Reviews

The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani

myjoon's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

mschrock8's review against another edition

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4.0

A sweet, yet disturbing story.

You know I loved the diary as a series of letters to her mother.

Very interesting that I read two books in a row in which a little girl doesn't speak.

lamom77's review against another edition

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4.0

I have never read a book that took place during the dividing of India in the 1940s. Very interesting, and an interesting way to tell the story through a young girl's diary.

anxiouslybooked's review against another edition

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5.0

This was one of my favorite books so far! I loved how it was written in letter and there was never a dull moment!

quietlyflourishing's review against another edition

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emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.0

emilylovesreading_'s review against another edition

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4.0

I enjoyed this Newberry Honor winner! Set in the 1940’s, this book follows Nisha’s dangerous journey with her family from India to newly established Pakistan.

This book is a lovely read as an adult! While this book is middle-grade, I’d really only recommend it as a read-aloud for this age group. This book features many worldviews, including Muslim, Hindu, and Sikh, which may need explanation. In addition, the book essentially calls for universalism in much of its discussion regarding the conflicts that took place during the dividing of India into two nations. As a Believer, I disagree with this worldview but view this book as really valuable for discussions and for learning and teaching kiddos what others believe as well as some historical and cultural background.

lucyc3274's review against another edition

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A story about a little girl that becomes a refugee during India’s independence. Tugs at your heartstrings but not particularly nuanced.

honeywaffles's review against another edition

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challenging medium-paced

3.75

I find it easier to learn about these difficult events in history through the stories like this, depicting an average family, flawed and resilient.

finn_w's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring sad 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

4.0

laureninthebuf's review against another edition

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4.0

Another great buddy read during our homeschool geography study of Asia. I vaguely knew about the splitting of India and Pakistan, but not of the details and certainly not of the scale of the violence. The author’s note says the split of India and Pakistan led to the largest migration in human history and a million lives (or more!) were lost in the fighting that ensued. Hard to believe this was less than a century ago. The conversations this sparked in our home were valuable. 4 stars only because we had some difficulty with keeping the reading momentum going at some points.