In Veera Hiranandani's Amil and the After, a tender companion to her 2019 Newbery Honor-winning The Night Diary, Amil, the fraternal twin of the first book's narrator, Nisha, takes center stage.
The family, nominally Hindu, is living in Bombay after Partition (the 1947 separation of India and Pakistan). Although Papa, 12-year-olds Nisha (a writer) and Amil (an artist), and their paternal grandmother, Dadi, are settled in a small apartment, their beloved Muslim cook, Kazi, must hide his identity. The immediate family, too, has a potentially dangerous secret: Papa was Hindu and Mama, who died during childbirth, was Muslim.
Readers of The Night Diary will likely find their appreciation for the first book enhanced by Amil's memories, though the boy's story stands sturdily alone. Amil's artistic skills grow throughout the novel, as shown by the naïve-style black-and-white line drawings by Prashant Miranda, who offers more details in each consecutive illustration. An extensive glossary and author's note provide background that may be essential in helping young readers understand the historical period in which this compelling novel takes place. --Melinda Greenblatt, freelance book reviewer