I can't believe how long it has been since I've read a YA book. This past summer I read a lot of adult books, but not many YA books. This week, I picked up Ground Zero because one of my students at school was telling me he was reading it and really liked it. He thought I might like it as well. I have also read Ban This Book by Gratz and really liked it.
Ground Zero is the story of two kids- 9 year old Brandon who on September 11, 2001 went with his father to work on the top floor of the World Trade Centre. Brandon is in the North Tower when the first plane hit on 9/11 and he needs to find a way to escape the fire, power outages and fear of the unknown.
The other story is of Reshmina who on September 11, 2019 lives in a village in Afghanistan that is in the middle of American troops and the Taliban. Reshmina finds a wounded solider and she must decide if she should risk her, her family and her villages safety to help him.
This story was very hard to read. In both cases, the kids are in impossible situations. Brandon is confused and afraid and has no idea if he will survive and why anyone would want to attack New York. Reshmina has been living through a long war in Afghanistan, she has dreams for the future which may not be possible if the Taliban win, and yet her twin brother wants nothing more than for the enemy American soldiers to leave the country and let the Taliban rule.
It was a compelling read, but I would be very careful who I gave this book to. There is a lot to unpack in both stories.
No comments:
Post a Comment