Winner of the Crystal Kite Award, this touching story explores what it mean to be a good friend, how you should react to a bully, and makes the events of September 11th, 2001 personal.
In this story about growing up in a difficult part of Americaâs history, Jake Green is introduced as a cross country runner who wants to be a soldier and an American hero when he grows up.
Before he can work far towards these goals, September 11th happens, and it is discovered that one of the hijackers lives in Jakeâs town. The children in Jakeâs town try to process everything, but they struggle. Jakeâs classmate Bobby beats up Jakeâs best friend, Sam Madina, just for being an Arab Muslim.
According to his own code of conduct, Jake wants to fight Bobby for messing with his best friend. The situation gets more complicated when Samâs father is detained and interrogated by the FBI. Jakeâs mother doubts Samâs fatherâs innocence. Jake must choose between believing his parents and leaving Bobby alone or defending Sam.