Diamonds in the Shadow

COONEY, CAROLINE B.

DIAMONDS IN THE SHADOW

Through their love for people, yet ignorance of the unknown, the Finch Family has joined alongside their church and opened their home to an African refugee family who are moving to Connecticut. The Amabo family of four– Andre, Celestine, Mattu, and Alake: father, mother, and teenage son and daughter– arrive in great hope as they have escaped the tyranny of Africa. What the Finch Family doesn’t know is that there are not just four refugees in this Amabo family, but five.

As the Amabo family, who have suffered unimaginable horrors, begin to adjust to a life of plenty in the Finches' suburban Connecticut home, the Finches are learning new lessons of “The Golden Rule”. The life adjustment for all seems flawless.

But the fifth refugee does not believe in good will. This lawless rebel has managed to enter America undetected. And the Amabo family has something of his--something that they agreed to carry into the country for him.

When Jared, the oldest Finch son, realizes that the good guys are not always innocent, he must make a decision that could change the fates of both the Finches and the Amabos. In this uncommonly penetrating story, Caroline B. Cooney presents a fresh perspective on how doing what is right can be most difficult.

THIS POWERFULLY MOVING STORY READS LIKE A THRILLER WITH A CRESCENDO OF A CLIMAX. THIS WAS MY SECOND READ THROUGH AND I WAS AS RIVETED AS THE FIRST TIME.

THE COMPLICATED PLOT UNFOLDS THROUGH THE EYES OF THE AMABO AND FINCH CHILDREN, EACH WITH THEIR OWN UNIQUE VIEWPOINTS. THE SUSPENSE BUILDS AS THE AMABO’S CAREFULLY CONSTRUCTED CHARADE BEGINS TO UNRAVEL AND JARED UNDERGOES A LIFE-ALTERING JOURNEY INTO ADULTHOOD.

THOUGH A DIFFICULT READ AT TIMES (REFERENCE TO A PAST RAPE AND VIOLENCE), I THINK IT IS A NECESSARY ONE.