User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Thank you to Edelweiss and Scholastic Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.When I heard that Alan Gratz was writing a new book, this time about the events of 9/11, suffice it to say, I was excited. And this novel did not disappoint.
Ground Zero is told in dual, third-person perspective, and weaves two stories together in an intricate and resounding way.
Brandon's dad works at the World Trade Center in New York City, and on the morning of September 11, 2001, Brandon's life is changed forever, as he witnesses an event that will change the course of history itself. Over the course of his parts in the book, he and the other survivors must find a way to work together and make it out of this nightmare alive.
Reshmina lives in present-day Afghanistan, in village torn apart by war, but still holding fast to her peaceful ideals. Her life is turned upside-down when she decides to help an American soldier and learns that her brother wishes to join the Taliban. It's up to her to help make amends of the mess she's made, and learn a thing or two along the way about this war.
The book is written in an interesting way that captivates you from the very beginning and doesn't let go. The characters are likeable but also believable, and you'll find yourself rooting for them in their individual positions as the story goes on. That being said, the character growth isn't very present, but made up for by all the action.
This book is one that touches on important and relevant topics. I can definitely see this book as something that can be enjoyed by younger readers and more mature ones alike, and it definitely has the capacity to spark important conversations as well.
Overall, I would recommend this to anyone who's trying to get more into historical fiction, or is looking for two compelling stories that are slowly tied together.
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will read literally anything by this author.
Rating: really liked it
[father dies, lots of deaths during 9/11 some of which are described on page, extremist Taliban ideals on page, war scenes /deaths/injuries, mother died when MC was younger, sister killed by American bombing (hide spoiler)]
Rating: really liked it
Alan Gratz’s books always hit where it hurts, in the best possible way, but Ground Zero might just be the one to have the most impact for me. I remember 9/11 like it was yesterday so the fact we are coming up on the 20th anniversary is mind blowing. This MG book will be a hit with my students & generate a bunch of conversations between them & their parents.
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Brandon has to go to his father’s job who is a chef at the World Trade Center because he was suspended for the day. It’s September 11, 2001. Reshmina dreams of life beyond war in Afghanistan where her brother is joining the Taliban and her home is bombed after she protects an American soldier on September 11, 2019.
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Two kids. 18 years difference. Countries apart. The world will never be the same.
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You will need the tissues for this one, particularly those who are old enough to remember where they were on 9/11/01. Make sure and read the Author’s Note at the back. I loved hearing Gratz speak at @librarypalooza a few months ago. I’ll not soon forget this amazing novel Thank you Edelweiss for an ARC of this. BUY THIS BOOK in February 2021.
Rating: really liked it
One way or another, we still live in a world reshaped and redefined by what happened in those 102 frightful minutes on a bright blue September morning in 2001. And I believe it's more important than ever for new generations to understand how we got from there to where we are today.This note from the author perfectly articulates why books like this one are so important. I must confess that before this past week, Afghanistan was not on my mind. Now that I have seen the news coverage from the past week while reading this book, I realize my deplorable lack of understanding. Readers of this book will get a firsthand look at what it was like to be a 9-year-old in the North Tower on September 11, 2001. They will also live life in the mountains of 2019 Afghanistan through the eyes of a young girl. Alan Gratz uses short chapters, many ending in cliffhangers, to narrate the action in both timelines. Both Brandon (2001) and Reshmina (2019) are in deadly peril more than once. The two find themselves dealing with similar situations, but in drastically differing contexts. When is it proper to grant refuge? Is revenge an appropriate response to tragic events? Both learn the value of working with those around them to achieve a better outcome. Perhaps we can all work together to find another path going forward.
Rating: really liked it
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
This book delivers the stories of both Brandon, a nine year old in New York City during the 9/11 attacks, and 11-year-old Reshmina, who lives in Afghanistan in the present day. Brandon has to go to work with his father, who works in Windows on the World in the World Trade Center because he got in trouble at school. He likes being with his father, but has made plans to run an errand in the underground mall when he gets a chance. This happens when there is a kitchen fire. Brandon sneaks off, but the elevator in which he is riding stops. The people in the elevator all work together to get out onto one of the floors, but when they do, they find that a plane has flown into the building. Brandon is frantic about his father and tries to go up to the restaurant, only to find he can't get there. With the help of Richard, a man whom he and his father had helped earlier that morning, Brandon tries to get out of the World Trade Center, which is no easy feat. In Reshmina's story, her family has suffered greatly over the years that the Taliban has been struggling for dominance and the US troops are in place trying to help. Many members of her family have been killed, including an older sister, at whose wedding celebratory gun shots were mistaken for attacks and resulted in the wedding party being attacked. Reshmina would like to be a teacher and move to Kabul, so is learning English, but her mother just wants her to get married young. Her grandmother, however, remembers Afghanistan before Taliban control, when women could hold jobs and even wear mini skirts, and consuls Reshmina to try to understand her mother's point of view. When Reshmina finds a wounded US soldier, she has him follow her home to get help, but this puts her family and entire village in grave danger. Both children have to fight against the odds to survive, and in the end, are more connected than we could have imagined.
