I received this for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani Published by Penguin on March 6, 2018
Pages: 272
Amazon-Indiebound
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In the vein of Inside Out and Back Again and The War That Saved My Life comes a poignant, personal, and hopeful tale of India's partition, and of one girl's journey to find a new home in a divided country
It's 1947, and India, newly independent of British rule, has been separated into two countries: Pakistan and India. The divide has created much tension between Hindus and Muslims, and hundreds of thousands are killed crossing borders.
Half-Muslim, half-Hindu twelve-year-old Nisha doesn't know where she belongs, or what her country is anymore. When Papa decides it's too dangerous to stay in what is now Pakistan, Nisha and her family become refugees and embark first by train but later on foot to reach her new home. The journey is long, difficult, and dangerous, and after losing her mother as a baby, Nisha can't imagine losing her homeland, too. But even if her country has been ripped apart, Nisha still believes in the possibility of putting herself back together.
Told through Nisha's letters to her mother, The Night Diary is a heartfelt story of one girl's search for home, for her own identity...and for a hopeful future.
My Thoughts:
I first heard about this book at BEA of last year. When the editor was talking about it I had one of those moments when I became aware that there was a huge hole in my knowledge of important world history. She mentioned that the book was set during the partition of India. I realized I didn’t really know what that was. That’s really embarrassing to admit. I mean, we’re talking about the largest forced migration of people that wasn’t because of war or famine. How was this not something I knew more about? Clearly I had to read the book.
The Night Diary is from the perspective of twelve-year-old Nisha. She keeps a journal where she writes letters to her mother, who died when Nisha and her twin brother were born. Seeing the events through the eyes of a young girl was really powerful. It helped me to learn about what was happening, since I had little background knowledge.
The book starts shortly before India gained independence from British rule, which is when the partition happened. Nisha doesn’t really understand what’s happening. She’s mostly writing about her daily life and the growing changes she sees happening, particularly between the Muslims and Hindus in her area. (Her mother was Muslim and her father is Hindu so this is especially confusing for her.) Her father and grandmother try to shelter her and her brother from the rising tension. The book really picks up the pace when they can no longer do this and have to flee their home on foot.
Reading about Nisha’s family’s journey was simply heartbreaking. Seeing what she and her brother were forced to endure, what her father and grandmother had to endure and couldn’t protect the children from… it was really intense. I listened to much of this on on audiobook and the narrator did such an excellent job of conveying the emotions, making it even more powerful.
The Night Diary is an important and powerful book. I’ve been telling everyone I talk to about it. I cannot wait to get copies for literature circles at my middle school. Highly recommend.
Audiobook Notes: Loved the narration on this one! Priya Ayyar does an excellent job of giving voice to a young girl without sounding annoying (which I find often happens!) As I said before, Ayyar really gets the strong emotions Nisha is feeling across with her narration. This is an all around well done audiobook.
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