I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai & Patricia McCormick

Malala dedicates this book as follows: “To those children all over the world who have no access to education, to those teachers who bravely continue teaching, and to anyone who has fought for their basic human rights and education.”

I was very fortunate to be the first one to read this powerful story of the youngest girl to win the Nobel Peace Prize. There are two versions of Malala’s autobiography. We own the Young Reader’s Edition.

Until October 2012 Malala and her family lived in the Swat Valley of Pakistan in a city called Mingora. Hers is a close-knit family. Malala is the oldest of three children with two younger brothers, Khushal and Atal. Her father is well respected in the community as he is a teacher and the founder of three schools. Malala’s mother is friendly with all the women in their community. Although she doesn’t read herself, she highly values education. From these strong family ties, Malala has an insatiable desire to learn.

Malala’s father founded a school for girls in Mingora where she attended and excelled to first in her class. Malala describes her life before the Taliban took control of her region as similar to most teens—friends at school, books and movies she adored, fights with her brothers, wanting to sleep in late in the mornings, etc. Tourists would travel to the Swat Valley due to its beauty—tall mountains, lush green hills, and crystal-clear waters. She loved living there and attending school.

All that changed when the earthquake (7.6 on the Richter scale) of 8 October 2005  devastated the mountain villages. The government of Pakistan was slow to arrive to help the victims, but rescue workers from a conservative religious group called Tehrik-e-nifaz-e-Sharia-eMohammadi (TNSM) or the Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Law lead by Sufi Mohammad and his son-in-law, Maulana Fazlullah did. Mullahs from this group preached that the earthquake was a warning from God. If the people of Swat Valley did not change their ways it could happen again.

This is how terrorism arrived in Mingora. The group first endeared themselves to the people and then threatened them with severe punishment if they did not abide by sharia law. Women must never leave their houses unless accompanied by a male relative. All women must be fully covered with a burqa. People must stop listening to music, stop going to movies, stop dancing. “Radio Mullah” would broadcast this type of strict adherence to sharia law daily. Finally, “Radio Mullah” (Maulana Fazlullah) denounced schools for girls. All schools must be closed. This step was just too much for Malala and for her father. She bravely started speaking out.

On October 9, 2012, the Taliban made good on their threat to finally silence Malala. A gunman fired on her as she sat on her school bus (a truck with bench seats in it.

Everyone needs to read this autobiography to understand the courage of Malala’s family and the price they paid. Also, people need to be educated as to how terrorism takes hold in a community.

I highly recommend this book!

 

Stronger by Jeff Bauman with Bret Witter Non-fiction-Memoir

I remember seeing smoky photos posted on Facebook within minutes of the bombing at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon.  When I saw them, I thought maybe someone had set off a smoke bomb.  Never did I think it was another terrorist attack!

Unfortunately for Jeff Bauman, he was at the finish line waiting for his girlfriend Erin to cross when Tamerlan Tsarnaev placed the black backpack with the bomb at Jeff’s feet. Imagine Jeff’s fear when he turned to see that Tamerlan was no longer there but his unattended black backpack was! Within seconds the bomb contained inside the bag went off-- blowing off Jeff’s feet and legs. It is a miracle he survived this heinous attack on innocent people.

There is a famous photo of Jeff being wheeled by a man in a cowboy hat from the bombed area to an ambulance.  That iconic photo has become a symbol for this entire tragic event.

There were many reflections of Jeff’s that were stunning to me.  He survived the loss of his legs and was still conscious!! He tried to tell the ambulance attendants, “I know what happened. It was a bomb. I saw the guy who did it.” But Jeff was slipping in and out of consciousness.  He finally asked to be put under. Because the EMT’s misspelled his name as Bowman, police were not able to find him. They simply weren’t looking at the hospital records for Bauman.

Read this highly informative book to grasp the courage it takes to come back from an event as devastating as the bombing at the Boston Marathon.

 

The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson

 

Leon Leyson’s memories of his life as a child in Poland prior to and during World War II comprise this very memorable memoir.

Born Leib Lejzon in the rural village in northeastern Poland, Leib was the youngest of five children.  His ancestors had lived in the small town for many generations for more than two hundred years.  His parents were hardworking.  His father worked in a bottle making factory.  His mother tended to the five children and the household.

Leon’s memories of his relatively carefree life before World War II reveal a very poor family with only a two room house- one living area and one bedroom where all seven family members slept- the parents and their five children.  There was no indoor plumbing in this village.  Electricity was unheard of in their town until Leon was ten when they had one light bulb which illuminated their living area.

Leon’s father moves to Krakow, Poland when the bottle factory relocates there.  He works for years to save money to move his family there.  Rumors circulate about Adolf Hitler, but no one believes he will invade Poland.  In 1939, Poland’s army capitulates after just one week.

Freedoms for Jews are taken away little by little.  Because Leon’s father has a work permit, his family is spared deportation many times.

Oscar Schindler purchases the factory.  A member of the Nazi party himself, the workers don’t know what will become of themselves under his ownership. 

Will Leon’s family’s work permits be honored? What kind of perseverance will be required of them to survive?  How does the title The Boy on the Wooden Box apply to Leon?

Read this excellent memoir to find out.

