The Terrorist’s Son: A Story of Choice by Zak Ibrahim with Jeff Giles

I dare you to read the first four pages of this short book and abandon it.  This is a memoir from the American-born son of a terrorist who is serving a life sentence for plotting the bombing of the World Trade Center.  Current students will not remember the incident which occurred in 1993, but many will relate to the challenges of growing up poor and with an incarcerated parent.  Most readers will, I imagine, marvel at the author’s articulation of the suffering he endured as a result of his father’s choices, his ultimate rejection of the indoctrination of hatred, and his loving embrace of his right to make his own choices about how to be a human being.  Highly recommended for teen and adult book clubs as well as independent reading for students interested in current events and stories relayed by narrators who have grown up with tremendous challenges and overcome adversity.  The Terrorist’s Son winningly combines brevity, heft, and inspiration.--Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Ebrahim, Zak with Jeff Giles.  The Terrorist’s Son.  New York: Simon and Schuster, 2014.  Print.

A curriculum guide by Pam B. Cole, Associate Dean and Professor of English Education and Literacy, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA, can be found here.  The TED talk Ebrahim gave that led to the writing and publication of this text can be found here.