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Highly-Rated and Readable 9/11 Books
By: Angela & Melissa
Updated:
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, we may earn a referral fee from qualifying purchases.As we get closer to the 25th anniversary of September 11th, those of us who remember that day vividly feel like it’s impossible to forget. However, as with other tragedies, we believe that books are a vital connection to deepen our knowledge and share it with younger generations. We gathered a list of non-fiction and novels about 9/11 for you to consider reading this year.
Non-Fiction Books About September 11th
The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland
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Book Summary
While this book takes place on September 11, 2001 and the following days, it’s not the constantly devastating story you would expect. Instead, this heartwarming book recounts the experiences of countless passengers from some of the 38 planes that were unexpectedly diverted to Newfoundland – an island in Canada’s easternmost province – when US airspace was closed on 9/11. On that day, the small town of Gander, with a population of just 10,000, received more than 6,600 passengers from 92 countries. Ganderites, along with residents of the surrounding towns, opened the doors to the local churches, schools, and even their own homes.
Throughout this book, you’ll not only learn the personal stories of the passengers, but you’ll also learn a lot about life on this tiny, remote island and about the unexpected hosts who welcomed strangers from around the world with open arms and generous hearts.
The Book Girls Say…
We’ve both seen and loved the musical Come From Away, so we already knew some of the story, but we learned so much more from this book. The selflessness of the residents of Gander and the surrounding towns will warm your heart page after page. It is one of the most uplifting, faith-in-humanity-restoring books we’ve ever read. The audiobook, narrated by Ray Porter, is especially well done.
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Best Audiobooks for Road Trips
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Books Set in the 2000s
Books Set in North America
The Only Plane in the Sky
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Book Summary
Compiled by an award-winning journalist and best-selling historian, The Only Plane in the Sky paints a human portrait of 9/11, telling the story of the day as it was lived and in the words of those who lived it.
This oral history brings together never-before-published transcripts, recently declassified documents, original interviews, and oral histories from nearly 500 people – including government officials, first responders, witnesses, survivors, family members, and friends.
The Book Girls Say…
While you can certainly read this book, this audiobook version, read by a 45-person cast, is the most powerful way to experience this oral history. It won the 2020 Audie Award for Audiobook of the Year, and it was also a 2019 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee in the category of History and Biography.
Fall and Rise by Michell Zuckoff is another extremely highly rated minute-by-minute account of the events of 9/11 told through the eyes of those who lived it. At 625 pages, this book makes Only Plane in the Sky’s 485 pages seem short, but it’s an extraordinary work that’s well worth reading.
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Fall and Rise
Book Summary
Weaving together the narratives of the events in New York, Washington D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, this book provides a minute-by-minute account of September 11, 2001.
Mitchell Zuckoff was a reporter for the Boston Globe when 9/11 occurred, and in the following days and weeks, he wrote about the attacks, the victims, and their families.
In Fall and Rise he gives voice to these intimate stories to ensure they are never forgotten. From an out-of-work actor trapped in an elevator in the North Tower of the World Trade Center to a veteran trapped in the inferno in the Pentagon to the fire chief who was among the first on the scene in Shanksville, this book provides new insights and avenues for for understanding one of the worst days in American history.
Fiction About 9/11
When I Ran Away
Book Summary
On the morning that the Twin Towers collapsed, Gigi fled her office building and escaped from Manhattan via the Staten Island Ferry. Among the crying, ash-covered-shoeless passengers, Gigi spots a man she recognizes. Harry Harrison is a Brit who frequents her favorite coffee shop. Gigi takes Harry home to her parents’ house, where they spend hours watching the media coverage of the planes crashing. All the while, Gigi waits for a phone call from her younger brother that will never come.
A decade later, Gigi is now an overwhelmed single mother. After another chance meeting with Harry, the two fall in love. They have a baby and move to London, but rather than providing Gigi with a fresh start, she feels lonely and isolated. In order to find the light at the end of the tunnel, Gigi will first have to face the rage and grief she feels about her brother’s death and the challenges of motherhood.
The Book Girls Say…
This raw and emotional novel deals with postpartum depression and mental health issues with honesty and sensitivity, while also infusing a bit of unexpected humor.
A Fall of Marigolds
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Book Summary
September 1911. On Ellis Island in New York Harbor, nurse Clara Wood cannot face returning to Manhattan, where the man she loved fell to his death in the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. Then, while caring for a fevered immigrant whose own loss mirrors hers, she becomes intrigued by a name embroidered onto the scarf he carries…and finds herself caught in a dilemma that compels her to confront the truth about the assumptions she’s made.
September 2011. On Manhattan’s Upper West Side, widow Taryn Michaels has convinced herself that she is living fully, working in a charming specialty fabric store and raising her daughter alone. Then a long-lost photograph appears in a national magazine, and she is forced to relive the terrible day her husband died in the collapse of the World Trade Center Towers, which was the same day a stranger reached out and saved her. But a chance reconnection and a century-old scarf may open Taryn’s eyes to the larger forces at work in her life.
The Book Girls Say…
Melissa chose this book during the first year of our Decades Reading Challenge, and since that time, nearly 100 of our readers have read it, with nearly all rating it highly. One reader states, “I really appreciated the juxtaposition of the fire in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers.”
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Lost and Found in Paris
Book Summary
Joan’s father was a world-class artist who died on 9/11. Following in her dad’s artistic footsteps, Joan became an art historian. When her husband confesses that he’s fathered twins with another woman, Joan impulsively decides to take a last-minute job as an art courier on a trip to Paris. With some very valuable drawings tucked discreetly in her carry-on luggage, it’s her job to carry them safely to some potential clients in Paris.
On the flight, Joan enjoys sipping champagne while flirting with her seatmate, a handsome tech nerd named Nate. When they land in the City of Lights, Nate invites her to dinner. After a romantic night out (and a romantic night in), Joan wakes the next morning to discover that the drawings are missing from her suitcase.
Even more shocking is that the art has been replaced with a sketch from her father’s journal that she believed was lost on 9/11. Along with the sketch is a poem that reads like a treasure hunt. With Nate as her sidekick, Joan follows the clues through the streets of Paris – from grand cathedrals to small bistros.
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Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
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Book Summary
Nine-year-old Oskar Schell lost his dad on 9/11, and on top of that grief, he’s been carrying around a secret since that day his dad died. Oskar suffers from anxiety, but dreams up wild inventions to help him cope. And now he’s upset that his mom is spending time with a new man.
One day, while looking through his dad’s closet, he finds an envelope with the name Black on it and an unusual key inside. Oskar embarks on a mission to visit every person in NYC with the last name Black in hopes of learning what the key opens.
The Book Girls Say…
There are moments in this book that will make you laugh out loud, and others that will have you reaching for the tissues. Be aware that the author uses some interesting writing tactics, including words stacked on top of each other, incorrect punctuation, and even blank pages. However, in the audio version of the book, none of these things are apparent. Depending on your preferences, you may miss a bit with the audiobook, or it may allow you to enjoy the story without distraction.
Book Summary
One Saturday night, 28-year-old Cecily sits at a bar in NYC’s East Village feeling homesick. She’s uncertain if she’ll ever be able to make it as a reporter in the big city, and she’s second-guessing her decision to break up with her longtime boyfriend. She’s just about to call her ex when a man on a nearby barstool tells her not to do it. “You’ll regret it,” he says, and for some reason, she listens to him.
Several and hours and several shots of tequila later, Cecily and Grant have sparked a connection. But it’s bad timing because Grant is preparing to change jobs and move overseas. Nonetheless, the two continue to form a relationship over the coming months.
But then, on 9/11/2021, Grant goes missing. When Cecily spots his face on a missing-person poster, she realizes she’s not the only one searching for Grant. Her investigative reporting instincts kick in, and Cecily is determined to find out whether Grant is really the man she thought she was falling in love with.
The Book Girls Say…
The Knitting Circle
Book Summary
Mary is lost in grief after the sudden loss of her only child, five year old, Stella. She’s shut out her husband, has a distant relationship with her mom, and feels like she’s drowning in sorrow alone.
Her mother has been nagging her to get out, and convinces her to try Big Alice’s Sit And Knit in Providence, Rhode Island. As she knits, she learns about the other attendees, who are each trying to overcome their own dark seasons of life. From terminal illness and a past sexual assault to those trying to heal from losing loved ones on 9/11, the knitters share their past. As she bonds with them, Mary begins to process her own grief.
The Book Girls Say…
The individual stories that have brought the characters together are dark and depressing. While it’s ultimately a story of new friendship & healing, be aware that it’s not always an easy read.
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