The Partition Project by Saadia Faruqi

This is the third time in a week I’m hearing about this thing called Partition. Torture. Massacre. Forced to move. Friends versus enemies. What on earth was this event and how come I’ve never heard of it before? We learn about the Holocaust in school, but not this. Never this. Now, suddenly, Partition seems to be the only thing everyone is talking about.

This is one of those stories where you do need to be very patient with the main character. I rightly predicted early on in the story that something dreadful had happened Dadi back when her family were forced to leave their home in India in 1947 but Maha just doesn't seem to ask the 'right' questions. This is also a very long book with over 410 pages. 

Here are some text quotes to give you the flavour of this book:

She’s way older than any grandmother I know, but that’s because she adopted Abba in her forties, and then Ammi and Abba waited a while to have kids after they got married. But I don’t think she wants to discuss her age. “You speak English,” I say as we enter the house through the mudroom. “I thought you—” She turns to look straight at me. “What? That I’m uneducated just because I’m from Pakistan?”

I perk up, because in the dumpster fire of my life, this year’s electives are a cool bucket of water. Bethune Middle offers changing electives every semester in seventh grade, and I’ve signed up for media studies this semester.

“You were forced out of your home? Why would anyone do that?” The story she’d told me just a couple of hours ago about her childhood in Ludhiana was so ...  Lovely, even. Her friends Rasheeda and Prisha. Her abba and ammi. Her school where they wrote on slates with chalk. It sounded like the best kind of dream. How could anything bad have happened there?

Millions of Muslims fled to Pakistan on foot and via trains, while a similar number of Hindus and Sikhs traveled to India in the same manner. Along the way, they faced bloodthirsty mobs, hunger, and disease. Historians estimate that more than 15 million people were displaced during the period of the Partition, and almost 2 million

We packed a few clothes, but that was it. Hakam and Jamal wanted to take all their toys, but Ammi didn’t let them. I wanted to take the journal that Abba had given me, but there was no room. It didn’t really matter at that point. Everything was so tense, I had a constant stomachache from all the fear of what was going to happen. 

What just happened? Did I lose my best friend, as well as my new friend? Did I just forget every rule about not losing my temper or saying mean things while fasting? I want to ditch school and go home, crawl under the covers and cry my heart

I haven't given this book any stars mainly because the 'voice' of Maha somewhat annoyed me especially the way she was so uncaring towards her best friend however Kirkus loved this book:

Powerful and timely. Kirkus Star review

Awards:

• South Asia Book Award 2025
• Kirkus Best Books of 2024
• Chicago Public Library Best Books of 2024
• Texas Lone Star Reading List 2024

Blurb from author webpage: When her grandmother comes off the airplane in Houston from Pakistan, Mahnoor knows that having Dadi move in is going to disrupt everything about her life. She doesn’t have time to be Dadi’s unofficial babysitter—her journalism teacher has announced that their big assignment will be to film a documentary, which feels more like storytelling than what Maha would call “journalism”. As Dadi starts to settle into life in Houston and Maha scrambles for a subject for her documentary, the two of them start talking. About Dadi’s childhood in northern India—and about the Partition that forced her to leave her home and relocate to the newly created Pakistan. As details of Dadi’s life are revealed, Dadi’s personal story feels a lot more like the breaking news that Maha loves so much. And before she knows it, she has the subject of her documentary.

Last year I visited Gleebooks at Dulwich Hill and I spied a middle grade novel about partition BUT I did not write down the title or take a photo so ever since I have been searching for it. This is not that book and so my search continues. (All I can remember is that there were a group of kids on the cover). 

The 1947 Partition of India led to one of the largest migrations in human history, radically changing Southeast Asia’s landscape. The area that was India under nearly 90 years of British rule was divided into two. The division that came with independence from Britain created a new Muslim-majority state of Pakistan and a Hindu-majority state in India. Muslims in India were forced to leave their homes for Pakistan (which was later divided into Pakistan and Bangladesh), while Hindus in Pakistan had to leave their homes for India. Approximately 15 million people were displaced, and an estimated one million died from violence or disease. School Library Journal

Companion books that explore partition:

Lion of the Sky

The Night Diary

And these are some recommended by Ms Yingling (and others)

Here is the book that Maha does not read that she was supposed to study with her friend for their English project and the one she does (yay for the Teacher-Librarian who recommended it):

Inside out and back again

I want to feel closer to Kim, and this book is the best thing I’ve got. I also want her to stop thinking that I’m obsessed with the Partition specifically, because other historical events are also 

suddenly making me sit up and take notice. ... “I chose this book for two reasons. First, the story was similar to what my grandmother experienced in Pakistan as a kid. Being a refugee. Being alone in a new country. Worrying about war and death and all sorts of things."  ...” The second reason is my best friend, Kim.” I look straight at her. She’s staring at me with a blank face. No smile, but no anger either. 

