Amil and the After

A hopeful and heartwarming story about finding joy after tragedy, Amil and the After is a companion to the Newbery Award-winning novel The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani. At the turn of the new year in 1948, Amil and his family have started over in Bombay and are once again trying to rebuild their lives in independent India. Both Muslim and Hindu, twelve-year-old Amil is not sure what home means anymore. The memory of the long and difficult journey from his family’s 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 still feels lonely and uncertain. At Nisha’s suggestion, Amil begins to tell his story via drawings meant for their mother, who died when he was just a baby. Through Amil, readers witness the unwavering and resilient spirit of a young boy trying to make sense of a chaotic world and to find hope for himself, his family and a newly reborn nation.