Before reading I am Malala, I asked my friends who read as much as I do if they read it. Most of their responses were “yes, but it wasn’t good.” I am starting to think that maybe they were mistaken. Reading about Malala’s life, I thought it drew some similarities to Anne Frank's life. Her story and how much she fought for education inspired me. In the book, she said, “when pencils are taken from you, you realize how important education is.” This quote put chills in my body because you never know how good you have something until it’s gone. Also to have so much self-reflection at such a young age also reminded me of Anne Frank and how often she wanted to look at things from multiple points of view. I kept reminding myself that the brave doesn’t think about themselves they think about the future and freedom. Malala thought about the future and freedom. She is everyone’s daughter (as her father said).

It was great to read about how supportive her parents were of her. Her parents gave her tips to be safe but never stopped her from fighting against the Taliban egregious laws that restricted people from being human.

One of my favorite things about this book is the side stories about other people in her life. Stories about other people in memoirs like this give added context to the environment during this period of Malala’s life.

Lastly, in no way do I think the meaning of Malala’s name (grief-stricken) is an accurate description of who she is! I hope that all of us can take a page out her book and stand for the things in which matter most of us.