Summary

Chapter 17: “Praying to Be Tall”

Malala says she is shorter than most of her friends and that she prays everyday to be taller. One of Malala’s classmates is married at thirteen years of age. Malala sometimes daydreams about leaving school to be married. While the Pakistanis have traditionally blamed all their problems on India, they now blame the United States. One morning, Malala hears loud voices and learns that everyone is talking about an American raid that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden. As the details become available, there are questions and outrage. Some are angry that the Americans conducted the raid on their own, without help from or even informing the Pakistanis. Others believe the Americans had actually killed bin Laden years earlier, then pretended to find him in the compound so near the capital city in...