Reading Order
I Am Malala Reading Order
Malala Yousafzai's I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban (2013, written with Christina Lamb) is the memoir of a Pakistani girl who became the world's most famous education activist. Growing up in the Swat Valley in Pakistan, Malala defied the Taliban's prohibition on girls' education and was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman on her school bus in October 2012 at the age of fifteen. She survived, was flown to Birmingham for treatment, and went on to become the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate in history (2014). I Am Malala became a worldwide bestseller and is required reading in schools across the United States and Europe.
Where to start
I Am Malala
Complete I Am Malala Book List
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I Am Malala
Malala Yousafzai·2013·Start here — the complete memoir written with journalist Christina Lamb. Malala published a companion book for younger readers, Malala's Magic Pencil, in 2017.
I Am Malala — Frequently Asked Questions
Did Malala really write I Am Malala?
I Am Malala was co-written with the journalist Christina Lamb, who spent extensive time interviewing Malala and her family and was present at many of the events described. Malala is the primary source and voice; Lamb shaped the narrative and did extensive additional research and reporting. This is a common arrangement for memoirs by people whose first language is not English; Malala also wrote a version for younger readers, Malala's Magic Pencil (2017), which she adapted independently.
What should I read next after I Am Malala?
Readers continue with Educated by Tara Westover, the closest American parallel — a young woman who also grew up without formal schooling and educated herself against her family's resistance. Becoming by Michelle Obama, The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, and A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah are strong companions in the tradition of the memoir about a young person navigating impossible circumstances through extraordinary determination.
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