I’ll take it. “Her family is from Vietnam, and I wanted to learn more about their

Here are some other books by Saadia Faruqi:

Author note: I hope after reading Maha’s dadi’s story you will think deeply about how history affects the present and even the future. And then, I hope you talk to your elders and ask them to tell their stories to you, so you can learn about your own heritage and what your place is in family’s history. 

Snoop by Gordon Korman

This story is a wild romp - yes, it is filled with improbabilities but I am sure readers aged 10+ will enjoy 'snooping' with Carter - watching all the improbable things that are happening in his small town you just have to be prepared to suspend your disbelief.

Carter has two broken legs thanks to an accident while skiing with his father and Martin his younger brother. Who caused the accident? Well Martin was just learning to ski but, yes, he did crash into Carter but why didn't Carter just step out of the way. Well Carter was watching a video his phone. 

Now Carter has two broken legs and is confined to a wheelchair. He can't even get back to his bedroom because it is up the stairs, so he has to 'live' in the guest bedroom which smell like onions because it is beside their kitchen.

At first Carter survives his enforced time at home by watching videos on his laptop and phone. Carter discovers he can watch more than silly dance routine videos - he can watch the live cameras from around his town. This is only the beginning of his snooping. He finds a way to access more private cameras inside shops. This is a small town, and Carter begins to notice the behaviour of various people. The pregnant lady with her mischievous toddler at the park, the two owners of rival cafes who seem to be determined to sabotage one another, and then he starts watching a man who seems suspicious and a red car that sits in the same spot with the driver inside. 

Now take a look at the cover - about a third of the way into the book I finally thought about the cover. That is a red panda - an endangered animal Why are endangered animals roaming around his town? Carter's tech is taken away by his photographer mother. Is there a way he can still spy on the town and on his classmates.

There is an appropriate layer in this story about the dangers of addiction to devices but, while this is an important message, it did not feel too didactic in this story and in fact it is good to view the way Carter is able to change is own relationship with his phone and laptop especially after he is forbidden from using them. Read more about this here. Gordon Korman is a Canadian author. He has written over one hundred books. 

Blurb from author page: If Carter hadn’t been checking his phone, he might have seen his brother coming down the ski slope. And if Carter had seen his brother in time and avoided the crash, he might not be stuck at home for weeks, with both legs in casts. He’s never been so bored. Just to connect himself to the world, he starts checking out the live feeds from cameras around town. Before he knows it, he’s hooked – watching his classmates when they don’t know he’s looking, spying on neighbors, and discovering some other highly unusual things – things that no one else is noticing. Things that just might be illegal. But the biggest problem is once you start snooping, the hardest thing is to look away.

Korman dishes up an expert mix of entertaining foolery, peer and family dynamics, and cautionary messages about both the ethical nuances of online snooping and the hazards of jumping to conclusions. Kirkus

Here are some other books I enjoyed by Gordon Korman:

The Unteachables

Masterminds

Criminal Destiny

Shipwreck; Survival; Escape 

There are three books in this series The Island Trilogy - perfect for reluctant boy readers

Look for the others too - The Titanic Trilogy, The Dive Trilogy, and The Everest Trilogy.

How to be the New Person by Anna Branford

"I even have music for the beginning and the end of each video that I play in my head. And I always round it off with something like: If you would like to see more videos by Hazel Morrison, don't forget to subscribe to my channel!"

I really enjoyed reading a slim book for a change this week. I seem to have had so many 400+ page complex fantasies it was refreshing to read this book with 117 pages in about half an hour.  I am going to say, however, that being slim does not designate either a lesser story or a younger audience and once again I find myself disagreeing with the suggested age listed on the cover of my advance reader copy (8+).  I would say this book would be suit a mature reader aged 9 and even better, a reader aged 10+.  

Hazel likes to imagine she is making videos - those self help ones you have seen on YouTube.  I used to imagine, as a Primary aged kid, that someone was filming me in the school playground for a television show so this idea really appealed to me.

