I Am Change
By Suzy Zail
My Review:
I had this on my TBR list for much longer than it should have been. It must be read by everybody – immediately!
Lilian loves to learn. She begs to be allowed to go to school and get an education, but the world she lives in does not make such a thing easy - because she is a girl.
Lilian’s day is clear. She is expected to complete her chores and help her mother. She is expected to fetch water. She is expected to get her period and be married off to a complete stranger and give him babies, preferable male babies. She is not expected to learn, think or question the world around her. Lilian, however, wants more than any of that. But the harsh reality is that we don’t always get what we want.
There are so many emotions to be felt when reading this story. Sadness, happiness. Disgust, delight. Fury, triumph. It is a gripping read made all the more so because Suzy Zail has compiled the lives of many girls from Uganda that she spent time with and channelled their experiences into the story of Lilian. Zail spent the time to learn from these young women, understand these young women and share the triumph and tragedies from a country where girls are often seen as nothing more than a commodity.
Zail draws us into Lilian’s world with beautiful descriptive writing of daily life, along with injections of culture, beliefs and lifestyle that make it easy to picture Lilian’s world. Zail also writes with a sensitivity of subject matter that makes your heart break at the unfairness, but also sing with the determination of one young girl’s desire to want change.
Strongly recommend you read this work of fiction knowing that for many girls, this story is their real lives.
From the publisher WALKER BOOKS
Set in a Ugandan village, Lilian has learned to shrink herself to fit other people’s ideas of what a girl is. In her village a girl is not meant to be smarter than her brother. A girl is not meant to go to school or enjoy her body or decide who to marry. Especially if she is poor.
Inspired by and written in consultation with young Ugandan women, I Am Change is the tragic but empowering story of how a young girl finds her voice and the strength to fight for change.
I Am Change by Suzy Zail
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I had this on my TBR list for much longer than it should have been. It must be read by everybody – immediately!
Lilian loves to learn. She begs to be allowed to go to school and get an education, but the world she lives in does not make such a thing easy - because she is a girl.
Lilian’s day is clear. She is expected to complete her chores and help her mother. She is expected to fetch water. She is expected to get her period and be married off to a complete stranger and give him babies, preferable male babies. She is not expected to learn, think or question the world around her. Lilian, however, wants more than any of that. But the harsh reality is that we don’t always get what we want.
There are so many emotions to be felt when reading this story. Sadness, happiness. Disgust, delight. Fury, triumph. It is a gripping read made all the more so because Suzy Zail has compiled the lives of many girls from Uganda that she spent time with and channelled their experiences into the story of Lilian. Zail spent the time to learn from these young women, understand these young women and share the triumph and tragedies from a country where girls are often seen as nothing more than a commodity.
Zail draws us into Lilian’s world with beautiful descriptive writing of daily life, along with injections of culture, beliefs and lifestyle that make it easy to picture Lilian’s world. Zail also writes with a sensitivity of subject matter that makes your heart break at the unfairness, but also sing with the determination of one young girl’s desire to want change.
Strongly recommend you read this work of fiction knowing that for many girls, this story is their real lives.
You can check out my other reviews at GOODREADS
I Am Change by Suzy ZailMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I had this on my TBR list for much longer than it should have been. It must be read by everybody – immediately!
Lilian loves to learn. She begs to be allowed to go to school and get an education, but the world she lives in does not make such a thing easy - because she is a girl.
Lilian’s day is clear. She is expected to complete her chores and help her mother. She is expected to fetch water. She is expected to get her period and be married off to a complete stranger and give him babies, preferable male babies. She is not expected to learn, think or question the world around her. Lilian, however, wants more than any of that. But the harsh reality is that we don’t always get what we want.
There are so many emotions to be felt when reading this story. Sadness, happiness. Disgust, delight. Fury, triumph. It is a gripping read made all the more so because Suzy Zail has compiled the lives of many girls from Uganda that she spent time with and channelled their experiences into the story of Lilian. Zail spent the time to learn from these young women, understand these young women and share the triumph and tragedies from a country where girls are often seen as nothing more than a commodity.
Zail draws us into Lilian’s world with beautiful descriptive writing of daily life, along with injections of culture, beliefs and lifestyle that make it easy to picture Lilian’s world. Zail also writes with a sensitivity of subject matter that makes your heart break at the unfairness, but also sing with the determination of one young girl’s desire to want change.
Strongly recommend you read this work of fiction knowing that for many girls, this story is their real lives.
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