The Diamond Girls - Hardcover

Wilson, Jacqueline

3.73

6,875 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385606079 ISBN 13: 9780385606073

Publisher: Doubleday Childrens, 2004

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Dixie is the youngest of the Diamond family. She and her sisters, dreamy Martine, glamorous Rochelle and tough Jude, could hardly be more different from each other but their Mum's tried to teach them the value of sticking together. Now Mum's expecting yet another baby and she's convinced this one's a boy. Time to move to a bigger place, she insists, and the girls scarcely have time to protest before they find themselves at their new house. It's rough, dilapidated and filthy and before they've even unpacked the furniture, Mum goes into labour! By the time Mum comes home with the new baby, Jude's been in a fight, Rochelle's found a new boyfriend and Martine's stormed off. Only Dixie stays loyally by Mum's side - so only Dixie spots her secret- Another slice of realistic contemporary life, from the UK's most popular children's author.

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Product Description:

The Diamond Girls:

Review:

The Diamond Girls is a wonderfully typical novel by Jacqueline Wilson. It has everything her fans expect... and demand. "A typical slice of real life," proclaims the jacket. "Tough on the outside, warm on the inside." It has some great characters, who talk like normal people talk, some tough moments, some heart-melting moments, a few teasing cliff hangers and a satisfying ending. Hoorah for consistency!

Dixie is the youngest of the Diamond girls and the narrator of the story. Her sisters--Rochelle, Jude and Martine are all very different and each have their owns needs, strengths and weaknesses. Together with their mum, heavily pregnant with baby number five, the family move to a rundown dream house that turns out to be anything but. It’s on the roughest estate ever, and is rough, dilapidated and dirty, with peeling wallpaper and rude words spray-painted all over the front door.

Disaster strikes immediately when Dixie’s mum goes into labour. Left to fend for themselves the sisters soon go their separate ways, despite their mum’s wise words that they should always stick together no matter what. Dixie is the only one who supports her mum when she comes back with Baby Sundance and helps to get the house put right and everybody back together. It’s a big task.

Books by Jacqueline Wilson come along at adoringly-appreciated rate of two a year now--one in the Spring, another in the Autumn. But to dismiss The Diamond Girls as yet another novel in a production line of kitchen-sink trauma-dramas is to vastly under-appreciate its immense value and worth. Importantly, with each new story, Wilson deftly chronicles, with insight and skill, the sort of life many children may experience either directly or indirectly. They’re entertainment, but there’s more to them than that. Wilson is a national institution! (Age 10 and over) --John McLay

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