In interweaving stories of sixteen-year-olds, modern-day Jesse tries to cope with the ramifications of her brother's death on 9/11, while in 2001, Alia, a Muslim, gets trapped in one of the Twin Towers and meets a boy who changes everything for her as flames rage around them.

"Alex Douglas always wanted to be a hero. But nothing heroic ever happened to Alex. Nothing, that is, until his eleventh birthday, (which fell on September 11, 2001). Then everything changed."--Back cover.

Ask anyone: September 11, 2001, was serene and lovely, a perfect day-until a plane struck the World Trade Center. But right now it is a few days earlier, and four kids in different parts of the country are going about their lives. Sergio, who lives in Brooklyn, is struggling to come to terms with the absentee father he hates and the grandmother he loves. Will's father is gone, too, killed in a car accident that has left the family reeling. Naheed...

The Callery pear tree standing at the base of the World Trade Center is almost destroyed on September 11, but it is pulled from the rubble, coaxed back to life, and replanted as part of the 9/11 memorial.

Brandon is visiting his dad on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 when the attack comes; Reshmina is a girl in Afghanistan who has grown up in the aftermath of that attack but dreams of peace, becoming a teacher and escaping her village and the narrow role that the Taliban believes is appropriate for women--both are struggling to survive, both changed forever by the events of 9/11.

"A taut and harrowing depiction of the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the Pentagon, alternating between a boy caught in the chaos and the rescue dog who's attempting to save him. Twelve-year-old Mikey is doing a school project on the Pentagon, where his father works as a civilian contractor. Mikey has been given special permission to visit his dad's office and do some research on the facility, all for a school report. At first he finds the tour strangely...

"It's a year after 9/11. Sniper shootings throughout the D.C. area have everyone on edge and trying to make sense of these random acts of violence. Meanwhile, Craig and Lio are just trying to make sense of their lives. Craig's crushing on quiet, distant Lio, and preoccupied with what it meant when Lio kissed him... and if he'll do it again... and if kissing Lio will help him finally get over his ex-boyfriend, Cody. Lio feels most alive when he's with...