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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
Good middle level book about a young girl Dejá learning about 9/11. Quick read, definitely appropriate for 5th/6th or maybe even a little younger.
I was that person crying silently on an airplane while reading the final chapters of this emotional book. Deja's voice is authentic. Her journey to understand how 9/11 is part of her story and what it means to be American is truly touching. With underlying messages of tolerance and connectedness, Towers Falling is a must read for middle grade/middle school students.
I really enjoyed this book. It's innocence hooked me, much the same way Wonder did a few years ago. What a complex topic to challenge. How do we teach our kids about 9/11? How can we connect them to the importance of the event itself, but also the things that we need to learn from it?
One of the things I loved about this book is how diverse the characters were - even though it was a forced parallel to the intersections of 9/11. I was also really struck by their kindness to one another. Deja is definitely the underdog in many ways, but the kindness of Sabeen and Ben is so genuine and endearing. And it isn't just them, and then the rest of the class are total little jerk faces. Everyone is kind. Not overly so, but I think my mind must have been tainted by stories where all the kids are total bullies and punks to one another, because that's what I was expecting here. But there is kindness, tolerance, an interest in getting to know someone who looks or lives differently that you.
This is one I want my kids to read.
One of the things I loved about this book is how diverse the characters were - even though it was a forced parallel to the intersections of 9/11. I was also really struck by their kindness to one another. Deja is definitely the underdog in many ways, but the kindness of Sabeen and Ben is so genuine and endearing. And it isn't just them, and then the rest of the class are total little jerk faces. Everyone is kind. Not overly so, but I think my mind must have been tainted by stories where all the kids are total bullies and punks to one another, because that's what I was expecting here. But there is kindness, tolerance, an interest in getting to know someone who looks or lives differently that you.
This is one I want my kids to read.
Tremendous book! loved the character. written for late elementary but the end has some very powerful and painful descriptions of the towers falling, recommend for middle school because of that. also has good insights on homelessness.
A story about a girl named Deja whose family loses their home. Her father is sick with depression and anxiety that disables him from holding down a job, and her mother's waitresss check barely pays for their needs. When Deja and her family move into a homeless shelter in a ritzier part of Brooklyn, Deja goes to a new school. There she makes friends and starts to piece together why her father is so broken.
Things I didn't like so much: The lack of communication between the MC and her parents; no consquence for a very unsafe choice; that sometimes I felt like the story's messages were being shouted,like the reader wasn't quite trusted to get the author's intent; at some points the potrayal of the kids felt inauthentic-like would Deja and her classmates really know how to create a spur of the moment diagram that effectively?; why Ben and Sabeen attach themselves to Deja is never really explained.
Things I really liked: That the author chose to address hard topics like 9/11, homelessness, discrimination, disability, and what it means to be an American; the staff at Deja's new school - they felt real and caring, but not too perfect; Ray, Deja's responsible, adorable little brother; how the main trio grew throughout the story; getting to see inside Deja's unique thought process.
Things I didn't like so much: The lack of communication between the MC and her parents; no consquence for a very unsafe choice; that sometimes I felt like the story's messages were being shouted,like the reader wasn't quite trusted to get the author's intent; at some points the potrayal of the kids felt inauthentic-like would Deja and her classmates really know how to create a spur of the moment diagram that effectively?; why Ben and Sabeen attach themselves to Deja is never really explained.
Things I really liked: That the author chose to address hard topics like 9/11, homelessness, discrimination, disability, and what it means to be an American; the staff at Deja's new school - they felt real and caring, but not too perfect; Ray, Deja's responsible, adorable little brother; how the main trio grew throughout the story; getting to see inside Deja's unique thought process.
I had one major problem with this book. It is so implausible for a child to get to 5th grade in NYC and never hear of the Twin Towers or 9/11. The protagonist, Deja, is a great character, witty, smart, and sharp as a carving knife. For her to have never heard of 9/11 is just preposterous. It clouds the whole story, as a New Yorker. However, for children reading the story today, who have not grown up with the Towers, it might make her story ring true to them.
The story deals with a class of current 5th graders learning about that tragic event really well. It embraces the concept that as Americans we are all different, but the same, we are part of a community that is interconnected and that connection binds us to historic events and each other. The story is also very well written.
I didn't love the book, but it was okay. Also, I listened to most of it and read the final few chapters. I really did not like the voice of the person reading the story.
The story deals with a class of current 5th graders learning about that tragic event really well. It embraces the concept that as Americans we are all different, but the same, we are part of a community that is interconnected and that connection binds us to historic events and each other. The story is also very well written.
I didn't love the book, but it was okay. Also, I listened to most of it and read the final few chapters. I really did not like the voice of the person reading the story.
I really enjoyed this book. I thought I wasn't going to like it because 9/11 is a serious topic. However this book took it on in a different way. I liked the characters and the plot of this story. I would read it with a class
"Pop, I don't think it's just the jobs and money. I think maybe the terrorists hate us because we believe in freedom. For everybody. Freedom to be who you are and have different religions. Isn't that why folks immigrate? That's what makes our society family. America, home. Even though we're all different, we're the same. Americans."
Such a touching story about how even though 9/11 is 15 years in the past it still effects people of this country daily.
Such a touching story about how even though 9/11 is 15 years in the past it still effects people of this country daily.