But when forced to carry burdens beyond his physical and emotional capacity because he is the boy, Amil breaks, and Nisha steps in. Her brother was always the outspoken one, a budding artist and entertainer whose school failure was the shame of their educated father. While the story of escape and survival will keep readers turning the pages, The Night Diary stands out in its depiction of her characters, particularly shy Nisha, who must learn to speak up for herself and find her strength along a harrowing route to an uncertain new life. Veera Hiranandani’s novel for older middle grade readers is based on the story of her father’s family. Her father, a respected doctor, and grandmother are Hindu, and they are considered Hindu as well, which means they will have to abandon their home and flee across the new border amid an outbreak of violence on both sides. Nisha and Amil’s mother, who died in childbirth, was Muslim, as is the family’s beloved cook, Kazi. The partition that has accompanied India’s independence in August 1947 is partitioning Nisha’s family as well. She lives with her father, grandmother, and twin brother, Amil, in a large, comfortable home in what will soon become Pakistan. When Nisha turns thirteen, she receives the gift of a diary, which she soon uses to record events in the months that changed her life forever.

The night diary review