The book, written with the British journalist Christina Lamb, recounts Malala's life before and after the moment on Oct. 9, 2012, when a gunman boarded a school bus full of girls in Pakistan's Swat Valley and asked “Who is Malala?” Then he shot her in the head.
The shooting is described briefly but vividly in the book, which is briskly written but full of arresting detail.
“The air smelt of diesel, bread and kebab mixed with the stink from the stream where people still dumped their rubbish,” Malala remembers.
One of her friends tells her later that the gunman's hand shook as he fired.