Customer Reviews

Diamonds in the Shadow

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
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Diamonds in the Shadow begins in a church committee meeting that Jared Finch-much to his surprise-is requested to attend. The church has sponsored a refugee African family of four, and their planned accommodation has fallen through. The Finch family has volunteered to house them for several weeks, much to Jared's disgust. As far as he is concerned, he hasn't signed up to anything, and it is his bedroom, as well as that of his sister Mopsy's, that is being volunteered.

The family eventually arrives. A disgruntled Jared does his best to overcome his unwillingness. His mother and sister are filled with boundless and cringe-inducing enthusiasm. His father, already bogged down in the implications of a church financial scandal involving a close friend, is completely detached. And this is one bizarre refugee family.

Independently of each other, both Jared and Mopsy begin to realize that something very strange is going on under the surface. The behaviour of the Amabo family members towards each other does not make sense, and clearly, the entire family is absolutely terrified of something, or someone. This knowledge draws Jared and Mopsy together, and begins to make them both curious and protective towards the children, Mattu and Alake. Surprise after surprise awaits them as the dark secrets of this unusual family begin to be uncovered.

This is a wonderful read, full of sparkling humor, top class teenage `attitude,' and gripping suspense. It is a book that can be enjoyed by both teenage and adult readers alike.

Armchair Interviews says: This book will make you laugh, and you won't want to put it down.

I've been a fan of Caroline B. Cooney ever since reading The Face on the Milk Carton years ago. That being said, I was thrilled when I saw she has a new book, DIAMONDS IN THE SHADOW.

True to her contemporary style, Cooney brings in a current events issue - the unexplainable violence taking place in some areas of Africa today. This new book focuses on a group of African refugees coming to the United States to begin living safer and more enriching lives.

Four of the refugees - a father, mother, and two teenage children - are welcomed at the airport by the Finch family. The family's church is sponsoring the refugees and will provide them with a place to live and help in adjusting to life in America. The fifth refugee is met at the airport in New York, but is headed for a new life in Texas.

Not everyone is happy about the new living arrangements. The Amabo family was originally supposed to have their own apartment with the church volunteers helping out as needed. However, an apartment was not available, so they are moving in with the Finches. High school student, Jared Finch, is not at all pleased with this change in plans. His mother may be all excited about teaching this new family the ways of America, but sharing a room was not part of the arrangement.

Celestine Amabo is anxious to start learning about her new surroundings. She is a quick study as Mrs. Finch takes her shopping and teaches her about cooking and cleaning. Andre Amabo's adjustment is hampered by the fact that the uncontrolled violence in Africa resulted in the loss of both of his hands. Instead of learning to work, he is spending time visiting doctors who hope to create at least one artificial hand, enabling him to help in the support of his family.

Jared and Martha (Mopsy) Finch take on the task of helping the two African teenagers deal with school and their new American lives. Mattu adjusts quickly, but Alake doesn't seem to see or hear anything that goes on around her. Jared Finch is suspicious about these strangers right from the start. He doesn't believe they are really family. There doesn't seem to be an emotional or loving connection between any of them.

While the Finch family is working hard to adjust to their new guests, the fifth refugee is in Texas trying to find out where the Amabos are living. It appears that someone in the refugee "family" has something valuable that belongs to him. Is he looking for something related to two mysterious boxes supposedly containing the cremated remains of Mattu's grandparents? Can he find them and will everyone be in danger when he does?

Caroline B. Cooney succeeds once again with a YA novel filled with suspense and action. Adding the current event topic of the African refugee situation, along with the struggle of Americans to understand and help those in need, creates much to think about in DIAMONDS IN THE SHADOW.

Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"

When the apartment that the Amabo family was to stay in falls through - Jared is forced to share his bedroom with Mutto - their teenage son. He is not very happy about this -not happy at all. Mopsy, Jared's younger sister, is overjoyed at the fact that their teenage daughter Alake will be bunking with her.

