I think this book has a laudable purpose, it just feels rather that it is aimed at a younger readership, as there's a lack of nuance in here.
I'm reminded of the quote, the death of 1 man is a tragedy, that of millions a statistic. We often hear of refugees in terms of the numbers trying to cross or the number seeking asylum. It isn't often that those faceless numbers become human. This books aims, in part, to do that, to tell individual stories of some of those many people.
It selects just women, mostly young, and tells their story. That means that for the most part they aren't the ones faced with the decision to leave, they are caught up in that decision. The mixed emotions between the leaving behind something that was familiar,even if now dangerous, and moving to something entirely new and scary is there, but glossed over. Their stories all ended up sounding very similar, there was little in the way of individual voices here and the stories had a cookie cutter feel about them. It is a book with laudable aim, but it didn't land. ( )

Of course, I was aware of Malala Yousafzai’s gender equality activism, her Nobel Prize, and her shooting by the Taliban. Any adult who has been alive for the past 10 years or so must similarly be aware. But in this book, I got a glimpse of the person who became displaced first from her home city and then from her beloved homeland, when the Taliban terror spilled out of Afghanistan into Pakistan. Ms. Yousafzai introduces us to some other girls displaced from their countries and homes.

Like Najla, a Yazidi (a small religious minority “neither Muslim nor Christian”) girl born in northern Iraq, who ran away when her father would not let her go to secondary school, although he finally relented after a year of silent anguish; her victory was short-lived though when ISIS started kidnapping and abusing women and killing men, particularly targeting the Yazidi villages.

Or Zaynab, whose flight from terror took her from Yemen to Egypt to Minnesota, and whose younger sister, Sabreen, had a harrowing journey to Italy.

Or Maria, who, at four years old, fled from their rural Colombian village during the night with her mother and four older siblings, eventually arriving in the city of Cali, and being thrown into abject poverty and becoming part of a large community of people internally displaced by the decades-long Colombian civil war. It was only many years later that she learned her father had been murdered the day before and her mother believed the rest of the family would be next.

Or Marie Claire, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who witnesses her mother’s murder by a mob in Zambia.

I have long suspected that most refugees don’t choose to leave their homes: they must, in order to survive. Hearing these stories directly from the women and girls whose lives were at risk at home and in their flights confirms that belief. ( )

Read this in less than one day. An amazing story of survival, perseverance, and determination. Strong female voices permeate throughout the book. It makes me realize how lucky we are in America to have the freedoms we do. I cannot imagine having to flee my country, not knowing if I would live or die and then down the road going back to see where my journey all started. Highly recommend this book to MS/HS students. ( )

So incredibly powerful and important. Not many books make me get even close to crying, and this one had me tearing up. A beautiful look into the reality of so many girls around the world-- a harsh reality that is ignored for that the fact that it is so harsh, and difficult to acknowledge when we are so privileged. Written in a simple, accessible way. Very inspiring.

“Truth be told, I don’t want to keep telling my story. My strategy in life is to live in the present and focus on the future, but I know people are interested, and if by telling my story I can take the light people shine on me and reflect it onto others, well, that is what I will do.” ( )

Malala is now a highly visible advocate for women's education, and the youngest ever winner of a Nobel Peace Prize. In this short book, she retells her own terrible story starting in the Swat Valley of Pakistan as it fell prey to the religious fanaticism of the Taliban, resulting in her being shot in the head and medivacked to London, where she became a refugee. Then, she tells the real stories of another 9-10 young women (whom she met in her own world travels) who have been forced to flee their own war torn homes, travelling in peril to reach greater safety, and in some cases, freedom. Real people, real stories among the millions of refugees worldwide. All profits go to her Foundation, and she provides guidance for those wishing to help mitigate the misery of refugees. ( )