Diamond Boy - Michael Williams

My father says that a journey should always change your life in some way. Well, when you have nothing, I suppose a journey promises everything.


"Diamonds for everyone." That's what fifteen-year-old Patson Moyo hears when his family arrives in the Marange diamond fields. Soon Patson is working in the mines along with four friends, pooling their profits for a chance at a better life. Each of them hopes to find a girazi, a priceless stone that could change their circumstances forever. But when the government's soldiers come to Marange, Patson's world is shattered.


Set against the backdrop of Zimbabwe's brutal recent history, Diamond Boy is the story of a young man who succumbs to greed but finds his way out through a transformative journey to South Africa in search of his missing sister, in search of freedom, and in search of himself.


A high-stakes, harrowing adventure in the blood-diamond fields of southern Africa, from the critically acclaimed author of Now Is the Time for Running.

Michael Williams is a writer of plays, musicals, operas, and novels, and is the Managing Director of Cape Town Opera in South Africa. He is the author of several books, including the highly praised young adult novels Crocodile Burning and Now Is the Time for Running. He has written operas for young people based on African mythology as well as the libretti for symphonic operas that have premiered around the world. He finds writing fiction to be the perfect antidote to the drama of keeping an opera company alive in Africa.

Praise for Diamond Boy:

-VOYA (starred review)

*"[A] riveting tale...Williams draws from real events to bring this harrowing story to life, infusing Patson's narrative with terrifying accuracy. Along the way, the story crosses over with Williams's 2011 novel, Now Is the Time for Running, though readers need not be familiar with that book to be gripped and horrified by the troubles facing Patson and his nation."-Publishers Weekly (starred review)

-Kirkus Reviews

-SLJ

-Booklist

"Williams's portrayal of middle-class, cell phone-carrying African youth will give readers a different perspective on the modern continent, even as some of its people still cling to the belief in shavi, or luck granted by the ancestors. Patson's shavi is strong, but the diamonds' ability to either transform or destroy a life is something he continues to wrestle with through the very last page."-Horn Book

-The Bulletin

-Patricia McCormick, author of the National Book Award Finalist Sold