Terrorism
Terrorism—unlawful use of intimidation and violence in the pursuit of political aims—is a major theme in Ground Zero. Though the novel is fictional, it depicts the real-life terrorist attacks on the United States that took place on September 11, 2001. Known as 9/11, the attacks involved four passenger planes being hijacked by Islamic fundamentalist terrorists associated with al-Qaeda. Masterminded by Osama Bin Laden, the coordinated attacks saw two planes flown into the Twin Towers and one into the Pentagon, with a fourth plane going down in a field in Pennsylvania before it could reach its target (widely assumed to be the White House). Gratz explores this historic event from the point of view of Brandon, a nine-year-old boy who witnesses countless horrors as he struggles to escape the North Tower after the plane has hit. Gratz also explores how 9/11 precipitated the US's War On Terror and led to a twenty-year occupation of Afghanistan that failed to eliminate the terrorist groups within the country and put thousands of Afghans in harm's way. Ultimately, Gratz's depiction shows how terrorism—and the US's retaliation to terrorism— disproportionately impacts civilians who get caught up in political and military conflicts they have little or no power to influence.
Hope
Hope is a crucial theme in Ground Zero. In a novel that follows two protagonists escaping horrific experiences, the hope of survival for oneself and one's family is depicted as necessary to prevent both Reshmina and Brandon from giving up. Separated from his father, Leo, at the time of the attack, Brandon spends the morning of September 11, 2001 expecting that he will be able to reunite with his father. Brandon keeps this vain hope up even after Leo has accepted that he won't make it out of the building alive. For Reshmina, the hope that she can prevent Pasoon from joining the Taliban motivates her to risk her life trying to stop him. Later, the belief that she can save her family from harm motivates her to rush back to her village faster than the Taliban can mobilize. Ultimately, neither protagonist achieves exactly what they hoped for; however, their hope insulates them from succumbing to despair.
Resilience
Resilience is another major theme in Ground Zero. Defined as the ability to spring back and quickly recover from adversity, resilience enters the novel when Brandon finds himself trapped in an elevator that is quickly filling with smoke. Rather than succumb to panic, he works with fellow elevator riders to break free of the box and climb out of a hole through several layers of drywall to safety. As the morning goes on, Brandon's resolve is tested by countless other stumbling blocks and traumatic sights, such as the woman who burns when she jumps through a wall of flame. With encouragement from Richard and his father, Brandon calls upon his resiliency and manages to escape the tower with his life. Reshmina is also resilient in the face of life-threatening situations, never giving up even when the weapons are pointed at her and her family. Ultimately, Gratz shows how both Brandon and Reshmina draw upon their heroic resiliency to not just survive their experiences but to lead others to safety.
Revenge
Revenge—the action of hurting or harming someone in retribution for a wrong suffered—is a central theme in Ground Zero. Gratz introduces the theme when Brandon and Leo are discussing the fact Brandon punched another boy in retaliation for targeting his friend; Leo discourages retributive action, telling Brandon that he becomes the bully when he throws a punch, even if it is supposedly deserved. Years later, Brandon joins the military to get revenge against the terrorists responsible for killing his father and three thousand other innocent people. However, the novel shows that people such as Reshmina's older sister have become casualties of the War on Terror. By the end of the novel, Brandon—now going by Taz—admits to Reshmina that it's horrible to consider how much death and destruction have been carried out to avenge the 9/11 victims. Just as his father warned, he and his military have become the bullies.
Betrayal
Betrayal is another major theme in Ground Zero. Gratz explores the theme mainly in Reshmina's storyline, beginning with the ANA's and the Americans' search of the villagers' homes. Finding no Taliban weapons, Taz asks Reshmina's family to look upon them as allies. Reshmina and her family members angrily explain that they are defenseless civilians caught in an impossible situation: the Americans and the Taliban both demand their loyalty, and each side will call them traitors—and punish them—if they don't cooperate. Gratz builds on the theme when Pasoon decides to betray his family by informing the Taliban they are harboring an infidel (Taz). With this act, Pasoon treacherously sides with the Taliban over his own family, whose swift deaths are guaranteed unless Reshmina can get back to the village in time to warn them.
Powerlessness
Powerlessness is another dominant theme in Ground Zero. Defined as a lack of influence over things beyond one's control, powerlessness arises in Brandon's storyline when he struggles to reunite with his father. Having been separated by the plane crash that has taken out several floors between them, Brandon refuses to give up hope, insisting to himself and his father that they can only survive as a team. But when Leo realizes that there is no way for him to escape the building, he forces Brandon to accept that they are powerless over their fate and all Brandon can do now is try to survive on his own. This profound experience of powerlessness prompts Brandon to join the army later in life, as if he can make up for his childhood powerlessness by making the world a safer place. However, he finds that the military's efforts to eliminate the Taliban are futile, and he finds himself trapped in another situation where things are beyond his control. Similarly, Reshmina spends her storyline attempting to keep her family safe and united. While her brave efforts mean she can keep her close family from being killed, in the end she bitterly accepts that she is powerless to stop the destructive actions of Pasoon, the Taliban, and the Americans.
Loss of Innocence
Another crucial theme in Ground Zero is the loss of one's innocence. Gratz explores the theme in both Reshmina's and Brandon's storylines. In Brandon's case, he begins the day naively concerned with trivial matters that any nine-year-old boy might worry about: how to get back on his dad's good side, and how to make things right with Cedric by buying Wolverine claws to replace the pair he broke. However, Brandon ends the day having narrowly escaped with his life. The events of 9/11 strip him of his innocence; now his naive mind is filled with horrific images and traumatic experiences that motivate him to get revenge when he is old enough to join the army. Reshmina, at twelve, is more conscious that her and her brother's innocence is fleeting. She wishes to preserve in amber the carefree moments of their childhood, because she knows Pasoon will inevitably join the Taliban soon. Over the course of her storyline, Reshmina tries in vain to delay this inevitability. In the process, she loses her naive belief that her brother can be saved, deciding she must forge her own path into adulthood without him.
