judygjohnson 's review for:

The 15:17 to Paris: The True Story of a Terrorist, a Train, and Three American Heroes by Anthony Sadler, Jeffrey E. Stern, Alek Skarlatos, Spencer Stone

4.0

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This is an emotional, engaging, non-fiction book about an event that captured the attention of the world. It is written from the point of view of the three young men who had known each other since childhood, who when faced with a terrorist, took action. (There were others on the train who also bravely confronted the terrorist, and their acts are covered in the narrative.) The book is organized in sections around each of the three men, and moves back and forth in time in a way that may seem choppy to some. I found it more interesting that way. We learn a lot about who these men are as people, through stories of their childhood and adolescence. Their perspectives of what happened on the train, how they felt, what they saw and remembered, and what they didn't see or didn't remember are gripping and real. How they dealt with sudden celebrity, its demands and rewards, is also an important part of the story. I highly recommend it.