Quite a tearjerker of a book with some endearing characters and a very well-written narrative! Would love to read more from the author. The book pays great homage to the martyrs and survivors of 9/11.

Beautifully written. Actually made me cry. I was directly effected by 9/11 so this was such a good and very appropriate read for me. Would definitely recommend

This book was so eye-opening for me as someone who was a kid on 9/11. The intro was so well written and drew me in immediately and then shocked me too. I really enjoyed the entire book so much, and would recommend reading it.

Paper Airplanes is a story of grief and trying to make sense of the world after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Erin is on a vacation with a friend when she finds out her husband Daniel is missing after the attack on the World Trade Center. The beginning of the book is very hard to read because it describes what it was like to be in the tower when all of this is going on. A heartbreaking story of loss and trying to recover as best as you can. Everyone experiences grief in their own way. A perfect read as we remember the tragic events of 20 years ago.

Erin O'Connor, wife of Daniel O'Connor, is a proud, independent woman able and confident enough to navigate New York and revel in its exhilarating busyness. When her best friend steals her away to Mallorca to try and get over being dumped, Erin O'Connor has to watch on television as two planes fly into the World Trade Centre on the 11th of September, 2001. Daniel didn't want her to go away that weekend, and they'd had a fight before she left, they'd even gone one whole day without talking which was so unlike them. Now they wouldn't get that chance of resolution as Daniel had gone into work today; located on the 101st floor of the World Trade Centre.
Wow what a read! Top marks from me!

thanks @netgalley for access to this story!
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“all of the striving we do to achieve a certain outcome when we’re not even certain it’s the right one.”
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i shed a lot of tears through this one.
tabitha does a great job of giving a voice to those lost on september 11th. as a human we try to empathize with those who are grieving, but grief is never the same. it’s dark and twisty, and sometimes there doesn’t seem like a way out. erin’s story was important for us to hear, because we all have our own “where we’re you when…” sorry, but not everyone got to continue on with their lives, their people, or their dreams.
give this a read. it’s not an easy one to stomach, but it’s important.
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we will never forget those whose lives were lost.
and to the helpers, thank you for all that you did.

This unfolding of this story was a little different from what I expected, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Tabitha Forney took on a subject a lot of us remember (9/11), and she brought me back to that day with her attention to detail and delicate rending of the aftermath. Erin, a surviving widow, must come to accept her husband's death and learn how to live again, a journey that is fraught with its own trials and tribulations. I loved the idea of the paper airplanes and how they played out in the story and the hopeful message that Forney leaves her reader with.

Where all the worst pain and suffering in my lifetime meets in a beautiful love story!
Tabitha Forney brought things to life that we should never forget! If I’m to be honest, this was an event I was scared to read about.
I believe she was touched by souls above while writing “Paper Airplanes”, especially the prologue.(Trigger Warning) She shares the devastation of 9/11 with raw grit, that hurt and made my heart cringe…..It was PERFECT! We should read this and ache and cry and hate it for happening, to go soft would be a disservice. Tabitha’s writing had a beat, it was so visceral…I believe souls lost were giving her their approval.
Tabitha is so beautiful in her writing style, along the way she lead me through a story of love that is so achingly beautiful.
It is obvious her debut novel was meant to be this.
I was given this book by the publicist, Booksparks via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Real, raw, and touching.

The 20th Anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks is coming this week, and Tabitha Forney has a personal connection to the event--her husband is a survivor from the World Trade Center. This fictional novel explores the grief, loss, and attempt to move forward associated with the event.

Attorney Erin O'Connor and her trader husband Daniel have an ideal life in New York City. They have been married a year and the future looks bright. Erin's best friend gets dumped and invites Erin to go to Spain with her, and it happens to be on the same weekend as her mother-in-law's big birthday party. Erin and Daniel get into an argument when she decides to go on the trip. While she is there the September 11th attacks take place. She can't get in touch with Daniel, who works in the World Trade Center, and the aftermath of the attacks and loss of Daniel rocks Erin to her core.

One of the most touching parts about this book is that it shows that everyone's path through grief isn't the same. It doesn't take the same amount of time for each person and each person doesn't handle it the same way. Erin's path is not a pretty one. It's dark, fueled quite a bit by drugs and alcohol because she blames Daniel's death on herself and her choices. I loved the ultimate resolution because it provides hope, but not in a candy coated way.

As we all remember the events of that day, we need to stop and reflect on the losses and those whose lives have been forever altered by those events.

I absolutely cannot recommend this book highly enough. I requested it on Netgalley without really reading what it was about fully. It took me by surprise how hooked I was on this story. It tells the story of a young couple in love, who become affected by the 9/11 tragedy. Reading this novel coincided with a family trip we were taking to New York City and I seriously could not stop thinking of the characters in this book. I knew it was fictional of course, but was not surprised to read at the end of the book this was written by someone who's husband was in the twin towers at the time of the attack. Her story luckily ended differently to Erins, however it is told with such tenderness, understanding and raw emotion that it could only really be written by someone who can understand what the victims are feeling. Twenty years on, the effects of this day are still being felt all over the world, and the author told the story of just one family affected. Beautifully written and highly recommended. I will absolutely be looking out for more books by this author.