Strengths: This was absolutely harrowing. The details of what Brandon and Richard had to do just to get out of the building were vivid without being too graphic, and made me feel like I was right there. The same is true of Reshmina's struggles to try to keep her family safe when her twin brother is determined to join the Taliban and her village is under attack. There is a lot of information about what life was like for Reshmina, which was quite interesting, and the politics of the situation were well balanced. Notes at the back are helpful for young readers who won't have as much familiarity with the topic. This is probably the best book about 9/11 that I've read.
Weaknesses: It seemed unlikely to me that Brandon would have gotten his father on the phone in the restaurant, or that Richard would have adopted him, but both are hopeful occurrences that ease the really dire air this book has.
What I really think: I know that this author's Refugee is very popular, given that it covers three very different stories of immigration, and the two characters did meet up in a very clever way, but I rather wished this were two separate books. Both stories are very intense, and given the length of the book, it could easily have been two shorter stories. Since it is not, I will definitely purchase it anyway.
Rating: really liked it
I liked this book until the last chapter when the author felt the need to put his political opinion in rather than stick to the historical background he used in the rest of the book. I also felt like this book would be much too intense for my 11 year old. It seems written for kids, but my child is not quite ready for a book with this content.
Rating: really liked it
Thank you Rockstar Book Tours and Scholastic for a complimentary copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
Ground Zero
By: Alan Gratz
REVIEW ☆☆☆☆☆
It's odd that a generation now exists with no prior knowledge of the Twin Towers terrorist attacks. That is why books such as GROUND ZERO by Alan Gratz are so important. We have a responsibility to pass on the history of this tragedy that subsequently shaped the landscape of our world for this and future generations.
Although fiction, there is a good bit of informative content in this story. I gained a new perspective on the hellish conditions and horrors inside the towers prior to collapse. I also have a new found respect for those who are trapped under Taliban rule. The story gave me pause to think about circumstances in different, eye opening ways and drew awareness to my ignorance of many aspects.
Young adult readers may be the target audience, but this is a book for everyone. Through a deeply emotional and unputdownable, dramatic narrative, Alan Gratz gives us humanity and hope that live on in sacrifice and love for one another. Do not miss this book. GROUND ZERO is, simply put, amazing.
Rating: really liked it
This is a riveting story told from two points of view that finally converge. If I were still teaching 6th or 7th grade reading, this author would be one I could recommend to certain students. His books are historical in nature, but written so a young person can understand and appreciate them. Mr. Gatz’s books can fill a much needed gap in literature for young people, and can help them develop a love for reading. And not just for young people. Anyone of any age can learn from this book and others by this author.
Rating: really liked it
It is interesting as a teacher, to sit down with groups of elementary aged students and attempt to teach them about this day in our country's history. A day that I was here to witness, but one that happened before they were born. What do we tell them? How much detail do we share? What is it they should know?
This is the best middle grade book written about September 11th, 2001 that I have read. It was not a quick read for me. I needed time to stop and process as I went along. Ground Zero tells two stories. Brandon is visiting his dad at work on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center. His story is about surviving that day. Reshmina's story takes place 18 years later in Afghanistan. Her entire life has been lived in the shadow of war.
For me, this dual point of view worked well in providing a human face to both of these sides to the story. I found the book as a whole to be honest without going too much into detail. When students ask for books about 9/11, this will be my go-to from now on. The only thing that could perhaps have made this book better for me would have been if Gratz (or his publisher) had found an #ownvoices author to collaborate with and give Reshmina her voice. Don't get me wrong, he wrote her story wonderfully, but told from an Afghan's true point of view would make this book much more powerful.
