The Occasional Diamond Thief

A young woman turns to petty thievery and is soon involved in complicated affairs of faith and state in this thoughtful but muddled SF offering. Sixteen-year-old Kia Ugiagbe has a gift for languages and wants to be a professional translator, but in order to afford the College of Translators, she must steal the occasional piece of jewelry. This brings her to the attention of the powerful Order of Universal Benevolence, which offers her a choice: travel with one of their Selects to the planet Malem and act as an interpreter, or go to prison for her crimes. On Malem, Kia faces the sins of the past, such as the stolen Malemese diamond her father bequeathed her on his deathbed. Though McLachlan’s story starts off strong, it gets bogged down in philosophical matters of life and death once she reaches Malem, and the obvious solution to Kia’s dilemma is constantly overlooked (she never bothers to investigate the unfamiliar name her father says as he dies). There’s a welcome ethnic diversity to the cast, but this tale never quite reaches its full potential. Ages 12–up. (May)