Description

Towers Falling by Jewell Parker Rhodes (2018 ed.)

Towers Falling is a powerful middle‑grade novel that explores the lasting impact of September 11, 2001, through the eyes of a child too young to remember the day—but living with its consequences. Set in Brooklyn, the story follows Deja Barnes, a thoughtful fifth grader navigating school, friendship, and the quiet weight of her family’s struggles.

When a classroom assignment asks students to explore the events of 9/11, Deja begins to uncover difficult truths about her father, a survivor of the World Trade Center attacks, whose health and silence shape their family’s life. As Deja learns more about that day and its aftermath, she confronts fear, loss, and resilience—both her own and her father’s.

With sensitivity and emotional depth, Jewell Parker Rhodes helps young readers understand history not just as an event, but as a lived experience that echoes through families and communities. Towers Falling is an essential, compassionate story about memory, healing, and the courage it takes to face the past while finding hope for the future.

Copyright: Originally published in 2016. This paperback copy was published by Little, Brown and Company in 2018 with cover art including “What happened on September 11th?” and “Author of the Coretta Scott King Honor Book Ninth Ward”.

Condition: Okay. Loved.

ISBN-10: 0316262218

ISBN-13: 9780316262217

Dewey Decimal: 813.6