Category Archives: Memoir

Review: I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

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I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

I am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
Malala Yousafzai
with Christina Lamb
Little, Brown and Company
Published on October 8, 2013

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About I am Malala

I come from a country that was created at midnight. When I almost died it was just after midday.

When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.

On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive.

Instead, Malala’s miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

I Am Malala is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls’ education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons.

My Review

I’ve been curious about this book for the longest time, and finally I ordered an audiobook copy (I think I saw it on one of Audible’s most recommended books lists or something) and listened to it.

Before reading I Am Malala I hadn’t realized how active she was in speaking out about girls being allowed an education and how she and her family risked so much in order to continue educating young women in Swat in Pakistan.

The story not only gives a great sense of the political and social atmosphere around Malala and her family but also shows her as a girl—someone who enjoys playing with her friends, looks forward to holidays, is thinking about her future, etc.

She’s a devout Muslim, yet also devoted to the rights of girls and women, and she never feels that those two important parts of her life are at odds. Sometimes she explains why the Taliban leaders have certain positions (like their wish for women to remain at home, inside all the time), and why she disagrees with them.

I really want to listen to the book a second time. It might have been easier to read it as an e-book or physical copy. I had a hard time sometimes with keeping the names of places and characters straight. Having the print version would have made this easier for me I think, since so many names were unfamiliar to me.

I couldn’t help but be in awe of this young girl and her courage, though. I really enjoyed the story and it gave me a better understanding of what happened in Pakistan before and after Bin Laden was killed.

Looking back, I kind of wish I had read the young reader’s version of this book so I could recommend it, but this version would probably be okay for most middle and high school readers.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Malala and her family are Pakistan and Muslim.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
At one point Malala hears that some boys have crushes on her and are waiting for her outside her house. She tells them to go away. (Partly she’s concerned about getting in trouble if anyone suggests she was flirting with them, which she wasn’t.)

Spiritual Content
Malala and her family, her mom especially, pray verses from the Koran in times of distress and trouble. She discusses the difference between what the Koran says about the behavior of women versus what the Taliban demand in terms of rules about women.

Violent Content
Malala survives flooding and an earthquake. She describes hearing bombs exploding and gunfire. At one point, a man boards the van she’s riding in and shoots her in the head. He also shoots a friend of hers in the shoulder. A bullet grazes a third girl.

Drug Content
None.

Review: Ginger Kid by Steve Hofstetter

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Ginger Kid: Mostly True Tales of a Former Nerd
Steve Hofstetter
Amulet Books
Published on March 20, 2018

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Ginger Kid
In Ginger Kid, popular comedian Steve Hofstetter grapples with life after seventh grade . . . when his world fell apart. Formatted as a series of personal essays, Steve walks his readers through awkward early dating, family turbulence, and the revenge of the bullied nerds. This YA nonfiction is sure to be the beloved next volume for the first generation of Wimpy Kid fans who are all grown up and ready for a new misfit hero.

My Review
A fun, easy, read that’s deceitfully informative. Each essay delivers laughs and lessons together, from things Hofstetter learned about girls and relationships to his development as a comedian. I liked the gently self-deprecating, funny way the stories are related. The short sections are perfect for readers with short gaps of time for reading—perfect for me right now!

I liked that even though the stories often have a moral lesson to them, it felt very personal rather than instructive. The scenes about improv made me want to play the games he described or join a local improv group—they sounded like so much fun!

Ginger Kid is a great read not just for misfits but for anyone who has ever felt awkward in a crowd or wrestled with self-discovery. If you’re looking for a lighthearted read, add this one to your list for sure!

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Steve is from a Jewish family. He describes (very positive) experiences he had as part of a youth group for Jewish kids.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Roughly a dozen instances of mild profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some descriptions of kissing girls. He alludes to more, describing one girlfriend as a “sexual person,” though he doesn’t specify further.

Spiritual Content
See cultural elements.

Violent Content
A bully threatens to hit Steve.

