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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
I let my 12-year old daughter read this book first, and she said, "I thought it was going to be about 9/11, but it's not. It's just about some girl who didn't know about 9/11 and how she found out." She thought it was an "okay" book but misleading. So I read it, and wondered, Did she read the same book? My daughter is usually very insightful and very empathetic, so I am puzzled. I felt like it was fairly profound and kind of really beautiful in a stripped-down, kid-kind of way. Perhaps it was too stripped down, particularly for a middle-school reader.
Such a touching story of how a new generation is learning about September 11.
2017 Well Rounded Challenge - Read a book by an author born in the same country
2017 Well Rounded Challenge - Read a book by an author born in the same country
I really did enjoy this book. It is not what I expected yet very good for the reasons it was not. I do wish Deja’s story was a bit longer after the “reveal” as I’d like to know how her story unfolds further. It felt a bit rushed.
Yes I’d recommend. For all the reasons I didn’t expect.
Yes I’d recommend. For all the reasons I didn’t expect.
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
When the towers fell I knew that someone would need to write a book about it but could not conceive of how one would do such a thing. Time would need to pass so that the book wouldn't be didactic and preachy, or frightening, or overly sad—fifteen years in fact. That's the premise of Towers Falling. Fifteen years have passed and now there are a whole group of middle grade students who live in the shadows of what used to be the towers but some of them don't know the event even happened. Our main character Déja is one of those students. Unbeknownst to her, she and her family are more connected to that event in history than she can ever imagine. Themes of familial love, loss, and friendship permeate the book. Rhodes does a particularly good job using the classroom setting to present how the past affects the present and the future, and how historical events connect us all without being too teachy. She does a great job with creating a whole cast of characters (classmates, families, teachers, and more) who read as unique.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I like that Deja is supported by her new friends, favorite teacher, etc. even as her parents are not able to be there for her as much--it makes the book seem less scary. Ending is a bit pat but I think that, again, keeps it from being too scary.
2018-2019 VSBA nominee. In the author’s note, Rhodes asks “How do I write a book that might inspire youth to become even better citizens?” The best books, in my opinion, focus on transforming a main character from thinking she is the center of the universe to finding a better understanding of her place in the world. This novel was a success in that. I appreciate the focus of 9/11 and the many sides of a complicated and scary hour in history. It asks the reader why history matters and then does a bang up job at showing why.
This is an extraordinary, brave, and timely book. Rhodes brings 9/11 to the generation born in the years after in what is an insightful, poignant, and ultimately hopeful story. Please read this book. I believe it is one of my contenders for Best Book of 2016.