Rating: really liked it
I spent a week reading all of the Goodreads Choice Awards finalists in the Middle Grade category, complete with my entire thoughts on each book, and which books I think should have won and in what order. You can check out my vlog here: https://youtu.be/d7or1qfinfo
Rating: really liked it
Wow! Alan Gratz did it again. This book captivated me and I read it in a day. However, Gratz does not sugar coat the events of that day or its lasting effects for young readers. As someone who will never forget the sequence of that day, reading this pulled me back 20 years and definitely stirred up a lot of emotion.
Rating: really liked it
This is another back and forth story. I would have preferred to have read Brandon's novella first and then Reshmina's with the author bringing them together at the end. Taking turns, chapter by chapter was annoying. It also got political at the end.
Rating: really liked it
Can you believe it's already been (nearly) 20 years since 9/11? It didn't seem that long ago when I walked home after school to find my mom in a frenzy - her mother and aunt had left for New York the week before on a bus tour and shopping trip around New York City. When she heard the news that the Twin Towers were attacked, she desperately tried to get ahold of my grandma, great-aunt, and their tour guide/agency. Turns out, cell service wasn't working very well that day as everyone was trying to get ahold of loved ones. So we weren't able to do anything but follow the news, imagining the worst as we waited for the travel agency to get back to us with updates as to whether or not my grandma and her sister were scheduled to visit the Twin Towers that day or were in the area during the attack. Luckily, my grandmother and great-aunt were fine and had left NYC the night before and were on the road back. Many others weren't as lucky though, and this story was definitely an important one to be told and to remember the lives that were lost and the brave souls who sacrificed their lives helping others.
Ground Zero follows 9-year-old Brandon, who got suspended from school and had to follow his dad to work on September 9th, 2001. When the first plane hit the North Tower, Brandon and his dad were separated as Brandon desperately tried to find his way back to his dad. When the second plane hit the South Tower, realization hit - they were under attack and had to evacuate asap.
The book also follows Reshmina in present-day Afghanistan. Reshmina is an 11-year-old girl with the hopes of improving her English and becoming a translator. When she comes across an injured American soldier, she decides to help him but doing so is extremely dangerous and risks putting her entire village in danger.
Gratz did a wonderful job weaving both narratives and making both stories captivating, emotional, and educational.
I read Alan Gratz's book,
Refugee for the first time last year and loved it. I knew right away I just had to read his other books. This book, along with
Refugee, has officially placed Gratz on my list of favourite middle-grade authors. The audiobooks were also wonderfully narrated and I cannot recommend them enough.
If you liked the following books, then you'll probably also enjoy
Ground Zero , and vice-versa:
Rating: really liked it
An extremely thought-provoking book.
Alan Gratz is a master of creating books with alternating character chapters and timelines. This one was no exception; the protagonists are a nine-year-old boy who is at the World Trade Center with his father on September 11th, 2001, and a young Afghanistanian girl whose homeland is in constant battle between the Taliban and the U.S. Thought-provoking and heart-rending, as one sees the attacks in New York through Brandon’s terrified eyes, and suffers with Reshmina as her village is destroyed. The author’s notes at the end are also exceptional.
I think this would be a valuable teaching-tool for all middle-grade and young adult classrooms. It resonated with me especially because I read it in 2021. *May we never forget.*
Memorable Quotes:
(Pg. 187)-“People didn’t die on sunny September mornings, going to work like they did every day of their lives. People died when they were old, in hospital beds or old folk’s homes.”
(Pg.83)-“Reshmina wanted to scream, partly from fear and partly from anger. She had just gone looking for her brother! She hadn’t expected to end up in the middle of a battle. Why couldn’t everyone just leave them alone?”
Rating: really liked it
Brandon is the 9-year old son of a chef at Windows on the World, the restaurant atop the North Tower at the World Trade Center. Suspended from school for standing up to a bully, he goes to work with his father on 9/11. Really bad idea, especially when Brandon is separated from him, eventually finding a friend in Richard. Reshmina is an 11-year old girl living in present-day Afghanistan, with dreams of her own. She lives in a remote village where the Taliban lurk, and her twin brother is trying to find his own way. Their lives are threatened, when Reshmina rescues an American soldier seriously injured in a surprise attack. Her family and village become targets when they decide to extend sanctuary according to Muslim tradition when he enters their home. I did not think the two stories blended, despite the clever bridge by author Gratz. A tough read, due to the rawness of the subject matter.
