Amil and the After

by Veera Hiranandani (Author)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade
A hopeful and heartwarming story about finding joy after tragedy, Amil and the After is a companion to the beloved and award-winning Newbery Honor novel The Night Diary, by acclaimed author Veera Hiranandani

At the turn of the new year in 1948, Amil and his family are trying to make a home in India, now independent of British rule.

Both Muslim and Hindu, twelve-year-old Amil is not sure what home means anymore. The memory of the long and difficult journey from their hometown in what is now Pakistan lives with him. And despite having an apartment in Bombay to live in and a school to attend, life in India feels uncertain.

Nisha, his twin sister, suggests that Amil begin to tell his story through drawings meant for their mother, who died when they were just babies. Through Amil, readers witness the unwavering spirit of a young boy trying to make sense of a chaotic world, and find hope for himself and a newly reborn nation.
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Hardcover
$17.99

Kirkus

Starred Review
A quietly brilliant, deeply insightful story of living in uncertain times.

ALA/Booklist

Starred Review
]Searingly emotional... the fast-paced, multifaceted plot will keep readers engaged while bringing them to a satisfying resolution.

None

Fans of the previous title will appreciate this compassionate and thoughtful continuation of the family's story, while new readers can experience Amil's account of hope and survivor guilt as a standalone volume. 

School Library Journal

Starred Review

Gr 4-6--Hiranandani's Newbery Honor-winning The Night Diary is a family's story of survival. This companion novel is about their struggle to recover after life-changing trauma. Amil, twin sister Nisha, their father, grandmother, and family cook Kazi endured a harrowing flight from their home after the 1947 partition of India and Pakistan. Now living in Bombay, the family struggles to build a new life amid social and political unrest. While Nisha finds solace through writing, Amil expresses himself through drawing. Miranda's spot art effectively conveys Amil's longing for all that he has lost. But at 12, he'd also love to have a bicycle and a friend. How he gains both embodies the novel's themes of hope amid chaos and how kindness can save a life. Kazi advises Amil and Nisha: "Imagine if every person who wasn't suffering helped one person who was." A glossary of South Asian terms, words, and names is included but hardly needed as Hiranandani effortlessly incorporates the tastes, sights, sounds, and history of India in engaging prose. Flashbacks to the first novel round out the narrative and allow this sequel to stand on its own. VERDICT Accessible and engrossing, readers unfamiliar with the historic partition of India and Pakistan will nevertheless readily relate to a boy's yearning for stability in tumultuous times. A first purchase for all middle grade collections.--Marybeth Kozikowski

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

Praise for Amil and The After
Amazon's Best Book of the Month (January 2024)

★ A tender companion to [Hiranandani's] 2019 Newbery Honor-winning The Night Diary... compelling.-  Shelf Awareness, starred review

★ Veera Hiranandani masterfully presents a powerful, unvarnished examination of difficult subject matter while paving the way forward with hope and love. - BookPage, starred review

Masterly... a book about hope, about a boy and his father, both hurt and vulnerable, navigating their traumas and finally surviving — apart and then together. - New York Times Book Review
Veera Hiranandani
Veera Hiranandani, author of the Newbery Honor-winning The Night Diary, earned her MFA in creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College. She is the author of The Whole Story of Half a Girl, a Sydney Taylor Notable Book and a South Asia Book Award finalist, and How to Find What You're Not Looking For, winner of the Sydney Taylor Book Award and the New York Historical Society Children's History Book Prize. A former editor at Simon & Schuster, she now teaches in the Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA Program at The Vermont College of Fine Arts.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780525555063
Lexile Measure
730
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Kokila
Publication date
January 23, 2024
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039250 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Emigration & Immigration
JUV013070 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Siblings
JUV016030 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | Asia
Library of Congress categories
History
Death
Families
India
Twins
Mothers
Drawing
Muslims
Bombay (India)
Autonomy and independence movements
Hindus
Hindu children
Political refugees
Muslim children
1947-
Amazon's Best Book of the Month (January 2024)

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