Malala Yousafzai and the Girls of Pakistan

Gr 7 Up—The story of Malala Yousafzai's life so far is remarkable in how much she has accomplished in such a short time. By the time she was 11, she was blogging under a pseudonym about education for the BBC Urdu website. She wrote candidly about the Taliban and their efforts to block girls' access to schools. Two years later, she was nominated for the International Children's Peace Prize but less than a year after that she was shot in the face by a Taliban assassin, an attempt on her life that she had feared as the Taliban threats on her life grew. Yousafzai's eventual recovery and continued activism is a demonstration of bravery and conviction and perhaps the most impressive and inspiring aspect of Aretha's biography. However, the author takes care to describe the role of Ziauddin Yousafzai, Malala's father, in the teenager's activism. An outspoken educator and believer in girls' education, Ziauddin Yousafzai often appeared and spoke with his daughter. To give additional context, Aretha includes inserted spreads on Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan's first female prime minister; the Taliban; and facts about being a woman in Pakistan. The extensive use of colorful photos will help readers visualize this teenager's world. Although the tone is somewhat dry and journalistic, readers will find well-sourced information that will be a good starting place for research.—Joy Piedmont, LREI, New York City