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bookph1le 's review for:
Towers Falling
by Jewell Parker Rhodes
This book was so hard to read. I haven't failed to notice that I have a reaction whenever 9/11 comes up, but this book reminded me of just how visceral that reaction can be. Even though I don't live in New York and had no family or friends who were involved, reading this book catapulted me straight back into those days, and much to my shame made me realize there was aspects of the attack I'd never considered--such as children being able to watch the towers collapsing from their classroom windows.
For a short novel, there's a lot packed into this story. Harrowing as the 9/11 aspect of the book is, so is Dèja's family story, which intertwines with 9/11 in ways that will probably be pretty obvious to adult readers from early on. The book is tender in its portrayal of Dèja's family's struggle with homelessness, and that part too is difficult to read. I had so much sympathy for her, and could just empathize with her every plight and feeling.
I think what I like best about this book is that it's so challenging that even as an adult, I find myself pondering a lot of what it brings up. Dèja, Ben, and Sabeen wonder why adults find it hard to be so forthcoming with kids, and why they think they have to approach 9/11 from such an oblique angle, but Dèja develops insight into that aspect of things. As a mother, I appreciate how much of a struggle it is to reach the point where you have to pull back the lens for your kids to give them a wider view of the world, with the end result being that you're exposing them not only to the wonder and majesty of the world, but the ugly and horrific as well: violence, prejudice, and other societal ills. That parental instinct to protect is understandable, as in an ideal world young children would be sheltered from these ugly realities until they're old enough to better understand them, but it's also a privileged position that not every parent can take. And one of the worst things about being a parent is knowing that no matter how hard you try, you can't protect your kids from everything. The book grapples with this in a mature but age-appropriate way.
I'd recommend that parents/guardians of any children reading this book read it as well, because there are many aspects of it that are well worth discussion, and because the intense elements can be hard to take, such as the description of what happened on 9/11. I didn't feel the book was in any way gratuitous or that it treated this subject matter with anything but respect and delicacy, but those scenes are hard to read and hard to process, though I suspect that they may be harder on those who remember that day than on those for whom that day is a date in history.
For a short novel, there's a lot packed into this story. Harrowing as the 9/11 aspect of the book is, so is Dèja's family story, which intertwines with 9/11 in ways that will probably be pretty obvious to adult readers from early on. The book is tender in its portrayal of Dèja's family's struggle with homelessness, and that part too is difficult to read. I had so much sympathy for her, and could just empathize with her every plight and feeling.
I think what I like best about this book is that it's so challenging that even as an adult, I find myself pondering a lot of what it brings up. Dèja, Ben, and Sabeen wonder why adults find it hard to be so forthcoming with kids, and why they think they have to approach 9/11 from such an oblique angle, but Dèja develops insight into that aspect of things. As a mother, I appreciate how much of a struggle it is to reach the point where you have to pull back the lens for your kids to give them a wider view of the world, with the end result being that you're exposing them not only to the wonder and majesty of the world, but the ugly and horrific as well: violence, prejudice, and other societal ills. That parental instinct to protect is understandable, as in an ideal world young children would be sheltered from these ugly realities until they're old enough to better understand them, but it's also a privileged position that not every parent can take. And one of the worst things about being a parent is knowing that no matter how hard you try, you can't protect your kids from everything. The book grapples with this in a mature but age-appropriate way.
I'd recommend that parents/guardians of any children reading this book read it as well, because there are many aspects of it that are well worth discussion, and because the intense elements can be hard to take, such as the description of what happened on 9/11. I didn't feel the book was in any way gratuitous or that it treated this subject matter with anything but respect and delicacy, but those scenes are hard to read and hard to process, though I suspect that they may be harder on those who remember that day than on those for whom that day is a date in history.