Molly and the Twin Towers: A 9/11 Survival Story

I've read a number of books from the Girls Survive series and so far this is the first book that hasn't been a solid winner. Maybe it's because I was alive for this time in history unlike the other events I've read about. Whatever it was, I felt that something was lacking.    On the morning of September 11th, 2001, twelve-year-old Molly hears an explosion outside of her classroom window. Before the kids can figure out what's going on, the entire school is being evacuated. Refusing to leave without her seven-year-old sister Adeline, she breaks away from her teachers to find her. Molly, Adeline, and Molly's friend Zach desperately try to make it home as they witness the attacks unfold.    There were a lot of side details that didn't need to be included in the story which ate up several pages that would have been better spent on the Twin Towers. Had I not read previous books in the series I might not have questioned it as much, assuming the details were being watered down for young readers. However, that hasn't been the case in most of the other books I've read. Not shying away from the depth of the tragedies is something I've admired and what keeps me coming back. That's not to say Molly and the Twin Towers excluded the details, but it spent more time on Molly's life rather than the tragedy itself. (For example, multiple pages about reading books that didn't correlate to the plot at all. If anything, it just tells the reader that Adeline is easily spooked, but any child or adult alike would have been in fight-or-flight mode in that vicinity. A sentence or two would have sufficed.)    Again, I don't know how much of my own experiences with that day/time influenced my thoughts while reading. I'm sure a child who had been born after this date would still learn something, though I wouldn't consider it to be a thorough history lesson. Ultimately, I'm glad it was included in the series at all given how far back in time some of the other books go.