Ground Zero

Ground Zero
Alan Gratz
Scholastic, 2021 336 pages
Grades 5-8
Historical Fiction

Two narrators in different places and times tell an interwoven tale of their experiences seeped in current events relating to the hostile situation between the United States and Afghanistan. Because of a suspension, Brandon goes with his father to work at the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001. At the time of the attack he was sneaking away to the underground mall. Thank goodness-because when the planes hit the upper levels, where Dad's restaurant is located, they become inescapable. Brandon makes friends with Richard, whom he had a brief encounter with earlier in the day, and the two have a harrowing experience attempting to flee the damaged building before it is too late. Meanwhile, Reshmina is a twelve-year-old girl in present day Afghanistan. Her family works a small farm on the Pakistan boarder and have only known war and suffering. Since Reshmina's sister died by an explosion several years earlier, her twin brother seeks revenge by joining the Taliban. Reshmina finds an injured American soldier who appears to have lost his sight in a skirmish. Should she try to help him even though it will put her family on the wrong side of the dangerous Taliban?

Adults still harbor very strong emotions and memories of 9/11. As we approach the twentieth anniversary of the deadly attacks, there is an entire generation of young people with no first-hand knowledge of this time. My kids always dreaded September 11th in school because the teachers kept going "on and on" about it. This book will make the events of this tragic day more personal in the minds of today's youth. Young people need to know about the events-as well as connecting it to the war we are still fighting in the middle east. Gratz presents the information in a highly readable format with short, exciting chapters leaving every chapter at a cliff-hanger before shooting back to the other character. The chapters are labeled with the feature character name to alleviate confusion. The two stories merge together in a wholly satisfying way, that although I saw coming, may take kids by surprise. Gratz leaves readers with no easy answers, but plenty of background and causes for our present dilemmas and demonstrates the pain and suffering of all sides of the middle eastern conflict. Backmatter contains an author's note with further historic background and maps of both places. An important book presented in way sure to appeal to the most reluctant of readers.