Lion of the Sky by Ritu Hemani

"How can anyone draw a line

between neighbors?

between brothers?

between friends?"

"Even if all the Hindus

in the world stop liking

all the Muslims in the world,

I never will."

Raj is twelve. He is a Hindu boy who loves flying kites with his grandfather and his best friend. He dreams of winning the big kite competition. Iqbal is his best friend but he is Muslim and India is about to be divided by partition. Their precious friendship will be cut in half just as their country is divided and their homes now become places of danger and violence.  This is so confusing - it is all because some one from far away has drawn a line on a map.  

People smile with tight lips,

and it's no coincidence

that everyone is dressed in white

the colour we wear 

when someone dies.

Raj and his family become refugees and they have to move from Hyderabad in Sindh to Bombay. The train journey is dreadful and all their possessions are taken by thieves and then the most unimaginable thing happens - in the chaos and confusion Raj's sister Maja aged nine disappears.

This book is sure to make you curious about the partition of India and also about traditional Indian foods. 

We sit down

to a breakfast of dal pakwan,

the creamy-flavoured lentils,

spicy mint coriander chutney

and deep-fried crispy sweetbread

mingling in my mouth

before I swallow with relish.

... with our baskets filled with

diamond-shaped Kaju mithai.

I inhale the scent

of cashew nuts and cardamom

and hope there will be some left over ...

The blended scent

of saffron and cardamom

fills the air

as Amma prepares to slice

her freshly rolled varo.

With careful force

she cuts across the center,

and I lick my lips,

imagining the sweet crunch

of pistachios, almonds, 

cashew nuts, and poppy seeds

with hardened caramel.

The British have left India and Raj is also caught up in the politics of the times. His brother explains:

You would not be sad

if you knew what they have stolen

how they have treated us,

burning out fingers to serve 

them phulko, while they burn

our money and drink out chai. ...

They charge unfair taxes on salt,

take the cotton, spices, 

and crops from our land,

use the modern railways you boast of

to steal what is ours,

and sell it back at inflated prices ...

They keep every last rupee,

while our country starves,

they look at us like we're

uncivilized dogs ...

This is a complex story about a time in history that will be unfamiliar to most young readers aged 10+ here in Australia but it is well worth the reading journey. I am quoting in full the book description by the author:

An evocative historical novel in verse about a boy and his family who are forced to flee their home and become refugees after the British Partition of India. Twelve-year-old Raj is happiest flying kites with his best friend, Iqbal. As their kites soar, Raj feels free, like his beloved India soon will be, and he can’t wait to celebrate their independence. But when a British lawyer draws a line across a map, splitting India in two, Raj is thrust into a fractured world. With Partition declared, Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim families are torn apart—and Raj’s Hindu and Iqbal’s Muslim families are among them. Forced to flee and become refugees, Raj’s family is left to start over in a new country. After suffering devastating losses, Raj must summon the courage to survive the brutal upheaval of both his country and his heart. Inspired by the author’s true family history, Lion of the Sky is a deeply moving coming-of-age tale about identity, belonging, and the power of hope.

Listen to an audio sample here. I read Lion of the Sky as an ebook. The hardcover novel with 416 pages is way too expensive for your library here in Australia. It was published in 2024 so I imagine there will eventually be a paperback edition. 

There are some powerful words of wisdom in this book:

"Holding on to your anger is like drinking poison and expecting your enemy to die."

"Because we don't need your kind and my kind ... only kindness."

Ultimately this is a tale about being lion-hearted, soaring after falling many times, and still reaching for the sky. It’s also about lines that divide, that cut across hearts and countries, and that are seared into memories. An exquisite, memorable story about new beginnings and the quest to belong. Kirkus Star review

Here is an interview with the author. Lion of the Sky is her debut book. 

Companion book:

The Night Diary

Shooting Kabul

Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed

There were several moments in this book when I simply gasped. The cruelty, the betrayal, the way Amal's dreams are completely crushed.

"My mother's voice told me to let this go. Something was off with this man. Let him have the fruit and walk away. But all I could see was the red pomegranate and how he grasped it in his palm as though it was already his.

I thought of my father, who had no time for my dreams. My little sisters and their endless demands. Suddenly I felt was tired. Tired of feeling powerless. Tired of denying my own needs because someone else needed something more. Including this man. This stranger."

These quotes are a good way to explore Amal Unbound. Amal goes to the market and buys the last pomegranate.  Her family are very poor. Amal has three sisters and a new baby is due to arrive soon. Everyone is hoping for a boy but Amal could never have anticipated the enormous disappointment for her mother and father when the new baby arrives - a girl. Amal loves school and she excels at her lessons. She has the dream of becoming a teacher herself one day. In the small village where Amal lives everyone is afraid of the Khan family, nearly everyone is in debit to them and they are especially frightened of Jawad Sahib. He is the man who nearly ran Amal over in his large car. He is the man holding her pomegranate. He is the man with the power to completely overturn Amal's life and dreams.

