Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story by Nora Raleigh Baskin

I broke away from my banned book theme for a few days to read Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story. I bought this book for my classroom library, and wanted to preview it before putting it on the shelves. Having been a high school student during 9/11, I remember vividly what that day was like, and how the world has changed since. My students today weren't born before 9/11. They only know the world as it was afterwards - hyper-vigilant to threats of terrorism and not-so-friendly to the Islamic faith. It is to this younger audience that Nine, Ten is aimed. Through these fictional stories of four different middle-school students, all of whom are connected to the attack in some way, Baskin aims to convey the stark difference between how life was before this terrible event and how life was forever changed after it.

This novel switches perspectives between its four different characters regularly throughout the story. The plot covers the dates of September 9th through September 12th, then has a brief flash forward to a year later. Before the attack the characters are show to experience little everyday challenges - Aimee is starting at a new school and missing her mom, who is away on business in New York City. Sergio is enjoying spending time with a new mentor - a New York City firefighter. Naheed has just started wearing a hijab and is annoyed by the extra attention it brings her at school. Will is still reeling from the unexpected death of his father a year earlier, but hopes to start healing in his hometown of Shanksville, Pennsylvania. All of their lives are disrupted when the September 11th attack comes. Each one is hurt in their own way, each one grows from the experience, and each one will never be quite the same again.

*Spoilers past this point*

This novel was sweet and touching. The writing was solid and the characters were well-written, each one having their own, unique voice. It is most definitely appropriate for a middle school audience, but I felt like it was a bit too tame. It could have had a greater impact if some of the characters had been more deeply affected by the tragedy. Oddly, for a book about an event which caused a horrific loss of human lives, none of the characters (or anyone they knew) died. Naheed, as a Muslim, hears a few ugly comments about her religion, but does not experience any of the true, vicious hatred that sprang up from this event. Sergio's firefighting mentor is fine. Aimee's mother miraculously doesn't attend her important business meeting at the World Trade Center that morning, opting instead to speak on the phone with her daughter. Will sees United Flight 93 careen wildly over his head, but seems to suffer no real psychological issues because of it. Everyone is doing great a year later.

I appreciate that Baskin handled this topic with sensitivity and showed how people with varying degrees of connection to this tragedy were all affected in some way, but overall, this novel could have been better. It would have struck a deeper emotional chord if she wasn't quite so nice to all of her characters. Ultimately, I feel like she failed to capture the sadness and fear that everyone felt that day.

What Nine, Ten is successful at, however, is presenting an awful, life-changing day to young readers with tact. There isn't much crossover appeal for adults here, but this is an accessible novel for middle grade readers that will help them begin to understand what September 11th meant to the United States. I did enjoy it, but I wish it had more teeth.