This book is a must read, basically. It's incredibly thought provoking, and deals with a lot of difficult issues. Frankly, this is one hell of a brave book to write, and I think Wendy Mills handled it beautifully and with a great amount of respect and reverence.
This isn't an easy book to read, because while the characters are fictional, the events very much are not. They're real, they're haunting, and this book does not sugarcoat them at all. Nor does it sugarcoat the present, and the hatred that Muslims experience because of their religion on a regular basis. I loved Alia as a character more than Jesse, but Jesse's story was powerful and needs to be told. You won't like Jesse, especially at first. You won't like her family, you won't like a lot of her actions. If you're anything like me, this book will make you sad and angry- and that is a very good thing. We should be sad, and we should be angry, and I think this book does a phenomenal job of explaining why.
Jesse's brother Travis was my age. We were a month apart in age- he even was ahead a grade in school like me. There was a passage in this book that hit home, something I have asked myself many times:
"I wonder why it's so important that people recount their own story whenever the subject of 9/11 comes up. I want to yell 'What does it matter where you were? People were dying, my brother was dying, and you were home safe in bed!'"
And the book talks about this. Why it actually is important. This book is basically full of fabulous lessons across the board, all intertwined in an incredibly moving story about how the past and present collide; how these two young women, across religion, ethnicity, and time are ultimately connected. It even debunks myths about Islam as a religion, which I think is incredibly important.
"Close to three thousand people died in pain and terror while the world watched in horror. I thought about what it must have been like that day, to be watching on TV as the towers fell. How could you bear to watch?
How could you bear not to?"
Indeed, Jesse. Indeed.
Bottom Line: I'm not saying any more about this because I think you need to read it for yourself. Whether you have memories of that day like I do, or whether you're a bit too young, you need to read this. All We Have Left reminds us why now, more than ever, we need love and acceptance in place of intolerance and hate.
*Copy provided by publisher for review
**Quotes taken from uncorrected proof, subject to change.