On the morning of September 11, 2001, sixteen-year-old Kyle Donohue watches the first twin tower come down from the window of Stuyvesant High School. Moments later, terrified and fleeing home to safety across the Brooklyn Bridge, he stumbles across a girl perched in the shadows. She is covered in ash and wearing a pair of costume wings. With his mother and sister in California and unable to reach his father, a New York City detective likely on his way to the disaster, Kyle makes the split-second decision to bring the girl home. What follows is their story, told in alternating points of view, as Kyle tries to unravel the mystery of the girl so he can return her to her family. B
This is a book about the days immediately following 9/11. There were a few things I liked and a few I didn't. I thought the portrayal of everyone's despair and yet, hopefulness during those days was really accurate and moving. I thought Kyle was an awesome character. I loved how he responded to the girl on the bridge and how he wanted to take care of her and mostly, just how he didn't want to be alone. I loved his family and I teared up a couple of times when he talked about his dad. Kyle's dad worked on the Terrorism Task Force, so he was with the first responders, digging through the rubble that was the Twin Towers. I can't even imagine what that must have been like. I also loved Kyle's Uncle Matt. Matt used to be cop until an accident made him a paraplegic. So Matt is in a wheelchair and he can barely speak. Kyle was so good with him and I loved that the girl Kyle rescued actually looked Matt in the eyes and talked to him, instead of acting like he wasn't there. 9/11 changed everything for everyone and I felt like 9/11 made Kyle realize just how important his family was, not that he didn't before, but it just became more clear I guess.
The girl was a hard character to pin down, but I liked how the author told things from her POV. Her POV included little snippets and they were in verse. It was an interesting way to have a second POV and I thought the author did a great job with it.
So why didn't I love this one more? That's a hard question to answer. I didn't feel like the book was as emotional as it could have been, especially considering the subject. I'm not really sure why it wasn't a tearjerker. Maybe it was because most of the story was kind of Kyle's observations about the news and his friend and what his dad tells him, but he really isn't involved in the events of 9/11 themselves. And I never really felt the sense of urgency about who the girl was or what happened to her. I guess I had a feeling that things would work out with her. I won't spoil the ending about who she was or what happened to her, but I was satisfied with it. It was a pretty good book, but it just wasn't as good as it could have been.
Buy/Borrow/Skip: Borrow this one.
Glad you enjoyed this one for the most part, despite it not meeting emotional expectations. I really liked her other book THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO, so I definitely need to pick this one up soon. Great review!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I should really check out her other book. I loved her writing style, even if I didn't quite connect to this one the way I wanted to.
DeleteI immediately thought this would be super emotional, so I'm kind of disappointed that it isn't.
ReplyDeleteChristy, me too. I actually like books that make me cry and a book about 9/11 seemed like it would be one of those books. Kind of disappointing that it wasn't.
DeleteI would have thought this would have been emotional based on the subject too. Glad you still enjoyed it though. Great review!
ReplyDeleteThanks Grace!
DeleteI'm looking forward to reading this one. I'm just sorry it wasn't as emotionally wrought. But then again, maybe that's not such a bad thing, eh?
ReplyDeleteJoy, that's true. I do have my fair share of heartbreaking books. I guess it can be nice when a book doesn't break your heart.
DeleteI heard someone else say exactly the same thing about the lack-of-emotion-punching about this one. :/ Which seems really odd considering the topic! Ah well, probably not one I'll dash out after, but I always love reading your reviews. :')
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Cait! I was 100% sure that this topic would be a guaranteed tearjerker. It's like books about WWII. It's pretty much a given that I will cry. Kind of weird that I'm disappointed about not crying, right?
DeleteI definitely understand how you feel. 9/11 really was a tragic time, but honestly I was in first grade when it happened, and therefore don't really remember much. It would be hard for me to get emotional over it, unless it's that movie I watched...um...Remember Me I think it was called? I cried so hard during that movie.
ReplyDeleteValerie, wow first grade? Now I feel REALLY old. I was in college! Ha. I can understand though why people who were that young or people who weren't even born yet would find it hard to get emotional about it. I am sure it's the older generation (I'm only in my 30's though!!) that still finds the topic so emotional and draining.
DeleteYESSS all of this! I am not at ALL surprised that we felt the exact same way, of course, but YES. Like I was waiting for some big feels and there were minimal feels really. I also had a feeling that I knew what was up with the girl (and I was right) so I think that it kind of made fewer feels too. Great review!
ReplyDeleteShannon, I'm not surprised either!! OF COURSE, we would think that!! I actually read your review before I read the book and while I was reading it, I remember thinking, "Okay, I totally get what Shannon was talking about!" I didn't find the girl completely predictable, but I can be pretty clueless sometimes. Either way, not very heartbreaking and that made me sad (weird, right?).
DeleteI haven't read any books that involve 9/11 so I'm curious about this one. Initially when you mentioned it had something to do with that historic day, I thought it was going to be an emotional read. A little disappointed that it's not but I'm still curious as to how this one plays out. Thanks for your honest review. Glad you liked it for the most part.
ReplyDeleteThanks Shsne! If you are looking for a book about 9/11 (Historical fiction), you should read All we have left by Wendy Mills. That book was so incredibly moving and powerful and heartbreaking. I can't recommend that one enough.
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