Title: I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
Author(s): Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb
Genre: non-fiction, biography, education for girls

I am disappointed in this book. This was the January selection for the book club I belong to and we are reading books in 2015 about strong women. This book was my pick and it didn't live up to my expectations. Malala has an inspiring story and this book fails to capture this. At first I thought the busyness of life was not letting me enjoy this book but the writing was choppy and the whole book didn't seem to "flow" very well. On the positive side, Malala gives the reader lots of background information on the political history and climate of Pakistan and the history of Swat, her home in Pakistan. The reader learns how the corrupt and inept Pakistani government let the Taliban infiltrate their country and brainwash the Pakistani people. There are lot of parallels between the Taliban takeover of Pakistan and the Nazi takeover in Germany. Should people read this book? Yes, but it might not live up to your expectations.

Title: The News Sorority: Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, Christiane Armanpour - and (Ongoing, Imperfect, Complicated) Triumph of Women in TV News
Author: Sheila Weller
Genre: non-fiction, biography, TV history

This cover caught my eye since I have always viewed Sawyer, Couric and Armanour as respected journalists. Sheila Weller gives a brief history of the beginnings of women in television along with mini biographies of Diane, Katie and Christiane. At 481 pages, Weller did extensive research and interviews with friends and work colleagues of each women to get a balanced picture of each woman's work ethic and personality. We read how their upbringing influenced their choices of stories and interview styles. As with all celebrities what we see on the TV screen is not the same as what happens before airtime. All three women are accused of being demanding and difficult by coworkers. An interesting but long read.

Title: Positive: Surviving My Bullies, Finding Hope and Living to Change the World
Author: Paige Rawl with Ali Benjamin
Genre: non-fiction, biography, memoir, inspirational

Paige Rawl, by all appearance was your typical, American middle school girl: she loved cheerleading, soccer, was a straight-A student and loved hanging out with her friends. Paige was also HIV-positive (from birth) and disclosed her secret to her best friend one night at a school lock-in. Before an hour had passed, all the kids at the lock-in knew Paige's secret and her relationship with her best friend was destroyed.
Bullying and teasing soon followed after this. When Paige went to the school counselor for help, she was told "to stop the drama." Because of this lack of understanding, Paige withdrew even more into herself and wouldn't tell her mother what was happening at school or about the nasty notes left anonymously at her locker. The stress eventually manifested itself through self harm and pseudo seizures, and out of desperation, Paige was homeschooled for a year. After a year had passed, Paige transferred to another high school that was more accepting and had a zero tolerance policy on bullying. Her middle school years still haunted her though and after another huge health scare, Paige used her anger, frustration and public speaking skills (from years of pageants) to bring awareness for HIV/AIDS.

A quick read (it took me two days); although this is catalogued in the adult biography section at my library, a middle schooler would be able to easily read this. There is no graphic content, although there a few swear words from when Paige recalls conversations with other kids. I look forward to watching Paige's successes in the future!

Title: Looking for Anne of Green Gables: The Life and Times of L.M. Montgomery
Author: Irene Gammel
Genre: non-fiction, biography


I read the Anne of Green Gables series as a preteen and teenager and I always wondered about Lucy Maud Montgomery; imagine my surpise and delight when I stumbled upon her biography in my local library.
In this biography, Irene Gammel recounts how life events and literary magazine subscriptions shaped the plot and structure of Anne of Green Gables...Maud's mother died when she was a toddler and her father left her in the care of her grandparents, the Macneills, who weren't very loving. In the book, Matthew Cuthbert is introspective, kind and gentle; the antithesis to Maud's real-life, grumpy and stern grandfather. Marilla Cuthbert was practical and stern; Grandma Macneill was rude, mean and ungracious. Maud developed a lifelong friendship with her cousin, Frede, which was the basis for the "bosom friends" concept between Anne and Diana. Maud loved to flirt and spar with intelligent males which is reflected in the love/hate relationship between Anne and Gilbert.
Maud suffered from seasonal depression in the winter and loved to garden and commune with nature. Writing the flowing descriptions of Prince Edward Island's flowers and landscapes helped her survive the extra long and harsh winter that took place when Maud was writing her manuscript. Maud felt more spiritual when taking a walk through her beloved fields and woods than in a traditional church service. This marked her as odd amongst her traditional, Presbyterian family members and neighbors.
Maud (and Anne Shirley) were prone to melodrama, and unfortunately, Maud was insecure and later in life suffered an unhappy marriage and an exploitative book publisher.