The Night Diary Hardcover – March 6, 2018

I'm not sure how this one got on my list, but I really liked it. Nisha is 12 years old when Kazi, her family's cook and her best friend gives her a journal to write down her thoughts. She decides to use it to write letters to her mom who died during childbirth.This book takes place in 1947. India is no longer under British rule and has been divided into India and Pakistan. Nisha lives with her twin brother Amil, her Papa and her Dadi (grandmother). Her mother was Muslim and her father is Hindu, and both families frowned upon the marriage. Nisha has never met anyone from her maternal side.When India is divided, Nisha and her family are on the wrong side for Hindus. This is a part of history I know very little about. But Pakistan became a Muslim country and all Hindus and Sikhs were sent to live in original India, with Muslims migrating to Pakistan. There is fighting and violence and Nisha's dad decides they have to leave.This is the story of their journey and their hardships and their eventual settling in a new home. But really, it's about humans. It reminds me of what I'm constantly trying to understand - why do we have to hate those who are different? Why should someone's religion mean that it's ok to kill them? Before the division, there were some skirmishes, but mostly people lived together peacefully. But then everything fell apart.This book references Gandhi a lot. It uses his quote "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind". And I feel like this is true. This story made me misty a few times. And it really made me wish the world wasn't so "us against them". I think it was a good learning experience for me and now I kind of want to learn a little bit more about history which isn't something I feel very often.

Beautifully written, relevant to the plight of child migrants and refugees today, a must read for middle grade students and teachers.The Night Diary is set during the Partition of India in 1947 when India won its independence from Great Britain, resulting in the forced migration of Hindus to India and Muslims to newly formed Pakistan.On the eve of her twelfth birthday, Nisha receives a diary from the family cook, Kazi, who tells her that adults will have neither the time nor the presence of mind to record what is to come.From the start, Nisha is bewildered by the idea that politicians have drawn a line on a map that divides people according to their religion. What is to become of Nisha and her twin brother Amil? Their deceased mother was Muslim and their father is Hindu. Even though he is Muslim, surely Kazi will stay with the family. He has filled the role of nurturing parent as Nisha's father is distant, critical, and spent from caring for patients during this brewing storm of societal upheaval.The family's planned journey starts with a grand feast for friends and family to say their final farewells. Growing unease gives way to urgency as Kazi saves the family during a late night raid. They escape on foot carrying water, food, and a few prized possessions.We follow Nisha across the unforgiving desert, to boarding a dangerously overcrowded train where she witnesses violence and mayhem. Along the way, Nisha must fend off desperate refugees who fight over the last drops of water and the sparse shade from the unforgiving heat.There are twists and turns in this riveting, perilous journey with a surprise ending.The beauty of this story is that we see how Nisha navigates internal and external obstacles through her journal entries. Reminiscent of the The Diary of Anne Frank, Nisha's diary shines a light on how a young girl tries to make sense of a world where political forces have created divisions among people and has turned her world upside down.Woven throughout the diary entries are Nisha's descriptions of the soothing rituals of cooking with Kazi. His gift of the perfect tomato with a sprinkle of salt, the savory samosas, and crunchy pakora are outward signs of love, family, culture, and survival."Each samosa felt like a small animal, soft and warm in my hand. We worked quietly, me filling the dough, Kazi frying them until they became golden brown." (pg 68)

Nisha likes her life except for one thing. Her mother died when she and her twin brother Amil were born. When she is given a diary for her twelveth birthday, she decides to write letters to her mother. Life in her village isn't perfect but it isn't bad either. She and her brother attend the local school where she has no real friends and her brother is bullied but she gets to help out the family cook, Kazi prepare the meals. Her father is a doctor who works at the local hospital and while he isn't particularly tender, he does take care of them, even though he has little patience for Amil's learning difficulties.But things take a sudden turn when India gains her independence and tensions between Muslims and Hindus explode into violence. With a mother who was Muslim and a father who is Hindu, Nisha doesn't understand why this is happening. Why people who used to get along, don't anymore. The announcement that India will be split into two separate countries (India and Pakistan) the violence gets worse. Nisha learns that her family is going to have to leave the only home she's ever known because Hindus are no longer welcome in what will soon be Muslim-dominated Pakistan. Heart-broken and confused, Nisha must leave behind most of what she's ever known, including her beloved Kazi. The journey itself is difficult for everyone but meeting her mother's brother offers a spark of hope.I really enjoyed reading this book and not only because it takes place outside of the United States. Nisha is a fabulous character, who though she's growing up is still a child in many ways. She wants to know what the adults are whispering about, but once she finds out, she doesn't understand it and it scares her. She gets along with her brother most of the time, but they get on each other's nerves sometimes too. And Nisha struggles with her own personal weaknesses as well, including shyness. I appreciated the fact that the problems in Nisha's life aren't all solved by the end of the book. While things are better, her life has still almost completely changed. Yet hope remains alive and well despite all the heartache and changes in Nisha's life.

My own forebears are mixed, so these themes in the story really spoke to me in a world that seems to want to divide by tribe everywhere, unaware that we can be different but also united together at the same time - we can be both. Such valuable lessons written in a way that is so cleverly accessible to anyone. Thank you Veera for writing this.

Read it quickly and was entranced by the story.

Such an intense page-turner, that felt like it was begging to be written. The flow is fantastic, and you just won't put it down.

Some books just sear for themselves a place in your heart. #TheNightDiary by Veera Hiranandani is one such.An #epistolary #YA #HistoricalFiction written at the time of the #PartitionofIndia.It's the story of 12 year old Nisha and her family and their journey to India post partition.Kazi, their cook, gifts a journal to Nisha and she uses it to write letters to her mother, who died while giving birth to her and her twin Amil. And this writing is important to her, because Nisha doesn't voice her words much.The complex family equations are rolled out beautifully in the book.I have never read a book that is such a vivid and exhilarating sensory experience. The author tingles each of our senses through her descriptive chronicles. Cooking is what Nisha finds solace in and the book abounds in instances of her working in the kitchen.Her favourite dish is the #Sindhi #Saibhaji. I had never heard of this dish before and initially thought the spelling might be a typo. I searched for the recipe and came across one in @ranveer.brar 's show #MaaKiBaat. The Sindhi lady who cooks the dish explains that 'Sai' means green in Sindhi. This yummy dish is loaded with green goodness. It's truly #ComfortFoodPublisher -Penguin IndiaMy RatingFor the Book-5⭐For the bhaji-4⭐

My 11 years old daughter loved it and finished it within a day