The Finch family has 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.

The Amabo family begins to adjust to life in the Finches’ suburban Connecticut home and there is a great deal of good will. 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. from www.carolinebcooney.com

Want to read Hungry Planet now and MORE of Cooney's books!!
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good read for young adults. ( )

Diamonds in the Shadow was very different in the context of the writing. It was harder for me to rate and harder to classify than other books. It's good and I liked it a lot. It had just as much to say about the American characters as it did about the African characters and things going on in Africa. It was imaginative in that respect. The characters were developed in an interesting way in that they each seemed to point out something that the author wanted to say. They weren't caricatures but they were, without a doubt, examples. Some seemed real and some seemed a little overboard but not so much that I didn't hesitate for a while to say that. Perhaps a few of the characters seemed over simplified but then that's the way one sees people when one isn't inside their head. The characters through whose point of view we could see were more complex. Whatever it was it was interesting and I liked it. The story certainly did a good job of saying what I thought the author wanted to say and I decided it was definitely getting four stars. I also just added a couple more of Ms. Cooney's books.

Came back for another comment. I liked the ending too - not the dramatic ending, although I was very glad for that - but the ending that was underneath that. There was plenty of story underneath the story. Now that I think about it, that was my favorite part. ( )

Powerful story, Caution: one scene is emotional brutal.

Jared Finch's family has agreed to house a refugee family from Africa. The Amabo family is being sponsored by Jared's church, and they will need a place to stay and get acquainted with American culture and how things work. When Jared learns that the Amabo's son Mattu has never heard of the Holocaust, he is amazed and explains. Mattu replies, "We have those in Africa. I have been in one." Jared notices problems immediately and becomes suspicious that perhaps this "family" is not actually a family. The Amabos do not talk or touch, and seem to care little for one another. The only belongings they brought were two boxes of cremated remains, and when Jared and his sister get nosy, they discover uncut diamonds in the ashes. The diamonds are meant to pay for guns through another refugee from whom they have escaped -- but he is hunting for them and danger appears with him. Caroline Cooney has created a mystery based on current events, including the use of "blood diamonds" to pay for African civil wars (weapons, armies, violence), and child soldiers. ( )