Diamond wasn’t always a star. Born to penniless parents who longed for a strong, healthy son, she was a dainty, delicate daughter – and a bitter disappointment. Discovering she has an extraordinary gift for acrobatics, Diamond uses her talent to earn a few pennies, but brings shame on her family. Then a mysterious, cruel-eyed stranger spots her performing, and makes a deal with her father. Diamond is sold for five guineas, and is taken to become an acrobat at Tanglefield’s Travelling Circus.
I’m liking
For some reason, I’ve been a bit sniffy about Jacqueline Wilson in the past. I’m not sure why – maybe it’s the brightly coloured, cartoon book covers? Maybe it’s the vast number of books she seems to produce? Anyway, Diamond was my first actual Wilson read, and I was very pleasantly surprised! Wilson’s style is engaging and the story moves along at a good pace.
But better than that, Diamond (and, I add, the other female characters in this book) is a strong, positive role model for girls. She faces a raft of challenges with strength of character, is loyal, and brave.
Things that made me go hmmmm
This book, like most of Wilson’s, is clearly set up as part of a series – Diamond’s best friend is Hetty Feather and she already has her own Wilson series. While this is not necessarily a negative thing, it does mean that I found the end of the book to be quite unsatisfying.
The conclusion
A solid read for 8-12ish year olds and it’s certainly made me add Jacqueline Wilson books to those that I will be keeping in mind for my girls as they get older.
