I am 2/3 through "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer. Its protagonist is 9 year old Oskar Schell, trying to make sense of things after losing his father in the World Trade Center collapse, but this is not a childrens book. At times funny and touching and often very sad (to borrow a phrase from Oskar, it makes me wear heavy boots) this book is quite profound. Mr. Foer's first novel, "Everything Is Illuminated" was made into a movie which two years ago was THE movie that I told everyone was a must see. I now recommend this novel just as highly.