A few days after the incident with the pomegranate, Jawad Sahib arrives and to take Amal. She will be taken to his house to work as a slave. Amal's father has no money and he is in debt to this powerful and cruel man and his father Khan Sahib.

In the house Amal finds a friend and a serious enemy. Luckily she is ordered to work for Khan Sahib's wife Nasreen Baji but this means Nabila, another servant, has been displaced. Her cruel tricks, which have terrible consequences for Amal, will linger with me for a long time.

The wonderful ending will make you cheer not just because justice is served but because this outcome is the direct result of the education that Amal has had. Because she can read she can make sense of the injustices of the Khan family and she can also identify their crime.

Here are a set of teachers notes from the publisher - they are excellent. You can also read the first 20+ pages of Amal Unbound. Listen to an audio sample here. Here are a set of discussion points. I highly recommend this book for mature readers aged 11+.

Inspired by Malala Yousafzai and countless unknown girls like her, Saeed’s timely and stirring middle-grade debut is a celebration of resistance and justice. Kirkus Star review

A strong choice for all middle grade shelves, especially where readers are seeking stories about young girls in non-Western countries overcoming adversity. Shelley Diaz School Library Journal

Amal Unbound is a powerful page-turner about one girl's courage in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Kids’ Book Review

Reading this type of book, as well as historical fiction, is a great way for young readers to understand that the entire world is not exactly the way their little corner of it is! Ms Yingling

I would follow Amal Unboud with Ibqal and any books you can find (and there are plenty to choose from) about Malala Yousafzai.

If you are visiting a library you could also look for Sold by Patricia McCormick and Hidden Girl by Shyima Hall.

The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani

Image source: http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/aboutnewbery/aboutnewbery

The year is 1947. Major political events are unfolding in India. This is called The Partition - The dividing of India into two countries - India and Pakistan.  Our story here is told through the eyes of Nisha. With her twin brother Amil, their father and grandmother they are forced to flee their home because as Hindus it is too dangerous for the family to stay in Pakistan. The drawing of a border line on a map has an almost unfathomable impact on all their lives.

The Night Diary is written as a diary by Nisha. She writes each night to her precious mother, who died just after the twins were born. Her diary is deeply personal and this is a powerful device which allows readers (like me) who may know nothing about these tumultuous times to gain small insights into both this historical period and into the effect on one family.

Nisha longs to ask her doctor father questions but she finds talking very hard. Without much explanation Papa tells the children they are leaving their home. The other member of their family is the cook - a man named Kazi. He and Nisha have a beautiful relationship. He has been a part of this family all their lives but Kazi is Muslim and so he must stay behind.

"So as of today, the ground I'm standing on is not India anymore. And Kazi is supposed to live in one place and we're supposed to leave and find a new home. Is there a Muslim girl sitting in her house right now who has to leave her home and go to a new country that's not even called India? Does she feel confused and scared, too?"

Adding to Nisha's confusion her mother was also Muslim. Naturally Nisha feels she and Amil can follow both religions but of course society makes no concessions to this situation.

Here is an abbreviated conversation between Nisha, Amil and a young Muslim girl who lives next door to their uncle Rashid.

"So you're not supposed to like us,' Amil said"
"And you're not supposed to like me because I'm Muslim,' Hafa said."
"But it's so strange,' I said. I couldn't explain the aching I felt in my stomach when I watched her, like all I had ever wanted was to be friends with this girl."
"All my friends left the village. They were Hindu and Sikh,' she said, glancing down again."


Here are some reviews with more plot details:

• School Library Journal
• Randomly Reading

I wonder if The Night Diary is available for young readers in India and Pakistan? I certainly hope it is.

The food references in The Night Diary sound delicious and luckily there is a comprehensive glossary so you can read about dishes such these desserts -  kheer (a sweet pudding), gulab Jamun (deep fried milk powder with rosewater syrup) and rasmalai (soft cheese patties).

Here is a set of discussion questions you could use for a book club. Here is a video where the author talks about her process of writing this book. Along with the video you can also see quotes from a range of reviews written about this powerful story. You can read an interview with Mr Schu. Penguin have produced a very comprehensive set of teachers notes. You can listen to the first pages of the book here.  I purchased this book at a recent book sale so when it was announced as a Newbery honor book I was delighted. I had no idea it was even in contention. I picked this book because I do enjoy reading about events in recent world history and the cover and blurb looked interesting.

A huge topic perhaps for another day - what age would enjoy this book?  Reviewers can't seem to agree. Penguin say 8-12, Kirkus say 11+, The School Library Journal say Grades 5-8.  For me, I think this book would appeal to mature and sensitive readers aged 10+.

Thanks go to Ms Yingling for her list of other titles on the topic of the partition of India. Here are two that would suit readers aged 10+ who enjoy The Night Diary.

On the ground during Partition, there was incredible inter-communal violence and mass deportations and huge movements of peoples, probably the biggest in history. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that 14 million Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims were displaced during the division of India, which makes it the largest mass migration in human history.

Source: https://www.historyhit.com/why-did-the-partition-of-india-happen/

I would follow The Night Diary with Shooting Kabul also by NH Senzai, A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park and The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney.