The gritty art in the graphic novel does an excellent job of setting a "mood" for the reader, which helps recreate the surprise, fear, death, and incredible acts of bravery that 9/11 witnessed. It is important to remember that many young readers were not even born yet when 9/11 occurred. This could very likely be their first introduction to the that day in our history. The story does not conclude with the restored feelings of nationalism and hope that were seen following the event as the country came together to support each other. Rather, it I tells more than one side of the story including the continuous wars that followed. The tortured victims who were wrongly assumed to be part of the planning of the terrorist attacks. Also, it shares about the hate crimes against muslims following the event. Highly recommend.

This new Dan Brown book does not disappoint. Once again, Brown does a wonderful job of creating a factual, age-appropriate graphic novel that makes historic events accessible to readers of all ages. Students in K-12 schools today were not alive during the tragic events of September 11th which can make it difficult for them to grasp the severity of the day. Reading this book is an excellent starting place to learn about 9/11.

This graphic novel about the events immediately following the September 11th attacks brings history to life for students who were not alive to witness the tragedy. The pictures and descriptions conjure up mixed emotions for me as I was teaching a group of 8th graders at the time. This will be a great title to add to my historical graphic novel collection in my middle school library. I think the students will learn more bout this topic by reading this novel

This is a fantastic graphic novel representation of the events of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York on September 11th 2001.

Many of my pupils were born after this massively world changing event and, while my memories of it are clear, their knowledge may be limited.

I learned a lot from this graphic novel - for example, there is a list of statistics at the back which quantifies the human loss and provides demographic information. Also, throughout, there are personal stories about people who survived, were rescued, joined in on the rescue effort and so on. This personal outlook helps the reader to see the human side.

I also learned about some of the practices at Guantanamo Bay and the process that the America government underwent to try and hold someone accountable for the atrocity. I did find that it managed a certain element of balance as it mentions some of the torture/interrogation techniques, and the afterword highlights some of the problematic aspects regarding who was captured by American forces, and the ensuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. There is not a great amount of detail on this, but for a graphic novel aimed at young readers I think it does well to introduce a non biased account that young people can then go away and research. Research is aided by a handy bibliography at the end.

The art work is lovely, the colours chosen really reflect how many of us remember that day - greys, browns and muted tones with the only colour coming from the American flag.

This is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel that is accompanied by well written and informative text.

Thank you to the publisher, Etch/HMH Books for Young Readers, and Netgalley for access to this eARC. I will be recommending it to my pupils when it is published, and I have already pre-ordered it for my library.

The book begins with the scared eyes of a cameraman, sketched with minimal colors. Without any set-up, author/illustrator Don Brown brings the reader right into the chaos and fear of 9/11 in his newest graphic novel, In the Shadow of the Fallen Towers. Throughout the book’s pages, Brown shares actual quotes from stories of survivors of one of the United States’ darkest days. The reader can see and feel the darkness through his sparse sketches and use of gray, sharing what it must have looked like at Ground Zero for those unfortunate enough to be there. The author expands beyond the Twin Towers to include scenes from the Pentagon, White House, and Shanksville, PA. Then he digs into the military’s response in Afghanistan and later Iraq. Offering a wide look at 9/11 and its repercussions, In the Shadow of the Fallen Towers shares a tragic part of our nation’s recent history in a way young readers have not seen it before.

I went into this text thinking it would be simply depressing and not provide any information I didn’t already know. However, I believe readers will learn new facts and be exposed to new stories and points of view upon reading this book. Brown presents a devastating look at 9/11, but I think it will be useful for the readers to see the politics and military strategy that emerged following the events. I felt the book could use a framing story to bring it together and introduce the events.

Don Brown's retelling of the 9/11 disaster, including the aftermath, is absolutely harrowing and a much-needed piece of historic novelization. The facts are laid bare, from the statistics about the attacks to the anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish actions following even years after. Brown's illustrating skills only add weight to the way this graphic novel is set up, ingeniously using color and shading to affect a grim situation. The acknowledgment of the US government lying to citizens about who was found to be a part of the al-Qaida network and the plans enacted on 9/11 is incredibly important, especially considering there is now a generation of people out there who did not live through the events. Mourning and reverence can occur simultaneously with revelation of the truth, and Don Brown excels at this.

I appreciate Don Brown's ability to get to the heart of a tragedy through short bites of information and emotive graphics. His book, Drowned City, about Hurricane Katrina, is a favorite in my classroom, and I'm certain that In the Shadow of the Fallen Towers will be appreciated as well.

9/11... A day that rocked the world. In the Shadow of the Fallen Towers offers different perspectives and events that occurred as a result of the attack on the twin towers.

For now, and the future, this text will be so valuable to our younger generations to recall and remember these shocking events. The graphics ensure that the text is accessible for all.

Most of my students don't remember the events of 9/11, which makes me feel incredibly old, as that's the most pivotal historical event of my life so far. This was such a great series of snapshots of one of the worst days of my life. I hope teens will pick this up and be able to relate for even a second to the pain, confusion, and doubt we all felt that day. The art is gorgeously sparse and the lack of color honestly touched my heart. For a day that started so gorgeous and sunny, it will always be associated with clouds and grey and dust. And death.

WIth this work, Don Brown has written another award winning graphic novel. Similar to his work "Drowned City," "In the Shadow of the Towers" tells of an American disaster using empathy while reporting facts. The author doesn't flinch telling the tale of how America faced a disaster on the level of Pearl Harbor that day. Even as someone who was an adult and experienced the tragedy as it unfolded on live TV, I learned so much about recovery efforts (did you know about the bathtub that kept the towers out of the river?) and heroism of ordinary people that were able to get to "the pile" and rescue trapped victims. I can't wait to watch the medals stack up for this book and introduce it to students in my library once it is published.

#InTheShadowOfTheFallenTowers is a good graphic novel choice for younger people who are not familiar with the events on--as the book says--"the minutes, seconds, hours," etc. of 9/11. The book is clearly well researched moving between specific details and events to larger, more general explanations. Even being as familiar with 9/11 and its aftermath as I am, I learned something new while reading it. All of that being said, I found the "journalistic" or "neutral" tone to be unsettling in some panels. Explanations of "enhanced interrogation" (torture) and the bombing of Afghanistan and Iraq by the US are politically murky areas. And while the afterword does a valid job of trying to present that, the panels themselves do not. So I found myself more and more moving away from the information and emotional draw of the story itself. Thank you to the publishers and #NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Don Brown is one of my favorite graphic non-fiction writers for his ability to take on tough events in history (Hurricane Katrina, the Syrian Refugee Crisis) and focus on details that help the event to be better understood. In this one, he’s portraying the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. Full disclosure, I was in New York City on that day and lived there as events unfolded. My saddest memories are around the missing flyers posted everywhere in the city.

He also focuses on the careful and painstaking removal and searching of the debris for human remains as well as the hunt for Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan by Special Forces. The gray and brown palette provide the right tone for the work.

In true Don Brown style, this graphic novel chronicles the aftermath of September 11 events on a broad scale while humanizing the story by focusing on individual people’s struggles and triumphs. The illustrations add to the desperation one feels while reading the narrative and the whole package could bring you to tears. It has wonderful end notes and supporting citations back up the balanced account.