Drug Content
Some mentions of drinking alcohol.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

Review: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

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Brown Girl Dreaming
Jacqueline Woodson
Nancy Paulsen Books
Published August 28, 2014

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From Goodreads
Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child’s soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson’s eloquent poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child. Her love of stories inspired her and stayed with her, creating the first sparks of the gifted writer she was to become.

My Review
After reading her novel-in-verse Locomotion, I knew I had to read Brown Girl Dreaming. I loved the descriptions of character and emotions in each poem. It’s easy to feel the family connections and the love of places, especially her grandmother’s home in South Carolina.

It’s funny—I think there’s this idea that reading and writing always come easily to people who grow up to be writers. Sometimes that’s really not the case. As a little girl, Jacqueline’s relationship with story far exceeds her ability to read or write, something that I think gives a lot of hope to young readers who struggle. There’s a strong element of courage that runs through the whole story. I loved feeling the connections between family members and the strength each one carried and how those relationships affected Jacqueline in her life and her quest to understand her place in the world.

Brown Girl Dreaming would be a great pick for a child struggling with reading, both because of the way it’s told and the struggle in the story itself. It’s also a great place to begin introducing the Civil Rights movement to younger readers.

Recommended for Ages 8 up.

Cultural Elements
Jacqueline Woodson writes about growing up as a young African American girl in South Carolina and later in Brooklyn in the 1960s.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Jacqueline’s grandmother brings her and her siblings to services to learn about being a Jehova’s Witness. They attend classes and go door to door to spread their faith.

Violent Content
She learns about a woman who fell down stairs and died.

Drug Content
Her grandfather smokes cigarettes.

Review: Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson

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Furiously Happy: A Funny Book about Horrible Things
Jenny Lawson
Flatiron Books
Published September 22, 2015

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It doesn’t seem possible to write a hilarious book about depression and anxiety, but that’s exactly what author Jenny Lawson has done in Furiously Happy. Her wacky adventures fill the pages and her unique view of herself and the world around her challenge readers to embrace their own weird. She has a keen sense of irony and writes in a rambling-yet-engrossing way. She takes readers through the highs and lows of book tours, a trip to Australia, and the challenges of depression and anxiety in daily life.

I think I read this book at exactly the right time. I’d seen it on several blogger’s Top Ten Tuesday lists for various reasons, and had it on my wish list. This fall, as my own anxiety levels rose, I felt like maybe the time had come to read something funny and perhaps to add some additional coping skills to my arsenal.

Reading the book challenged me to think about my own life and the areas in which I pressure myself to be perfect or to perform a certain way. There are a lot more than I realized. I love the openness in Furiously Happy and the way Lawson sort of throws things out there, acknowledges her shortcomings but embraces even the difficult parts of who she is. I think we all need more of that in our lives.

Parts of the book made me laugh out loud—actually, much of the book did exactly that. Sometimes that’s all we can do, right? Laugh at the difficult times and find the irony or bizarre humor in the way events unfold around us. Life’s too short not to enjoy the quirks and weirdness that makes us tick. I definitely needed that message, and I recommend this book for anyone struggling with similar feelings.

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used with moderate frequency.

Romance/Sexual Content
Jenny receives a small handmade model of a vagina with a doll inside that’s meant to be used as an educational aid for kids learning about childbirth.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
Several mentions of drinking alcohol or being drunk.

 

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Review: Irena’s Children by Tilar J. Mazzeo

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Irena’s Children: Young Readers Edition
Tilar J Mazzeo
Translated by Mary Cronk Farrell
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Available September 27, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

During World War II, Irena Sendler worked with an underground network to rescue 2,500 Jewish children from Nazi occupied Poland. Her unwavering commitment to human rights began long before the war, and endured through her own incarceration and torture. She worked tirelessly to save as many as she could, and through it all insisted that she was not a hero. She’d only done what any ordinary human would do.

Though it’s nonfiction, I could not put this book down. I was so captured by the life of this incredible woman and the way her life affected so many people. I love that there’s a young reader’s edition of this story, especially because it was a group of students whose research drew community interest in Irena’s largely untold story.