The Amabo family are refugees from Africa. They have received passage to the states and are being sponsered by Jared's church. They will help to give them training and find jobs - but there is trouble from the start. The biggest being that the fifth refugee on the plane doesn't like not being in control. Then Andre Amabo, the father, has had his hands chopped off during the war in Africa - one at the wrist, the other at the elbow. Alake doesn't speak - and doesn't appear to hear either. She has to be prodded to even eat. And what is up with Mattu and the two cardboard boxes that contain the ashes of his grandparents?

Jarod doesn't believe in the same God that his parents do, and that the Amabo's seem to also. He feels praying is a waste of time. But while the Amabo's are staying with them, his reality begins to change. He finds that doing things for other people really isn't that much trouble. He discovers that his younger sister isn't so annoying, but has great insight and can even be trusted. And he discovers what secrets the ashes of Mattu's grandparents contain. What he does with that information will decide the fate of both families - but will he make the right choice?

This would be a great book for middle schoolers and maybe early high school. It is well written, but seems a little simplistic for older than that. I would not recommend it for younger thatn middle school because of some of the violence that it describes.

People are not who or what you expect in this book - and that helped to make it a quite a page turner. I was able to read it in just two sittings.

Diamonds in the Shadow by Caroline B. Cooney is the story of the African refugee Amabo family and their hosts the Finch family. The Finch family agrees to take on the refugees after an apartment rented by the church for them falls through. Jared, the eldest son, is disgusted to have to share his room with a complete stranger, as well as his home. Mopsy, the eleven-year old daughter, can't wait for the Amabos to arrive in hopes that their daughter will be the sister she's longed for. But when the Amabos arrive, things aren't quite what they seem. The parents ignore their teenage "children". Mattu, the boy, is eloquent and immediately falls in love with the opportunities and excess of American culture. Alake, the girl, is oddly silent and unkept. No one notices the girl's distress except for Mopsy who takes the African under her wing and decides to fix her. The Amabos are hiding many secrets that could endanger not only themselves but the Finches as well. This was my first Caroline B. Cooney book; she's one of my daughter's favorite authors, and after reading this book I can see why. Her portrayal of Jared as the typical teen is uncannily accurate: he's selfish and narcissistic one moment and compassionate and generous the next. He's the only one to look beneath the surface of the Amabos and see the lies hiding there. Mopsy is very naive and innocent, and many in her life take that for immaturity, but when she decides to love Alake, she becomes the only link the saves their entire family. Alake is hiding a terrible secret; her "family" knows, and they shun her for it. In America, she attends church and begins to learn about God, but the more she learns, the more she believes that what she's done is unforgivable. The culture shock experienced by both families is realistic and profound. I was impressed at the depth to the plot and issues addressed. When my daughter, Molly, finished reading it, we talked a bit about the choices both families made. It made her consider what she would do had she been in Alake's place. Any book that opens up communication between a parent and child gets my vote as a terrific read! The final scene between Alake and her mother brought tears to my eyes. It, as well as the rest of the book, was powerfully written.

Diamonds in the Shadow is a curious mix of deep thinking and shallow characters. The American characters all seem to be caricatures of middle class America, Jared is a typical, sullen teen, and Mopsy is a flighty, air-headed sister. The mom is constant movement and ready to solve everyone's problems and of course, the dad is absent and distracted most of the time. The American characters were boring but the book was worth reading however, presenting some heavy questions.

The Finch family houses an African refugee family for a few months and quickly Jared and Mopsy become suspicious of what Mattu has brought in his suitcase and who these Africans really are and whether they are even a family.

Andre has had both hands cut off before leaving Africa, Alake was forced to kill her teachers and watch her family be killed, Mattu was forced to kiss the machete responsible for so much violence to prove his allegiance. Continually the book forces the reader to answer why a good and just God would allow such horrible things to happen.

Author Caroline B. Cooney masterfully illustrates the terror of war and how it vastly differs from the simplicity of suburban life in the United States. When Jared's family hosts a refugee family from war-town Africa, he doesn't want to share his room or his life. Mopsy, his little sister, is thrilled to host Alake, hoping she'll be her best friend. Both Jared and Mopsy are surprised at the strange family that comes to live in their home.

