The Diary of a Young Girl is the tale of Anne Frank and her time spent in hiding during the Nazi occupation of Holland during World War II. Funny Boy, by Selvadurai, is set during the civil war in Sri Lanka. Both Anne and Arjie are forced to go into hiding because of political conflicts that break out into war. Both are about the same age and are coming of age in the middle of turbulent times. Both think about their sexuality, and what sort of role they will or might play in the world.
