David Levithan is a pretty incredible writer. Read this book! ( )

Three teens recount where they were when the planes hit the Twin Towers on 9/11. Claire was in school, Peter was waiting to buy the new Dylan album and was supposed to be in school, and Jasper was sleeping. Peter and Claire know each other from school and live in Manhattan and Jasper met Peter at a party and lives in Brooklyn. They were supposed to have a date on 9/11 but rescheduled for a week later, which turned out to be an uncomfortable meet up. Each describes the pain, rage, confusion, and trauma of that day and the days and months that follow. Levithan captures the myriad, conflicting emotions of that time in three distinct voices and how friends tried to help each other cope and eventually heal. This character driven novel will give students some perspective of how not just teens but everyone felt in that terrible time. ( )

I'd give this book almost but not quite 3 stars. I've read a few of Levithan's books and have always felt underwhelmed by them, this one being no different.

While I did enjoy the 3 different views of the event of 9/11 from the perspective of young adults in New York City, the characters lacked a realness and multi-dimensionality that I look for in writing. It was interesting, but it's not a book that I would recommend to my friends. It was a quick read and good enough to finish, but I won't be picking it up again.

There is just something about Levithan's writing that seems content with being an LGBT book without being much more. His characters are similar from book to book and makes me feel like I've already read the story. ( )

Couldn't finish it. Couldn't bring myself to care about the characters. ( )

n a Nutshell: Claire, Jasper and Peter are teenagers in New York City on 9/11. Confusion, grief, mourning, and learning to live and love again follow.

The Good: Getting 9/11 from an insider perspective. I never thought about two building’s-worth of paperwork fluttering into Brooklyn, re-lighting candles in the park in the rain, not being allowed to return to your downtown home. There’s a great scene where Jasper and Claire are at MSG that October for a U2 concert that showcases music’s power to unite and heal. It’s very cathartic.

The Bad: Levithan’s writing style. I sometimes find it hard to take. It’s like a breathless torrent of teenage “deep thoughts” mixed with over-jaded adolescent angst. His teenagers seem too old and too young at the same time. It may be wildly realistic, too, which is why most teenagers frighten me ever so slightly. Also, there is a love story aspect that left me cold.

The Verdict: I had high expectations going into this one, which is probably part of my problem with it. I loved the parts from Claire’s perspective that seemed to focus more on the events and aftermath of 9/11 and disliked the ones from Jasper’s more confused, disconnected perspective. I wanted more emotional kick from this and maybe for Levithan to spread out all the teenage profundities his characters’ internal narratives were constantly spewing. Short answer: I wanted this book to make me cry. Instead, all the words got in the way. ( )