Hope Solo: My Story

Hope Solo grew up in Richland, Washington in a tract house near her maternal grandparents.  She loved her family.  Her dad stayed home and cared for her and her brother Marcus.  Her mom was the breadwinner working at a factory testing plutonium samples.  Her cherished family fell apart when her father stole checks worth $1,800.00 from Hope’s grandfather.  Their car was repossessed and their home was foreclosed on.  When Hope’s father vanished, she and her brother Marcus came to depend upon their grandparents who showered them with unconditional love and acceptance rather than her mom and a strict new step-father.

Surprisingly, when Hope was in middle school, she was assigned to write a paper about what she wanted to be when she grew up. “I am going to be a professional soccer player.” 

By senior year of high school, Hope was well on her way with 38 goals scored.  College recruiters flocked to her. Imagine Hope’s surprise when on one of her recruitment trips to Seattle, she reconnects with her father-- now a homeless man leaving under a tarp in a park where she plays a game of soccer.  Will her father’s shiftlessness affect her future?

Read this biography to find out how Hope Solo rose in her chosen career--soccer!

No Easy Day by Mark Owen

Mark Owen is not the real name of this author.  Rather it is a pseudonym for the real Navy SEAL who participated in the mission to take out Osama Bin Laden.  He was tired of politicians and the media hijacking this story as their own.  He wanted the story told as it really went down.

The story follows Navy SEAL Team Six as they train and prepare for their most important mission to date.  When called upon for this mission, it is amazing how quickly they moved from Newport News, VA to the US base in Jalalabad, Afghanistan and then on to Abbotabad, Pakistan.

Their mission concludes with the night raid on Osama Bin Laden’s compound, the troubles developed with a malfunctioning helicopter and the eventual success of this dangerous mission. 

This is a true, highly accessible account of the hunt for the world’s number one terrorist and mastermind behind the attacks on the United States of America. Although it is marketed as an adult book, I feel it is accessible to a YA audience.

 

 

The Warrior's Heart by Eric Greitens

Navy seal, Eric Greitens, poses moral dilemmas at the end of each chapter.  Each chapter ends with the question: "What would you do?"

After graduating from Duke University and attending Oxford University in England on a Rhodes Scholarship, Greitens travels to Zaire, China, Croatia, and Bolivia to help impoverished children. He found the most touching and most needy of the children in Bolivia.

After completing these travels and doing the valuable work in these countries, Eric Greitens enters training to become a navy seal--basic underwater demoltion/SEAL (BUD/S) in San Diego, California. The second half of his book deals with this aspect of his life.

This book was inspiring. Students who like to read about military life, humanitarian efforts to help impoverished children, or the courage it takes to be the best of the best will enjoy this title.

 

Below is the author discussing another of his books entitled The Heart and the Fist.

 



Adu, My Grandfather Said, Climb a Tree and Look for the Light

El-Fadel Arbab was only twelve years old when his village in the western section of Sudan was invaded by the Janjaweed. Janjaweed means “devils on horseback”. These men were from the Sudanese military--their mission to target specific ethnic groups. El Fadel’s family and village was part of the Fur tribe, one of the groups targeted by the Janjaweed. More than 400 villages in southern Sudan were completely destroyed and millions of civilians were forced to flee their homes.

His family’s house was set on fire. He was the last of his family to escape their home, suffering multiple burns, and was left alone when his parents and siblings scattered as they fled the attack. El Fadel used the wisdom his grandfather had taught him. If you are ever in trouble, climb a tree and look for the light. By climbing and sleeping in a tree by day, and then walking by dark, El Fadel was able to escape.

His story is one of great courage in the face of overwhelming obstacles.

As you read his story, ask yourself the following questions: How would I have survived without my parents? How would I know whom to trust once I did reach a city or small village? How would I endure not knowing if any of my family made it out alive? How would I get food and water? Who would help me try to find my family if any of them were able to survive?

I was asked to write a book blurb for the back of this book before it went to publication. Here is my blurb:

“Sobering and beautifully written, the story of 12-year-old El-Fadel Arbab’s unlikely escape from Darfur is a compelling read. This book is this year’s most accessible story for young readers about the will to survive.”

Half a Life

Darin Strauss was driving his father's car when the accident happened. A girl from his school whom he barely knew, Celine, drove her bike into his father's car. The resulting collision led to her tragic death.

This memoir reveals the depth of his guilt despite the accident being termed a "no fault" accident. The memories of him attending Celine's funeral, meeting with Celine's parents following the accident and the inevitable lawsuit brought against Darin's family despite the "no fault" conclusion by law enforcement, eye witnesses, and the other passengers in Darin's car continue to play out in Darin's mind over and over again.

This tragic event overshadows half of Darin's life.

I would recommend this title to serious readers who might want to know how shattering an event like this for any person to endure.

IraqiGirl

IraqiGirl is the blog created by a fifteen-year-old girl living in the town of Mosul in Iraqi. Because it is a blog, there are postings by others who respond to her blog throughout the book.

Her blog begins in 2004 and continues through 2009. In her early entries, she vehemently denouces the involvement of the United States in her country. After several people respond to her rants against the US, she decides instead to shift her focus to the effect of the war on her personal and school life.

Her life is drastically affected by the war. She worrries constantly about the bombings. When any family member is late arriving from work or school, her thoughts are always praying that no one has been killed. She has recurrent nightmares. Her exams and school life are put on hold after the school building is destroyed.

If you want to read about life in a country at war and what it means to be a teenager under those conditions, this is the book for you!