THE PARTITION PROJECT, by Saadia Faruqi, Quill Tree Books, Feb. 27, 2024, Hardcover, $19.99 (ages 8-12)
A girl learns about her grandmother’s experience of the Partition of India and Pakistan in The Partition Project, by Saadia Faruqi
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. —Synopsis provided by Quill Tree Books
The Partition Project is one of those books that seems simple at first but is packed with themes of family, heritage, childhood trauma, friendship, and personal growth and change. And author Saadia Faruqi weaves them perfectly together into an engaging and moving novel that would be a perfect classroom read.
The story unfolds through two voices — Maha’s and Dadi’s as she recounts her past.
Maha is a driven character who will not stop until she makes her mark. Unfortunately, she sometimes does this to the detriment of school and her friends. But Maha’s heart is in the right place, and it’s hard not to like her.
Dadi is harder to read. She’ll never be completely free of trauma from partition. It shaped the person she grew up to be. Through her interviews, you get a sense of the 12-year-old she once was, and through her interactions with Maha, she becomes a multilayered heroine.
Faruqi does an excellent job exploring two different time periods, providing a juxtaposition that makes it easier for readers to look beyond themselves. Her mentions to both The Night Diary, by Veera Hiranandani, and Inside Out & Back Again, by Thanhha Lai, provide further reading possibilities that tie into similar subjects.
The Partition Project is an excellent read. Faruqi’s writing is elegant and inviting. This is a book that will leave middle-readers and their parents feeling fulfilled.
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