📖 Just a Drop of Water

Just a Drop of Water is a story about 13 year old Jake and his Muslim friend Sam Medina. They have been buddies since first grade and run cross country together. Jake hated cross country more than anything because there were "too many surprises" and trees and roots. Nonetheless, Jake and Sam trained very hard to earn the title of captain of the team, but when the time came, a new kid named Kirk took the spot along with Sam. Jake was determined to get his spot back on Tuesday when his team faced rivals at a meet, but then tragedy struck; the terrorist attacks on September 11th happened. After 9/11 happened news spread that one of the hijackers lived nearby in Florida. Sam's dad was a suspect for assisting the hijacker and was questioned by the FBI. A few days later Sam was beaten by the class bully Bobby just because he was Muslim. Soon, despite being close neighbors, Jake's mom didn't trust the Medina family and didn't allow Jake near them because Mr. Medina got arrested by the FBI. One day while at their house, even Jake realizes the Medina family might be hiding a secret. Now Jake needs to make a decision; stand with his longtime friend Sam or listen to his mom's opinion and betray him. This book won multiple awards including The Florida Book Award and The Crystal Kite Award. It is a gripping story about friendship and life after 9/11 in the eyes of a young thirteen year old.

《只是一滴水》是一个关于 13 岁的杰克和他的穆斯林朋友萨姆·梅迪纳的故事。他们从一年级起就是好朋友,并一起参加越野赛跑。杰克非常讨厌越野跑,因为"太多突如其来的变数"、树木和树根。然而,杰克和萨姆刻苦训练,希望能成为队长。但当队长人选公布时,一个名叫柯克的新生和萨姆一起被选上,而杰克落选了。杰克下定决心要在周二的比赛中击败对手,夺回属于自己的位置。然而,就在这时,悲剧发生了——911恐怖袭击事件爆发了。 911 事件后,新闻报道称其中一名劫机犯曾住在佛罗里达附近。萨姆的父亲被怀疑帮助了劫机犯,并受到 FBI 的审问。几天后,萨姆因为是穆斯林,被班上的恶霸鲍比(Bobby)毒打。不久之后,尽管萨姆家和杰克家是近邻,但杰克的母亲开始不信任梅迪纳一家,并不允许杰克再去他们家,因为萨姆的父亲最终被 FBI 逮捕了。 一天,当杰克再次去萨姆家时,他也开始怀疑梅迪纳一家是否真的在隐藏什么秘密。此时,杰克面临一个艰难的选择:是坚定地站在老朋友萨姆这一边,还是听从母亲的意见,背叛自己的好友? 这本书获得了多个奖项,包括佛罗里达图书奖和水晶风筝奖。这是一个扣人心弦的故事,讲述了友谊以及在一个 13 岁少年的眼中911 事件后的生活。