A review by sparklelys
Ground Zero by Alan Gratz

5.0

Alan Jackson has a song about "where were you when the world stopped turning", but Alan Gratz realized that to today's kids, 9/11 is vague history, not a memory. And Afghanistan, as much as it is in current events (particularly this week, with the Taliban taking control and the US in chaotic withdrawal from the country), is just somewhere far away. So by putting each situation in a kids' lens, with consequences for each decision, Gratz's Ground Zero brings home that "It isn’t me against the world... It’s everyone, working together. And not against the world either, but for each other. That was how they survived." A solid read for kids and families to talk through together, on moving forward even through the wrong turns and tough decisions, and the long-term lens on some of those choices.