Reviews

The Diamond Girls by Jacqueline Wilson

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ptrobes's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Read this because I saw someone talk about it on TikTok or something. Interesting. Pretty depressing and realistic? No real plot but it was interesting meeting the Diamond Girls

elliec130's review

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4.0

Old favourite for me but just wanted to comment on the latest cover. I hate it as it presents one of my favourite characters, Jude as very boyish looking. While there's nothing wrong with a girl being boyish looking, I find it a little annoying that the one tough girl is so stereotypically mascuiline. Loved Wilson's books and still do but it just struck a nerve with me.

foreveralicexox's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

amber_hastings's review

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dark emotional funny hopeful relaxing sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

I feel like I barely blinked while reading this, it was so captivating. This was a book I'd have devoured as a child. It feels quite close to Illustrated Mum!
The characters and events of this story are unlikely to be shown in the same way in a children's book published now and I'd understand why. I'm sure the 'Uncle' character would be misconstrued as creepy at best. The portrayal of the daughter's teen pregnancy as a reflection of the mum's own teen pregnancy could be seen very negatively. And the mediations on mental health, particularly among mothers, was treated without a lot of depth.
But ultimately I 100% believed in these characters and their lives. I felt deeply invested in the Diamond family, in their mishaps and chaos and misunderstandings, and in the various ways the girls try to gain their independence from their mother as well as showing their fierce protectiveness of their mother.
I loved the character of Rochelle: pretty, overtly girlie, a z super smart. I'd have loved to read the book from her perspective. Or to have had Mary's perspective added as a dual point of view.
I ended the book feeling the same way as I always feel at the end of a Jaqueline Wilson: lives are messy, families and complicated and complex, and things often go wrong in our lives. But love prevails.