I Am Change

They told her that her body belonged to men and her mind didn’t matter. They were wrong.

“What if I don’t want to marry?” Lillian held her breath. She had never said the words out loud.
“Not want to marry?” Her aunt frowned. “What else would you do?”

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 makes for a hauntingly beautiful reading experience, and Lilian's voice demands to be heard. Her story is more than just brave and confronting-it needs to be told.”

I Am Change makes for a hauntingly beautiful reading experience, and Lilian’s voice demands to be heard. Her story is more than just brave and confronting—it needs to be told. Books and Publishing
Zail has caught the despair of those without a voice…I Am Change is not a book for the faint-hearted but it is a book that needs to be read, mulled over, and discussed Magpies
If you do one thing today, make it buying this book and then devouring it whole. Reading Sumpton
I Am Change is a story of hope and fighting back...the challenges [Lillian] faces to realise [her] ambition are almost unfathomable for a privileged reader growing up in Australia to imagine. And it is for this reason that I Am Change is essential reading Readings
This is a story that matters...I Am Change is a must read Dark Matter Zine
I Am Change is inspiring...This is an important story and I implore you to read it Blue Fairy Tales
A confronting but important story inspired by the true experiences of young Ugandan women Readplus
This story will resonate with young women who struggle with identity, family expectations and the desire to be something more. Kids' Book Review

The prose of I Am Change flows beautifully and the narrative offers context and connection in a way that will have you reading the whole book in one sitting. And thinking about it for long afterwards.

4 ½ stars out of 5

Suzy Zail has worked as a litigation lawyer, specialising in Family Law, but now writes full time. Among other titles, she has written her father’s story, The Tattooed Flower, his life as a child survivor of the Holocaust. Her first novel for young adults, The Wrong Boy, was short-listed for the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year Awards, the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature, the WAYRBA, USBBY and YABBA awards. Her second novel with Black Dog Books, Alexander Altmann A10567, was a Notable Book at the CBCA Awards. She lives in Melbourne and has three children.

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