In 2012 a Taleban gunman, infuriated by Malala Yousafzai’s frequent television appearances insisting that girls had a right to education, shot her in the face. She survived and is now an inspirational symbol both of defiance and of the love of learning.

As you might hope in a memoir by a 16- year-old, full acknowledgment is given to parental influence and particularly to the role of her father.