Title: Ground Zero
Author: Alan Gratz
Type of Book: Young Adult Fiction
This book is about the tragic events of September 11, 2001, told through the eyes of three young people from different time periods. Brandon is a boy who witnesses the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001 and tries to escape the Twin Towers while looking for his dad. Reshmina is a girl living in Afghanistan in 2019 Who struggles with the violence and laws of the Taliban. These two characters' stories show the impact of AlQaeda attacking America and how the world changed forever after 9/11.
My favorite character in the book is Reshmina because she shows bravery so many times. First, she saves an American soldier from death, even though it is very forbidden in Afghanistan. Second, she tries to convince her brother Pasoon not to tell the Taliban that she was keeping an American soldier safe. Even after that, she shows the readers her bravery by protecting her entire village from the Taliban by hiding them in the old caves that she used to play in as a kid.
My favorite part of the book was when the two characters' stories merged towards the end, showing how their lives were connected in ways they never thought. The American soldier that Reshmina saved was Brandon, and he joined the American army so he could get revenge on the terrorist who took his father's life away from him.
You should read this book because it offers a good perspective on a significant historical event and really shows how humans act during a time of crisis. Alan Gratz's emotional and heartfelt storytelling makes Ground Zero a must-read for young adults. If you read this book and liked it, you should read:
Towers falling by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Eleven by Tom Rogers
I am Malala, by Malala Yousoufzai
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