SuitabookDiamond boy
Michael Williams
- Reading
- Consider reading alongside the young person, checking in after scenes involving sudden violence or loss. Afterwards, use the glossary and historical material to separate the fictional journey from its real-world context.
- Themes
- The lure and cost of wealth: Patson’s family and friends enter the diamond fields hoping that a valuable stone will change their circumstances. The promise of wealth is presented as potentially corrosive, bringing pain as well as hope.
- Family, friendship and endurance: The book addresses family, friendship and endurance; the detail of how it is developed remains unclear. The book presents supportive relationships and perseverance as ways of enduring devastating setbacks, while also making room for grief and healing.
- Power, violence and displacement: Government soldiers arrive at the diamond fields, while the story depicts corruption, instability, threatened workers and people fleeing danger. Violence by powerful adults and institutions is presented as destructive, with ordinary people exposed to peril and upheaval.
- Worth knowing
- Approach it as an intense, potentially distressing read rather than a light adventure. Be ready to pause around sudden brutality, bereavement, sexual exploitation, strong language and references to alcohol and drugs.