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I Am Malala

On sale

8th October 2013

Price: £18.99

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Selected: Audiobook CD / ISBN-13: 9781409149033
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In 2009 Malala Yousafzai began writing a blog on BBC Urdu about life in the Swat Valley as the Taliban gained control, at times banning girls from attending school. When her identity was discovered, Malala began to appear in both Pakistani and international media, advocating the freedom to pursue education for all. In October 2012, gunmen boarded Malala’s school bus and shot her in the face, a bullet passing through her head and into her shoulder. Remarkably, Malala survived the shooting.

At a very young age, Malala Yousafzai has become a worldwide symbol of courage and hope. Her shooting has sparked a wave of solidarity across Pakistan, not to mention globally, for the right to education, freedom from terror and female emancipation. I AM MALALA, the memoir of Malala Yousafzai, will shed insight into the lives of those children who cannot attend school, and will tell the inspiring story of a schoolgirl who faced the Taliban with courage and bravery.

Read by Archie Panjabi, with a prologue read by Malala Yousafzai

Reviews

Rachel Redford, THE OLDIE
Her dedication to her fight to allow girls an education is inspirational, and the bond with her equally highly principled father who shaped her is truly remarkable.
Kamila Shamsie, The GUARDIAN
One of the more moving details in I Am Malala is that her mother was due to start learning to read and write on the day Malala was shot - 9 October 2012
Baroness Warsi, DAILY TELEGRAPH
Malala Yousafzai's story begins with her parents being commiserated with after producing a baby girl. In their part of northern Pakistan, she says, rifle shots ring out in celebration of a baby boy's arrival. But there is no such fanfare for females: their destiny is to cook and clean, to be neither seen nor heard... So how did Malala, who barely warranted a mention in her family's genealogy, become destined for the history books as a powerful symbol for girls' universal right to an education? Her memoir I Am Malala tells us how
Ziauddin Sardar, THE TIMES
This memoir brings out her best qualities. You can only admire her courage and determination. Her thirst for education and reform appear genuine. She also has an air of innocence, and there is an indestructible confidence. She speaks with such poise that you forget Malala is 16
Owen Bennett-Jones, SPECTATOR
Her story is astonishing
Yvonne Roberts, OBSERVER
The medical team that saved Malala; her own stoicism and resilience; the support of her family, now, again in exile, this time in Birmingham; Malala's level-headed resolve to continue to champion education and children's rights - these are all powerful reminders of the best in human nature. Much of the money Malala has been awarded has gone to the Malala fund (www.malalafund.org). "Please join my mission," she asks. It's vital that those of us who can, do
Catherine Bennett, OBSERVER
Moving and illuminating
Geoff Barton, THE EDUCATIONAL SUPPLEMENT
This remarkable book is part memoir, part manifesto. I feel enriched from having read it. I also feel humbled. Our obsession with school performance is suddenly marginalised by a story in which education, quite literally, proves a matter of life and death
Fatima Bhutto, GUARDIAN
Malala's voice has the purity, but also has the rigidity, of the principled. Whether she is being a competitive teenager and keeping track of who she bet in exams (and by how much) or writing a blog for the BBC that catapulted her on to the international stage - "We were learning how to struggle. And we were learning how powerful we are when we speak" - or talking about Pakistan's politicians ("useless"), Malala is passionate and intense. Her faith and her duty to the cause of girls' education is unquestionable, her adoration for her father - her role model and comrade in arms - is moving and her pain at the violence carried out in the name of Islam is palpable
EMERALD STREET
Part memoir, part mission statement. I Am Malala recounts the early life of the Pakistani schoolgirl who spoke out against the Taliban and was shot for her defiance. Her recovery, bravery and stoicism - and her father, Ziauddin - make for shocking and moving reading
CATHOLIC HERALD
The world is entranced by the story of the 15-year-old girl who was shot in the head by the Taliban because she wished to go to school. Flown over to Birmingham for emergency surgery, she has emerged as an elegant and brave spokesgirl for a better future. This book should inspire girls the world over
WOMAN'S WAY
Malala's story is gripping, tragic and yet ultimately full of hope. Faced with religious fundamentalism, suicide bombers and death threats her courage, stoicism and wisdom shine through at every turn. The bond she shares with her father - an equally courageous man whose views on equality are at odds with many of his countrymen - is also very movingly described
Agatha Johnson, STANDPOINT
The media didn't really take on board the fact, which emerges from her book I Am Malala, that every single day for her was a protest. She would hide her pens and books under her clothes on the way to school and ignore the Taliban's threats. She is a role model, not just a victim
THE SUNDAY TIMES
Not only powerful, but also very instructive about the recent history of Pakistan and the pressures of everyday life there. One finishes the book full of admiration both for Malala, and for her father, who has clearly inspired her
THE INDEPENDENT
A tale of immense courage and conviction which begins as [Malala] is shot for campaigning for the rights of girls to an education
Kevin Power, SUNDAY BUSINESS POST (Ireland)
A rich and riveting account of a short, brave and admirable life
GRAZIA
Inspirational and powerful
METRO
The story of the girl shot by the Taliban for speaking up for women's education is one of idealism and stubborn courage, and a reminder that women's rights and many children's rights to education are continually threatened
Lorraine Kelly, THE SUN
She has the heart and courage of a lioness and is a true inspiration
Jimmy Burns, THE TABLET
I felt both humbled and inspired by I am Malala, the remarkable story of the young educational campaigner from Pakistan's Swat valley, who miraculously survived after bring shot by the dark forces of fundamentalism. Deftly written with the help of an award-winning foreign correspondent, this is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the tortured politics of the Taliban in the North-West Frontier
Lorraine Kelly, GLASGOW HERALD
It's hard to believe that this intelligent, charismatic and very poised young women is still just 16 years old. There is so much hope and expectation resting on those inspirational small shoulders
Andrew Holgate, THE SUNDAY TIMES
One finishes the book full of admiration both for Malala, and for her father, who has clearly inspired her
FINANCIAL TIMES
The Pakistani schoolgirl shot by the Taliban has astonished the world with her courage and determination to fight for education and equal rights for women
ARMY & YOU
The inspirational story of the girl who singlehandedly showed that the pen is mightier that the sword should be required reading for people of all ages
Alan Gibbons, ARMADILLO
The book is equally Malala's story of love for her family and respect for her father who comes across as an inspirational figure. It is a book of courage and endurance in the face of tremendous odds. I Am Malala should be read by everyone who sees education as an agency of liberation for both boys and girls and an indispensable weapon in the struggle against ignorance and oppression
BABY & ME
Read the story of the remarkable young woman who refused to be silenced after she was shot in the head by the Taliban on a school bus in 2012. At 16, she has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest ever nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize
GLASGOW HERALD
It's hard to find the words to describe what this girl has done, not only for young women everywhere, but also for the world in which it feels like the bad guys always win. I'm choked up just writing this
Katy Guest, INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
Honest, insightful and piercingly wise, this is the celebrity memoir to give your teenaged daughter this Christmas
June Purvis, TIMES HIGHER EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT
Malala has shown extraordinary courage in campaigning for the millions of girls who are still denied an education. Uplifting and inspirational
IRISH CATHOLIC
This courageous and extraordinary young woman has become something of a world symbol. Her stand for education of women in her own native Pakistan was a courageous one, but it should not lead Western readers to think that such things only happened over there. She and her family now live abroad, but as her speeches and appearances show, she continues her campaign for the right of young people everywhere to fully realise their potential
Kirsty Brimelow, THE TIMES
For sheer inspiration read I Am Malala
J.K. Rowling
Malala is an inspiration to girls and women all over the world