This may be one of the most inspiring stories I’ve ever read. I think what touched me most was the fact that throughout her life she insisted she wasn’t a hero. That anyone could do what she’d done. And I believe that is true. That we can each make an incredible difference in the world if it’s what we pursue.

I read her story and think about some of the things happening in our own country now. While I don’t want to draw a comparison between our nation and Nazi occupied Warsaw, there are injustices happening around us. I think about the courage with which Irena Sendler faced each day, and the resolve she must have felt as she set out to rescue each child. It didn’t begin with the Nazi occupation. She stood up against prejudice during her time in college, and it nearly cost her education. It would have been easy to sit down quietly and ignore what was happening around her. To just worry about herself and her own life. Instead she protested along with her Jewish peers.

It’s easy to look back at history and say we would have been among those who fiercely opposed Nazi ideas. How many of us really would have done it, though, at risk to our own lives and the lives of our families? This is the kind of story that really challenges you to think about those things. And they’re worthy things to think about. In the end, I want Irena to be right that she’s not a hero, that her faith in us, in humanity to stand up for one another, is well-placed. That truly, ordinary people reach out to help and protect others, no matter how different from us they may be.

Recommended Reading Age: 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Follows the story of Jewish and Polish historical figures.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Irena and her network save some children by having them baptized into the Christian faith. Some families and members of the Jewish community object to this practice and some refused to let their children participate

Violent Content
Disease and starvation plague the Jewish ghetto. The story talks briefly about the terrible cruelty of the Nazi soldiers toward the Jews, even toward babies. Few details are given, but it’s tragic and awful to think about it.

Drug Content
Irena visits a club in the wealthier side of the ghetto to hear a famous singer. Doctors perform operations with limited medical means. Irena smuggles vaccines into the ghetto.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Every Falling Star by Sungju Lee and Susan Elizabeth McClelland

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Every Falling Star: The True Story of How I Survived and Escaped North Korea
Sunju Lee and Susan Elizabeth McClelland
Amulet Books
Published September 13, 2016

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About Every Falling Star

EVERY FALLING STAR, the first book to portray contemporary North Korea to a young audience, is the intense memoir of a North Korean boy named Sungju who is forced at age twelve to live on the streets and fend for himself. To survive, Sungju creates a gang and lives by thieving, fighting, begging, and stealing rides on cargo trains. Sungju richly re-creates his scabrous story, depicting what it was like for a boy alone to create a new family with his gang, his “brothers”; to be hungry and to fear arrest, imprisonment, and even execution. This riveting memoir allows young readers to learn about other cultures where freedoms they take for granted do not exist.

My Review

Intense is a great word for this book. I’ve seen a couple of documentaries about North Korea, but nothing is more personal and moving than the story of someone who lived there. Sungju describes his early life in Pyongyang and the fierce national pride he felt for his country. His beliefs are challenged when his family is forced to leave the capital for a small impoverished city where food shortages cause many people to risk trips into China—an offense punishable by execution if they’re caught.

While EVERY FALLING STAR is a difficult story, Sungju shares so much hope. Ultimately it’s a story about the bonds of love, both within family and between close friends, and redemption. To read the end of the tale and learn what the author has accomplished can’t help but be inspiring, and to make us grateful for the freedoms we have, and the ability to share them with others.

I highly recommend this book. EVERY FALLING STAR was so good, would read it again. It would make a great resource for a current events class or a world cultures class.

Cultural Elements
Most characters are North Korean.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
At one point, the boys work as runners for a brothel, helping recruit customers.

Spiritual Content
A few references to Chilseong, a deity and shan-shin-ryong-nim, good spirits thought to live in rocks and mountains. Sungju’s family shared these beliefs with him and they bring him comfort during his life as a street boy.

Violent Content
Sungju and his schoolmates have to attend public executions. Sungju describes them briefly. Later, his gang must battle other street boys for the right to stay in a particular city.

Drug Content
The boys in the street gang drink alcohol and smoke.

Note: This post contains affiliate links which do not cost you anything to use but which help support my blog. I received a free copy of EVERY FALLING STAR in exchange for my honest review.