Heartbreaking, raw and emotional, but ultimately hopeful story, imagining a woman whose husband was trapped in the World Trade Centre on 9/11, written by a woman whose husband was just on the other side of the arbitrary fine line and therefore managed to escape. This book is an imagining of the myriad ways her life could easily have changed.

Erin and Daniel are newlyweds living in Manhattan. Erin is a lawyer and Daniel is a Financial Analyst. Following an argument, Daniel arrives earlier than normal that fateful day, while his friend is slightly delayed. That is enough to decide that one man died and the other survived

Beautifully written, but obviously makes for very tough reading, especially the prologue which describes being in the building as the attack begins. We learn about how the couple met, their hopes and dreams and how Erin finally comes to terms with what happened.

"To all the victims of 9/11, and to those they left behind. May we never forget."

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. Set in the familiar background of 9/11, it is a beautiful and heart-breaking read. So compelling with well drawn characters. Well worth a read and highly recommended.

"She heard the grin in his voice as clearly as his words: But are you still alive?"

I'm in tears. Like, literally.
This book is an emotional punch in the face, a raw journey into tragedy and desperation and grief, but also a powerful clinging to life, to a future that's scary and unknown and that hurts so much you want to tear the soul out of your own body.

Erin has everything. Friends, a good job, she is married to Daniel, the love of her life, and they live in New York where they are building their future.
Daniel who writes wishes on paper planes and set them on fire to make them come true. Daniel who enjoys every second of life, like a kid. Daniel who's too good for this world. Daniel, who's a trader working on the 101 floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, who disappears on a warm September morning when a plane crashes into his building at 8.46 in the morning on 9/11/2001.

The story is about the aftermath. About Erin's life after that Tuesday morning. And let me tell you, it's not easy to read. The pain is so real that I was grieving for Daniel and for everything that had been ripped away from Erin with his death. It made me sick to my stomach, it made me cry. It was desperation and hurt. But in the end it was also a small flicker of hope.

Go on. Go read it.

"To all the victims of 9/11, and to those they left behind. May we never forget."

Erin and Daniel are newlyweds living in NYC. She an attorney and he a financial advisor. His mothers 60th birthday party is this coming Sunday but Erin has been invited by her best friend to Mallorca, Spain - all expenses paid - since her boyfriend left her and told her to keep the tickets. She knows that Daniel will want her to stay yet her friend is insistent that she goes. In a split decision she decides she's going to go. Heck, her mother-in-law doesn't like her very much anyways.

Over dinner she tells Daniel she is leaving the next day for Spain. They disagree. He doesn't want her to go and she doesn't want to stay. The next day they hardly speak, he heads to work. Just as she's getting in a cab to leave for the airport Daniel arrives to kiss her cheek goodbye and she's off.

Sitting on the beach, sand between her toes, three margarita's deep when her world comes crumbling down. A plane has crashed into the World Trade Center. Daniel worked on the 101st floor of the North tower. She will never see him again.

This story follows Erin over the next 10 years of her life and it is very difficult to read. She finds solace in alcohol and drugs to try and numb the agonizing pain she feels constantly. All she wants to do is say she's sorry. Sorry for leaving when he wanted her to stay. She wants to tell him how much she loves him. Thoughts plague her mind in all the ways he may have died. Did he burn to death in slow agonizing pain? Did he jump to his inevitable death to escape the fire roaring at his back? All the while the anger and rage keeps festering within in her until she's hardly recognizable even to herself.

Until hope finally breaks through the clouds and Erin finds purpose to continue to live and thrive the way Daniel would have wanted her to.

Tabitha Forney wrote this with delicate hands. She took much thought into creating Erin - a grieving widow on the brink of collapse. I felt as if I was sitting right beside her, scouring the ash ridden streets of NYC in search of lost hope. I cried ugly tears right along with her. I can only imagine how difficult it was for the author to pen such raw emotions.

Go home today and hug the people that matter most to you. Tell them you love them. That moment could be stolen from you in a blink of the eye.

Tears did lead way to a smile and for that I am thankful. ALL THE STARS!!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and She Writes Press for my copy.

This novel is one of self-discovery after Erin loses her husband, Daniel, on September 11, 2001. The novel moves along from 2001 to 2011 and I was glad to be on this journey with Erin's progress in life. This is a slow paced but tender novel: it is intriguing, living and pulsating. The characters are three dimensional and wholly realistic. ‘Paper Airplanes’ just tugs at your heartstrings with its simple yet empathetic and entirely relatable storyline.

