A review by jackelz
The Awakening of Malcolm X by Tiffany D. Jackson, Ilyasah Shabazz

challenging informative

This book is an intimate look at Malcolm X's young adult years, from 1946 to 1952, while he was imprisoned for robbery. Malcolm spent the majority of his sentence in Charlestown Prison, with a brief stent in Norfolk Prison Colony in Massachusetts in 1948. It is in Norfolk where he is introduced to the Nation of Islam, and joins the debate team. 

And as his sentence comes to an end, he begins to awaken — emerging from prison more than just Malcolm Little: Now, he is Malcolm X.

I learned so much about Malcolm’s early life reading this! Like how his father was killed when Malcolm was 6, and how his mother was institutionalized when he was barely a teenager. We also learn about the living conditions and treatment of prisoners — which sparks the conversation about prison reform. I can still visualize him making all those license plates… then reading the dictionary. 

This book is a mix of fact and fiction, but I really enjoyed the insight into the early life of Malcolm X.