Colored Pages Blog Tour: The Awakening of Malcolm X, a review

The Awakening of Malcolm X by Ilyasah Shabazz, with Tiffany D. Jackson

Rating: 4/5

Publication Date: January 5th, 2021

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I received this for the publisher in exchange for a review. This does not affect my review which is unbiased and honest. This is for the Colored Pages Blog Tour, a promotional tour with ownvoices and international reviewers.

Honestly, the American education system didn’t teach me anything and so honestly I went in without really any prior knowledge about Malcolm X. This was told in a back and forth timeline from before prison and during prison.

This was incredibly easy to read and follow and very fast paced. I highlighted so many quotes that were really powerful and inspired a lot of discussion. I would highly recommend reading this with someone because it was really great discussing the different events that happen in the prison as well as Malcolm discovering the Nation of Islam.

The narrative was pretty easy to follow and it was really powerful reading through this perspective. It was hard to read about what happens to the prisoners and how badly they’re treated.

It was also interesting to see Malcolm slowly realize how biased he had been before versus when he really started to open his mind and allow different perspectives in. I really liked reading the parts where he learned about politics and joined the debate team.

It’s really hard to write a review of this book without just diving straight into the discussion part because as a Muslim I think it’s really interesting to see Malcolm’s discovery of Islam, even if the “Nation of Islam” is more of a political movement rather than religion (based on what I’ve read).

I think it was really interesting how Elijah Muhammad made Malcolm cut off one of his brothers because of alleged fornication and then later it was discovered that Elijah Muhammad had also done the same thing. It really raised a lot of questions and discussions.

After reading the book I had to read up on everything because it was just so interesting and I really wanted to learn more. I would definitely recommend this book if you want to inspire a discussion. It was just really informative and thought provoking.

Synopsis

The Awakening of Malcolm X is a powerful narrative account of the activist’s adolescent years in jail, written by his daughter Ilyasah Shabazz along with 2019 Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe award-winning author, Tiffany D. Jackson.

No one can be at peace until he has his freedom.

In Charlestown Prison, Malcolm Little struggles with the weight of his past. Plagued by nightmares, Malcolm drifts through days unsure of his future. Slowly, he befriends other prisoners and writes to his family. He reads all the books in the prison library, joins the debate team and the Nation of Islam. Malcolm grapples with race, politics, religion, and justice in the 1940s. And as his time in jail comes to an end, he begins to awaken — emerging from prison more than just Malcolm Little: Now, he is Malcolm X.

Here is an intimate look at Malcolm X’s young adult years. While this book chronologically follows X: A Novel, it can be read as a stand-alone historical novel that invites larger discussions on black power, prison reform, and civil rights.

About the Authors

Tiffany D. Jackson is the critically acclaimed author YA novels including the Coretta Scott King — John Steptoe New Talent Award-winning Monday’s Not Coming, the NAACP Image Award-nominated Allegedly, Let Me Hear A Rhyme, and GROWN.

Website– Goodreads

Ilyasah Shabazz, third daughter of Malcolm X, is an activist, producer, motivational speaker, and the author of the critically acclaimed Growing Up X and the picture book Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X

Goodreads