud about there: from her amazing father who, unlike most Pashtuns, celebrated when his wife gave birth to a daughter, to her best friend Moniba, with whom she giggled and played with, and who was also her rival for top of the class at at Kah...

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...ey to a better life for women in countries where it is currently against the law for girls to have a true education. I also thought that it would be stunning if the Nobel committee acknowledged that a teenager—a teenage girl—could have had so great a role in making people of different cultures understand each other.

But Malala has plenty of time, and I have no doubt that she will distinguish herself again and again with her moving speeches, her gentle, stubborn nature, and her unique view of life in years to come. I hope that there will be more books by Malala in the future about why education is so important for girls around the world.
Finally, I would like to say “Wah wah” to Malala about the entire autobiography. She says that this is what one says when a particular line or stanza of a poem pleases you, and is a bit like “Bravo.” Wah wah and Bravissima to Malala.