To some, it feels like the events of September 11, 2001 happened only moments ago; many of us can still remember exactly where we were and what we were doing when we found out that we had been attacked. But all the younger generation knows about the events is what they’ve been taught in school, or read in books, or watched on movies and documentaries. It is important to keep any historical event relevant, especially one of this magnitude. One of the most popular ways to do so is to offer historical fiction.
With the anniversary of 9/11 fast approaching, here are some fiction, nonfiction, and movie titles for teen and young adult readers to help them have a feel for what it was like to be alive from various walks of life during the September 11 terrorist attacks:
Fiction
Falling Man by Don DeLillo
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
Tuesday Morning series by Karen Kingsbury
Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner
All We Have Left by Wendy Mills
Towers Falling by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Zero Day by Mark Russinovich
Nonfiction
Let’s Roll by Lisa Beamer
The Day the World Came to Town by Jim DeFede
102 Minutes by Jim Dwyer
Aftermath: World Trade Center Archive by Joel Meyerowitz
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
Last Man Down by Richard Picciotto
World Trade Center by Peter Skinner
Report from Ground Zero by Dennis Smith
Movies
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Here are some other titles you could ask for through Interlibrary Loan:
Nine, Ten by Nora Raleigh Baskin
The Man with the Red Bandana by Richard Lawson
Eleven by David Llewellyn
The Usual Rules by Joyce Maynard
Eleven by Tom Rogers
Portraits: 9/11/01 by The New York Times
Tower Stories by Damon DiMarco
In the Shadow of No Towers by Art Spiegelman
With Their Eyes by Annie Thomas
Tiger Cruise
Do you have any other recommendations?