Alan Gratz

In time for the twentieth anniversary of 9/11, master storyteller Alan Gratz (Refugee) delivers a pulse-pounding and unforgettable take on history and hope, revenge and fear -- and the stunning links between the past and present. September 11, 2001, New York City: Brandon is visiting his dad at work, on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center. Out of nowhere, an airplane slams into the tower, creating a fiery nightmare of terror and confusion. And Brandon is in the middle of it all. Can he survive -- and escape? September 11, 2020, Afghanistan: Reshmina has grown up in the shadow of war, but she dreams of peace and progress. When a battle erupts in her village, Reshmina stumbles upon a wounded American soldier named Taz. Should she help Taz -- and put herself and her family in mortal danger? Two kids. One devastating day. Nothing will ever be the same.

Ground Zero

peyton 

The instant #1 New York Times bestseller. In time for the twentieth anniversary of 9/11, master storyteller Alan Gratz (Refugee) delivers a pulse-pounding and unforgettable take on history and hope, revenge and fear -- and the stunning links between the past and present. September 11, 2001, New York City: Brandon is visiting his dad at work, on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center. Out of nowhere, an airplane slams into the tower, creating a fiery nightmare of terror and confusion. And Brandon is in the middle of it all. Can he survive -- and escape? September 11, 2019, Afghanistan: Reshmina has grown up in the shadow of war, but she dreams of peace and progress. When a battle erupts in her village, Reshmina stumbles upon a wounded American soldier named Taz. Should she help Taz -- and put herself and her family in mortal danger? Two kids. One devastating day. Nothing will ever be the same.

Melissa Palmer

Good YA historical fiction. Alternates between chapters of a young boy in the Twin Towers on 9/11 and a young Afghan girl. All ties together in the end.

Really good story, this book had so much dept and it let me see what really happened at 9/11, cause I was not born when it all happened. 

Ellen

Ashley Wendt

I needed some time to process this one. There was so much about this book that was just sooo good. Then there were a few things though that were too cleanly wrapped up....but part of that is the age group that this book is geared towards. I guess...when I think about it, I appreciate that Alan Gratz has the forethought, to make sure he is writing something that is emotionally appropriate and relevant to 8-12 year olds. One of the things that I love most about his writing, is the way he write about human flaw and fault, human compassion and empathy. Traits that can be so easily dismissed and ignored by the media during times of war. I love that he weaves these themes into his books for this age of kids and teaches them that there are two sides to conflict and neither are always right and neither are always wrong. It’s such a good lesson to learn that to be human is to be both and that can connect us more than anything!!

Samantha Seeman

I personally am still triggered by anything to do with September 11th, 2001, so deciding to read this book was tough for me. I trusted Alan Gratz though, based on how he wrote Refugee, which is still one of the best middle grade books I have ever read. In this book, we follow two children, one in 2001, and one in 2019. One who lives in New York City, and one who lives in Afghanistan. We see from both perspectives devastation, tragedy and war. You read these types of scenes in other books and you get a sense of exaggeration, for dramatic affect. But it doesn't land quite the same way knowing that these descriptions of explosions, and people dying, they are not exaggerated, but actually happened to someone, regardless of whether these particular characters are real or not. They represent someone from each of those time periods and locations.

I will say it again for the people in the back, but especially during a time of such rampant book challenging and censorship; these types of stories are IMPORTANT to read. They give the reader the tools and the information so that they can process difficult topics, and come out not only understanding (ideally both sides), but with the ability to express empathy for someone who is not like them. It is easy to hate those who don't resemble you, or those you don't understand. It is easy to look at the attacks on September 11th and feel rage about what happened and who orchestrated it. But through the eyes of a child who experienced that horrific day, lost his father in the process, but comes to the realization that " it's not us against the world; it's all of us, working together, for each other," you start to think about things a little differently. Especially when you see the aftermath of that rage induced retaliation on an average girl who just wants to go to school, and help her family. Because we all look at ourselves as the hero in our story right? We are always the good guys. Books like this challenge you to see the story from the outside looking in though. They ask us to acknowledge the consequences to our actions and see how someone from a different POV may see things a little differently.

Katy B

Alan Gratz is one of those authors who pulls you in and once he has a new book released you know you're going to want to read it.

Belle Ellrich

*I WAS PROVIDED A PHYSICAL GALLEY OF THIS BOOK BY MY EMPLOYER. THIS DOES NOT AFFECT MY OPINION*

RATING: 4.75 stars

I really fell in love with this book. I was not expecting to love it as much as I ended up doing, and I really think this will be an important book for future and upcoming generations of middle-grade readers.

I was born the year after 9/11, and I didn't really learn enough about it to understand or grasp it until about ten years after the fact. Putting that into perspective, I have an outsider's view and understanding of it. Going into this book, I feel like I learned so much more about it.

Oftentimes, people forget about the after-effects of 9/11. The war, the death, and the blatant hate. With Reshmina's POV in this book, we learned about all of that. We learned about the swaying of the Taliban on young boys who are tired of hearing and seeing the war in their country, we learned about the motives of a lot of the children who were affected by 9/11, and so much more. Reshmina put a lot of things into perspective, and Alan Gratz did a fantastic job of portraying her feelings, thoughts and emotions on each subject at hand. I think Gratz did a great job of also developing her character. He put her through a lot of decisions a young girl should never have to make, and I really liked how this was also touched on.

With Brandon's POV, Gratz did a great job of making the reader feel like they were in his shoes. If placed in a situation like this, I think any person--no matter the age--would probably feel and react how Brandon did. Like Reshmina, it was easy to understand and feel the emotions and thoughts that Brandon displayed on each of his pages.

All in all, I think a lot of things about this story are perfect for middle-grade readers. I think the pacing was fit just right for the story, and I think the characters were clearly put through a lot of development and thought, as well as the plot. For that, I rate this book 4.75 stars. I look forward to reading this book to my younger brothers, and I have no doubt that they'll more than likely end up liking this book too.

Ground Zero

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