Jared realizes the refugees don't act like a normal family, but his parents accept the refugees' pretense. His parents enjoy teaching the refugees the conveniences of American life.

The refugee family brought only two boxes of cremated ancestors with them and no other luggage. Jared and Mopsy discover raw diamonds in the boxes and find themselves trapped in an evil plan to ruin the refugee family's freedom and future.

Unable to escape the pain of their previous lives, the refugee family discovers true freedom with grace, forgiveness, and peace. Jared and his family bond from the surreal experience. This eye-opening mystery-thriller is sure to please both teen and adult readers.

Review by Jill Williamson

Jared is annoyed. He gets that people like to be do-gooders in the world, but why his family? And why dangerous African refugees? As he understands it, there are no good guys in a civil war, so how was he supposed to get excited about sharing his bedroom with a teenage soldier who may or may not have killed?

Yet his parents sign up to house a family of four African refugees. The dad has no hands, the daughter is a mute, and none of them have ever used a phone, gone to a supermarket, or driven a car. Yet Jared can't help but be impacted by what he learns of this family's life. And when a dangerous fifth refugee finds the family, what will Jared do when he realizes that the good guys are not always innocent?

This was a fascinating read. I knew little about African refugees and I thank Ms. Cooney for shedding light on the subject. This book was fabulous, first from Jared's realistic and hysterical teenage boy voice, to the awe America provided for the Africans, to the suspenseful plot with the fifth refugee. This book is gripping and really makes you think for days. Highly recommended.

The "Diamonds in the Shawdows" is about a family (the Fitches) that adopts another family (the Algoma) from Africa. There are five refuges that get off a plane but only four refuges make it to the Finche's house. They later relize that the fifth refuge is trying to kill them. Are the families in trouble? This book is fiction and I would recommend it for ages 12 and up!This book is an action-packed thriller that will grab your attention. It has a lot of suspence, many twists and turns, and you will never put it down! If I were to rate " diamonds in the shawdows" then i would give it 5 out of 5 stars because it was a good book that was easy to read yet mind challenge itself to understand it.

The Finch Family doesn't have a large house and when his parents agree to host a family of African refugees, Jared knows he'll have to share his room. Not that he's selfish or anything, but did anyone think to ask him? The Amabo family arrive, and they're not exactly what anyone expected. For one thing, Andre, the father has no hands. The rebels chopped them off. Mattu the teenage son has a long machete scar running down his cheek, and the daughter doesn't speak. Not only that, they seem to be afraid. A mysterious fifth refugee from the plane appears to have evil designs on the Amabo family. Teenagers will love this book. So did I. Recommended

Diamonds in the Shadow is a mystery of what happens to an African Refugee family when they end up living with a Connecticut family after an apartment falls through. The church was looking for a family to take in the Amabo family until they can find another apartment for them to stay. The Finch family had agreed to take the four of them.

Jared Finch does not want to share his room or his life with a boy he knows very little about. Although, his eleven-year old sister, Mopsy, is eager to have the sister she had always dreamed of. She said, "It'll be like sleepovers every night." When the Amabo family arrives, the Finches find out there are more problems than expected. Andre's hands were cut off, making it hard to find him a job and Alake does not speak a word. Other problems arose because Mattu carried his grandparent's ashes all the way from Africa. Celestine, the mom, and Andre, the dad, also do not pay much attention to their children, which creates a suspicion to Jared. The Finches help Andre and Celestine find jobs as well as help teach them everything they will need to know to make it on their own. They are also teaching Mattu how to drive.

As the book continues, a fifth refugee, a killer, is revealed and the Amabos have something he wants. He is a threat to the Amabos and the Finch family. Alake will be forced into a dangerous situation where everyone's life will change.

The fast paced, action filled mystery by Caroline B. Cooney will keep you wanting to read more. This is one of her best books ever. The plot helped me learn about different cultures and the struggles we overcome everyday as well as what other cultures have had to forget.