From Kirkus: "A gripping, nuanced story of the human cost of conflict appropriate for both children and adults."

I was very impressed with the writing on this middle grade historical fiction about the 1947 Partition of India. The children Hiranandani wrote felt absolutely real to me. We often think about childhood as this simple, blissful time, and while that is sometimes the case, being a child is utterly bewildering. So much that happens to you is completely outside of your control, and the world moves according to rules you are not remotely equipped to understand, especially in times of conflict. Hiranandani captures this so well. Nisha has many thoughts and many actions that seem crazy through adult eyes, but Nisha doesn't have those. Everything she knows about the world is unraveling, and adults are behaving in dangerous ways that would have been crazy the month before, and she is being taxed in physical and emotional ways that the even the adults around her are failing to cope with. She is carrying trauma, and the writing felt like the way a child would try to make sense of it.

I adored Nishi's imperfect but loving family, and appreciate the way this book helped me take the bare facts I already knew about partition and feel it in my bones.

Reading level: 3-4
Awards: John Newbery Medal (2019)

A very moving account of the movement of a refugee family during the 1947 partitioning of India and Pakistan. ( )

What a book. My coworker, Maria, recommended it to me for my LI831 class.....but I finally got a chance to finish it.

I really know nothing about India and Pakistan in the 1940s. The dynamic between Hindus and Muslims is one that I have not explored either. I really now want to learn more about this cultural divide. A divide that also divided families and friends.

Written in journal entries to her deceased mother, Nisha paints a picture for the reader....of a girl longing to understand. A girl who longs to figure out her place. A girl who doesn't always understand why things go the way they do. A girl who has to leave the only home she has ever known (her, her father, her grandmother, and her brother) because they are not the right religion.

Food was a theme in this book. Finding healing in food. Grieving through food. Meeting new people through food. The food that keeps us going. I found myself wanting to talk with my husband's coworker who makes Indian cuisine on a daily basis. I'd love to learn to cook those dishes!

The reminders of how racial relations hurt so many. We need to show more love and compassion. I mean, just because someone is a different religion doesn't mean they deserve to be ostracized. Far from it actually. ( )