Welcome to Windows & Mirrors, where we feature books that provide us windows to lives outside our own and mirrors to our shared common human experiences.

Today we are featuring The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani.

Nisha receives a blank journal from her family’s cook on her twelfth birthday. It’s a place where she can record her thoughts, the things she thinks about but seems to have problems saying aloud. In it, she writes to her mother who died during her and her twin brother’s birth. But daily life isn’t all that she records. India, newly independent of British rule, is being separated into two countries. India will be for Hindus and Pakistan for Muslims. Her mother was Muslim, but her dad is Hindu. Where does she belong? And what about all the rumors of fighting and murder between Muslims and Hindus? How will they stay safe?

Nisha’s father makes a difficult decision. They must make the dangerous journey, leaving their homeland with only what they can carry, out of Pakistan to the new India.

The Night Diary was an intensely emotional read. The epistolary style was perfect to me. I enjoyed watching Nisha’s transformation as she used the diary to get to know a mother that could never braid her hair or hold her hand and in finding her own voice. This gives the story a special vulnerability as Nisha’s fierce loves spills out in her words. Even more impressive was how the story of her family’s migration during this tumultuous time in history was woven into the letters to her mother. I enjoyed learning about the Pakistani partition, history which I knew nothing about prior to this book. Seeing it through the eyes of a child gave even greater dimension to my understanding of the devastating effects of the partition and of the important role that Gandhi played in insisting that India should stay whole. Not only must Nisha transform into a brave young girl to face the desperate circumstances, but her Papa and brother are changed by their experiences too. The intimacy that Veera Hiranandani delivers though Nisha as she reflects on her family’s challenges and successes on their extraordinary journey is masterful.

I highly recommend this beautiful story about family and the dangers of forgetting our humanity when we define ourselves by race, culture, religion, and country. A powerful book to awaken and stir your soul, perfect for important discussions for ages 10+.

Warning: there are some fighting scenes which may trigger those who are sensitive to violence.

Check out this interview about Veera’s personal relationship with the Pakistani partition on NPR.

Veera Hiranandani is the author of The Night Diary, The Whole Story of Half a Girl, and the Phoebe G. Green chapter book series. She earned a MFA in fiction writing at Sarah Lawrence College. She’s a former book editor at Simon & Schuster and teaches writing at Sarah Lawrence College’s Writing Institute. Connect with her on her website, Twitter, or Instagram.

Posted by Michelle Leonard.