What a heart-wrenching, achingly beautiful book. So impressed that this is a debut novel. A gripping story that is so beautifully told through the eyes of Erin. So much relatable content in here that really resonated and the ending made me cry. I would read this again and again...a thoroughly enjoyable read...All.The.Stars.

"Terrorism. The word lodged in Erin's head, foreign and misplaced. Somebody did this on purpose. Set out to kill people like Daniel, just for going to work."

When I saw this book on Netgalley, I simply had to request it. It felt fitting, with the 20 year anniversary of 9/11 coming up this year (how has it been 20 years already?!). I don't think anyone could ever forget about those devastating events, nor should we. This book provides a bit of insight into what it must have felt like for the loved ones of the victims to go through what they did on that day (and the days, weeks, months and years after).

I'm not gonna lie, this story is brutal. It basically ripped my heart out and left me a bit of a sobbing mess by the time I finished it. It is so beautifully written and the way Erin struggles with her guilt and grief during the ten years following 9/11 is told with such realistic and raw emotion. At times this makes this book very difficult to read, but at the same time that's what makes it so compelling and real. I also loved how the author showcased that grief isn't linear, nor is it the same for everyone. And even though people around you expect you to move on, if you yourself aren't ready, it will not end well. Erin's story is definitely one I will not soon forget. would honestly recommend this book to everyone.

"Families, relationships, possessions are all sharp nails driven into the fabric of life, pinning you down. When they're ripped away, it gives you freedom but leaves you in tatters."

A huge thank you to She Writes Press, Tabitha Forney and Netgalley for providing me with me an e-ARC of this amazing story. And to anyone reading this: go find this book once it comes out and devour it! You will probably end up crying (a lot?), but it'll be so worth it.

“Underneath, something had shifted, and it was more than the gaping hole in the cityscape. It felt deflated, a two-day-old balloon. A loss of Bravado. New York was no longer invincible. A chink in the armor, a bruise beneath the glossy skin of the Big Apple.”

Overall rating: ★★★★½

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. I really enjoyed this and read it in less than a day. Whilst I didn't like Erin that much, I found Forney's exploration of her grief to be realistic, moving and very well written. I sympathised with her and the final chapter hit like a sucker punch. Forney's own closeness to the tragedy I think contributed to its painful realism.

Paper Airplanes by Tabitha Forney is an emotional read that follows the events of 9/11 and its aftermath through the experience of a young wife whose husband was working on the 101st floor of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Erin and Dan O'Connor have not been long married and are excitedly planning their seemingly infinite future together. Erin, a lawyer, and Dan, a financial analyst, are both focused on their careers, but Dan believes that there is more to life, and suggests to Erin some of the limitless options available to them. Following a disagreement on the issue, Erin decides to join her friend on a trip to Mallorca, where she learns the devastating news of what is happening in New York, and is desperate to get home so that she can search for Dan. As the days pass, Erin sinks into an alcohol and pill-fuelled depression, and begins to wonder how life can possibly go on without her beloved husband, and feels that her entire future has been erased.

This is a powerfully emotive story of unimaginable tragedy, and finding purpose in a life that has had its script torn up and rewritten. Erin's journey is one that you will not soon forget. 4.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and She Writes Press for an ARC.

Paper Airplanes by Tabitha Forney is a heart wrenching story of love, loss and guilt in the aftermath of a tragedy.
In short, it’s a poignant fictional story based around the 9/11 World Trade Towers attack. Erin O’Connor’s life is turned upside down when whilst on holiday with her friend she learns that her husband, Daniel, is missing after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Towers where he works.
This book is certainly a powerful leveller, it’s well written and definitely tears at your heart strings…it simply reminds you of the tragic consequences of so many lives that were affected by 9/11, definitely a very fitting read for 2021, the 20th anniversary of such a hideous act of terrorism.
I thought the title ‘Paper Airplanes’ is the perfect title for this story, not just the profound act which resonated through Erin’s and Daniel’s story but the fragility connotations which is so clever. The story is heartbreaking and the author has clearly exposed the difficulty of balancing public and private grief in Erin’s struggle with her guilt and loss. Yep, Paper Airplanes will most definitely stir up harrowing emotions and memories, it’s impossible not to be moved, just make sure you keep the tissues close.
Big thanks to Tabitha Forney, She Writes Press and NetGalley for this eARC which I chose to read in return for my honest review.

The author does a wonderful job of taking you back to 9/11 and rather than giving you the historical facts she takes you inside the life of one family and makes you privy to the impact on that family. There were times that I was impatient with Erin and some of her choices but then had to challenge myself to feel empathy for her and the extended family. And that's actually the beauty of these characters because no character was only one thing--they could be loving and impatient, rude and caring. I liked that there were not neat and tidy answers and would recommend this one for book club discussions too.