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astridsbookishlife's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime and Xenophobia
Moderate: Murder and Violence
Minor: Death of parent
onefineelephant's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
7/10. I think this book does a very good job of exploring children's emotions and experiences during times of crisis. However, because of the intense trauma the main character and her family face throughout the book, I'm not sure I would recommend this book to anyone under 13.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Deportation, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, and Religious bigotry
There is near death of a child and the main character is coping with the death of her mother, though we do not have detail of her death and it was in the past.kathischm's review
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Death
Minor: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
micasa's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, War, and Violence
lgbtrights's review
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Glad to have started with this book for the year for my resolution to read more books this year 💝
I honestly liked the format of this book. The title of the book is accurate, as it's a historical fiction featuring a young 12-year-old girl named Nisha. She writes to her mother, who had passed away. As the topic of grief has been something I've reflected more on recently, it made my experience reading this more emotional.
The focus of this story's plot revolves around the Partition of India in 1947, a topic I had not been informed about. This book helped me grasp it more, and I'm thankful that the author included a note and questions to (younger) readers to discuss the more heavier content described in the story.
Suprisingly, I found myself (specifically, my younger self) relating a lot Nisha, and I loved the bond and feelings of love she expressed towards her family members and the people she met.
"Dadi washing and mending my clothes, Papa kissing us on our foreheads before bedtime, Amil making a drawing of me. Kazi making my favorite paratha stuffed with fried onions and potatoes. Every day had been filled with things like this. All love, even between Papa and Amil. Why hadn't I seen this before, Mama?"
The author did a great job in creating such a human story. The descriptions of food from another culture were also delightful and tied the story together well. Gulab jamun, chapati,biryani, rasmalai, sai bhaji, etc. The terms for them and a recipe are also included at the end of the book, which was very nice.
Overall, this was a good story to be introduced to the topic of the Partition of India for younger audiences and older alike.
I honestly liked the format of this book. The title of the book is accurate, as it's a historical fiction featuring a young 12-year-old girl named Nisha. She writes to her mother, who had passed away. As the topic of grief has been something I've reflected more on recently, it made my experience reading this more emotional.
The focus of this story's plot revolves around the Partition of India in 1947, a topic I had not been informed about. This book helped me grasp it more, and I'm thankful that the author included a note and questions to (younger) readers to discuss the more heavier content described in the story.
Suprisingly, I found myself (specifically, my younger self) relating a lot Nisha, and I loved the bond and feelings of love she expressed towards her family members and the people she met.
"Dadi washing and mending my clothes, Papa kissing us on our foreheads before bedtime, Amil making a drawing of me. Kazi making my favorite paratha stuffed with fried onions and potatoes. Every day had been filled with things like this. All love, even between Papa and Amil. Why hadn't I seen this before, Mama?"
The author did a great job in creating such a human story. The descriptions of food from another culture were also delightful and tied the story together well. Gulab jamun, chapati,biryani, rasmalai, sai bhaji, etc. The terms for them and a recipe are also included at the end of the book, which was very nice.
Overall, this was a good story to be introduced to the topic of the Partition of India for younger audiences and older alike.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Violence
Moderate: Blood, War, Religious bigotry, Murder, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, and Grief
Minor: Medical content
jayoz15's review
emotional
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
A really impactful read about a topic that is not talked about enough- the Partition of India, into India and Pakistan in 1947. We follow Nisha and her family as they travel from Pakistan to India over the newly created border. Her story is told in letters to her mother that she keeps in her diary. We watch Nisha struggle to try and understand what is going on, and have to come to age during a difficult time. I think a lot of the emotions Nisha feels of uncertainty will resonate with middle grade readers. I would say this is better aimed at older middle grader readers as there are some difficult topics discussed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Murder
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