The Night Diary [Hardcover]

A 2019 NEWBERY HONOR BOOK

A gripping, nuanced story of the human cost of conflict appropriate for both children and adults.
                                                                                                                 -Kirkus, starred review

In the vein ofInside Out and Back AgainandThe War That Saved My Lifecomes 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 Diaryis a heartfelt story of one girl's search for home, for her own identity...and for a hopeful future.“Veera Hiranandani is a master storyteller.  This riveting and important book speaks to the power of love in a world divided by hate and raises questions that still need to be asked seventy years after its events took place. l3+