Diamond (novel)

Diamond was written by children's writer Jacqueline Wilson and illustrated by Nick Sharratt.^[1] It is the fourth novel in Wilson's Hetty Feather series, following Hetty Feather (2009), Sapphire Battersea (2011) and Emerald Star (2012).^[1][2][3] Diamond, the titular character of Diamond, debuted as a character in Emerald Star.^[4] Diamond is told through the titular character's point of view. ^[2] It is set in Victorian England in the 1890s.^[5] Wilson and her publishers believed that Emerald Star would be the final book in the series, but after Wilson finished writing the novel, she began thinking about Diamond, who she regarded as a "lovely character".^[4] The author initially thought she would write a short novel about Diamond, but it became a "huge long book" instead as there was a lot that she wanted to write about the character when Wilson got into the story.^[4]

Diamond was originally released on 26 September 2013 in hardcover by Doubleday, part of Penguin Random House.^[6] To celebrate the launch of the novel, two child members of The Guardian website dressed up as Hetty and Diamond and interviewed Wilson.^[4] A trailer for the novel was released in September 2013.^[7] A video of Wilson promoting the book was also released on her the official Jacqueline Wilson YouTube channel.^[8] The paperback version of the novel was published in 2014.^[1][9]

Wilson believed in 2013 that she would write a sequel to the novel, explaining, "There's a very strong hint at the end of Diamond, that they are going to have a whole new career, maybe on the musical stage. It is fun for me to find out what happens to them all".^[4] However, she said that she was focussing on writing several other novels first.^[4] Wilson later wrote a sequel, Little Stars, which was published in October 2015.^[10][2] Little Stars was written from Hetty's point of view but featured Diamond a lot in the story, as Wilson's audience was divided when they would like the next novel in the series to be about Hetty or Diamond.^[2]

On 13 October 2013, Diamond was listed third in the children's section of the Sunday Independent Bestsellers' list.^[11] A week later, it was fourth on the list.^[12] In December 2013, Diamond was considered by the Irish Independent to be one of the best children's books "on the market" to give to children for Christmas.^[13]

A reviewer from The Guardian called the novel "absolutely perfect" with no flaws, praising its character development and believing that it can be "appreciated by any age group".^[14] However, another reviewer from the same website was more critical of the novel due to the story's lack of multicultural characters and the reader's belief that the novel does not "reach to point out many problems in society", though she acknowledge that she enjoyed it more when she first read it at the age of 12.^[15] The novel had a more favourable reception from another The Guardian reviewer, who wrote that the "great" book made her cry, adding, "In this truly amazing story there is hardship, love and cliffhangers", and that she was looking forward to the next story in the series.^[16]

A reviewer from Worcester News praised the novel, recommending it for people to be entertained; she wrote, "I have enjoyed reading this book as much as I did the rest of the Hetty Feather series. I love the character of Hetty, as she is very cheeky at times! I think that Diamond will still be featured in the next book as she and Hetty are now good friends! The end of this one left me hoping that there will be another in the series very soon."^[17] Rochelle Gribble from Kiwi Families called Diamond a "solid read for 8-12ish year olds" that had made her "add Jacqueline Wilson books to those that I will be keeping in mind for my girls as they get older"; she praised Wilson's engaging style and the pace of the story, in addition to Diamond (and other female characters) for being a "strong, positive role model for girls" who "faces a raft of challenges with strength of character, is loyal, and brave", although she found the ending to be a bit unsatisfying due to the novel being part of a series.^[18]

Caroline Sanderson from Books for Keeps had mixed opinions on the novel, concluding that "Diamond is not a class act perhaps, but you still won't want to walk out before the finale".^[19] She criticised the novel for being "baggy", adding that the "dialogue is often stilted and its plot is paper-thin in places", and she also questioned why Wilson had chosen to write about Diamond rather than Hetty, as Sanderson believed that Hetty was the "most dominant and appealing character for the second half of the book anyway".^[19] Sanderson also believed that Wilson was being "rather cavalier" as she did not touch on the welfare of the circus animals in the novel enough, which Sanderson believed that the readers would care about.^[19] However, the reviewer also praised Wilson's writing, calling the author a "charming and dependable performer that there is of course still much to enjoy here, particularly with such a colourful troupe of circus artistes. I enjoyed her evocation of the sights and sounds of the big top".^[19] She added, "This is assuredly an author never short on delicious new tricks with which to delight her fans".^[19]

Elizabeth Hawksley from the Historical Novel Society enjoyed the novel, writing, "Though Diamond's early life is horribly tough, and life in the circus is not much better, it probably echoes how many poor Victorian children had to live. And I loved the glimpse into circus life with the lions, the elephants, sea-lions and acrobatic monkeys. Girls of eight plus should love it."^[5] Hawksley compared Madame Adelaide to a grandmother due to her taking Diamond under her wing and opined that Hetty was "wonderful and brave" whilst calling Mr Marvel "kindly".^[5] The reviewer also wrote, "What Jacqueline Wilson is very good at is depicting children who find love and support even in the most desperate circumstances. She shows that an unhappy child like Diamond can create her own family, knitted together from all sorts of people".^[5] She also added that Hetty helps teach Diamond that she can escape from difficult situations with the help of good friends "if you are proactive, courageous, and willing to work hard".^[5]