This is a very popular title in my library and it helps students who were not born during 9/11 understand the significance of the event. Recommended!

What a heartbreaking story that was so beautifully written. I knew going in it would be a heavy book, a hard read. But I never imagined how it would make me feel. Mills managed to stir up a lot of emotions and did it in such an eloquent manor. I may have read this book 4 years after I should have, but it still stands as a poignant story about family, loss, tragedy and faith. Not a light read, but an important one. I’m so happy I gave it the chance it deserved.

I thought that I would like this book but I wasn't able to get into this book at this time. Sadly this book did not finish the book.

This book is SO powerful and necessary, especially now. It shines a light on how hatred and violence can become a vicious cycle, passed from one generation to the next, and how it's up to the generation it is being passed down to to break the cycle once and for all.

I completed LOVED this book. I loved the alternation between the past and the present. I actually skipped back and forth in the book myself. It didn't feel like it had to be read linearly in order to appreciate it. The flow of the book was great.

The message of understanding and acceptance, rather than hatred and anger, was so necessary. This book pulls no punches when discussing racism and how ugly it is. The characters are all people you could meet on the street, with realistic flaws and parts you can see reflected in yourself. This book is REAL.

It's also sad. It deals with 9-11 and the fallout one family had with the loss of a loved one, as well as how their inability to deal with it reverberated out into their community. The characters grow, with secondary characters that are strong and loveable. Well, not all of them. But they all helped in the development of the main character. She LEARNED, which I loved.

This is a must read book, especially for middle grade and higher. 5 stars, recommended for all. I think it would be a good "one school, one book" book. So beautifully well written, with heart and love. This is a keeper, but one I will be passing on for others to read. It's that good and important.

My thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA Children's Books for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

A moving portrayal of the before and after of 9/11 and how it affects two teens and their families. Alia is a Muslim teen trying to break free of her parents’ wishes. She ends up at her father’s workplace in the Twin Towers on Sept 11, 2001. Jesse McLaurin is a teenager who lost her brother in the 9/11 tragedy. Jesse’s family is now broken and silent about the event. Alternating narratives tell how the past informs the present, and how grief and memory merge and linger.
Warning to readers: this is a slow read at the beginning. It took almost 35% before the action really built. And it’s somber, as befits the topic. But the thing is, even though this isn’t an easy read, I think it’s one worth reading, for a few reasons:
1) I’ve never read a book that tries to portray what happened on 9/11 to people who were in the Towers. I felt this was done accurately, honestly, and respectfully for a teen audience.
2) The portrayal of grief, trauma, and a family still broken by what happened that day was really well done as well, showing the after effects of 9/11, even 15 years later.
3) This book tackles racial issues, hatred, prejudice, and grief in a way that is really compassionate and comprehensible.

If I have qualms, they are that I just didn’t fully connect with either Alia or Jesse. I think the concept of the book overcame the actual characterization of them. That said, I’m glad I read All We Have Left. It showed such a variety of perspectives on grief and trauma, and how to articulate and move past them. It definitely made me think about how we’ve changed as people and as a world after 9/11 .

Teachers, this is one for the school library and the classroom, and it’s a great one to spark discussion.