Here are some early example of Hazel's video ideas:

• Eight important tips for successfully buttering toast!
• Putting your hair in a ponytail: a step by step guide!
• The do's and don't's of cleaning up the sink after you've brushed your teeth - everything you need to know!

Hazel is navigating quite a lot in her life right now. Hazel's older sister Tess has been badly bullied at school. Mum and Dad have decided the best way to end this dreadful situation, which is affecting Tess's mental health, is to move to a new part of the city and of course to a new school. Tess will go to a new High School and Hazel will have to leave her best friend Gina and go to a new Primary School.

On her first day at the new school the scene nearly broke my heart. Hazel is assigned to sit with a group of three girls. It is clear they don't want her to join them. Then the teacher says Hazel will need to pair up with one of these girls on the class assignment which is a project about problems that affect young people. Olivia does not want to pair up with Hazel. 

Meanwhile, Mum and Dad have not really been focusing on Hazel because they are so worried about Tess:

"Hazel! Oh she's fine. We're so lucky with that kid. We never have to worry about her She's made of tough stuff.' It's funny to hear him say that about me. I think about the thick tough brown tape we used to seal up our packing boxes because ordinary clear sticky tape wasn't tough enough. .... I think about the enormous tyres on tractors and bulldozers that carry heavy giant rocks and get rained on and covered in mud and still keep going with no problem because they are so tough. Is that what dad thinks I am? Is that what he's telling Gran?"

Luckily there are two rays of sunshine in this story. One is the beautiful elderly lady next door who offers tea, biscuits and that all important listening ear to Hazel and the other is Laura - one of the three girls at her table. By the end of the book I wanted to hug Laura for her bravery and kindness.

Younger readers who enjoyed the Violet Mackerel books are sure to recognise Hazel because she has a very similar outlook on life and a lovely straightforward manner of sharing her problems. Perhaps you can join the dots and think about the title and the school project and Hazel's interest in making videos. Perhaps you can even think of the real life problem that is the focus of her film.

Huge thanks to Beachside Bookshop for my advance reader copy of How to be the New Person. 

I am sure this book will be a CBCA Notable title for 2023 at least I do hope it is. How to be a New Person will be published in October, 2022. Add it to your library shopping list today!

Mikki and me and the Out-of-tune Tree by Marion Roberts

Alberta is a keen boogie boarder. It is the Summer holidays in her small Australian coastal town. Alberta is looking forward to five weeks of freedom spent in the ocean. But, you knew I was going to say but didn't you, but Alberta, who is known as Birdy, is knocked off her bike and it is not an accident. Her arm is broken so there will be no boogie boarding for Birdy. Six weeks in a plaster cast.

Luckily Mikki Watanabe lives in her street. He has no interest in the ocean. His family, who originally come from Japan, have a beach house at Kingfisher Bay. Mikki and Birdie team up to investigate the forest area nearby and they make an amazing discovery. There is a small grove of towering pine trees. Mikki has a spiritual connection to trees. He is keen to make a video about their discovery and Birdie is equally keen to stand in front of the camera. Then they discover the council have plan to bulldoze this special area. Can their YouTube videos gain enough coverage so that this special place can be saved?

I did like the way Marion Roberts included the video chat and comments into her story along with advice from the book by Birdie's mum - Tammy's Bracken's guide to Modern Manners. I was not quite so interested in or convinced about Tammy's mental health issues and shoplifting. I really liked the community activism and the way Birdie and Mikki navigate the complexities of local government. This harks back to a very old classic Australian book - Battle of the Galah Tress by Christobel Mattingley. I also kept thinking about the television documentary made with Judi Dench "My passion for trees". 

This film follows Judi's experience through the seasons and her mission to understand the role of trees in history and the future. Judi joins tree scientists and historians to unlock the remarkable secret lives of trees and the stories that they cannot tell. With scientific techniques and equipment at her disposal, she is able to truly understand how trees work and gain an insight into their secrets. She meets a designer with a microphone to hear the trees around her, and a scientist with 3D scanning technology reveals her favourite oak in a new light.  BBC One

Marion Roberts mentions this book (for adults) as one that inspired this story:

You might also enjoy A Good Day for Climbing Trees.

This book will be published in April, 2022. Thanks to Beachside Bookshop for my advance reader copy.