Favorite Quote from The Night Diary

Having students choose a favorite quote or dialogue from the book allows them to express which parts of the story resonated with them on a personal level. In this way, students are making a text-to-self connection that demonstrates their understanding of the characters and their development or the themes of the novel. Students can share their storyboards afterwards and have a short discussion about what the quote or dialogue means to them and why they chose it.

Some students may end up choosing the same quote or dialogue, but have different perspectives. This is always interesting for students to see and can open up a discussion as to how not everyone can read the same lines in the same way based on their own perspectives and personal experiences.

Examples of Quotes or Dialogues from The Night Diary

“Amil is only being all he knows how to be. But I guess Papa is, too. I guess we all are. It’s just that some people are better and being than others.”

“‘An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.’ Papa had used those words before. They were Gandhiji’s words.”

“Maybe if Papa finds out and her parents find out, they will see that we’re just two lonely girls who want to be friends. How could a friendship be dangerous?”

“It feels scary to talk, because once the words are out, you can’t put them back in. But if you write words and they don’t come out the way you want them to, you can erase them and start over.”

“Sometimes the world as you know it just decides to become something else.”

“Kazi tells me stories about you once in a while. I hardly ask him to tell me about you, though, because I’m afraid that the stories might run out. I want to save them, like a treat.”

“I had never wondered about being safe before. I just thought I was.”

“Were we just at the mercy of leaders who couldn't agree?”

“All that suffering, all that death, for nothing. I will never understand, as long as I live, how a country could change overnight from a line drawn.”

“I took in Kazi’s words, let them dance and twirl in my head, replayed them over and over like a beautiful piece of music.”

“Sometimes the world as you know it just decides to become something else. This is our destiny now.”