The Diamond Girls

The Diamond Girls is a children's novel by Jacqueline Wilson. The protagonist and narrator is Dixie Diamond, the youngest (at the start of the novel) in a family of four sisters, who all have different fathers. Their mother Sue, pregnant with her fifth child, which she believes to be a boy, decides to move them from their flat on a council estate to a larger council house on the "Planet Estate." All her children are unhappy about this, especially the oldest, Martine, whose boyfriend Tony lives next door. As an avid believer in astrology, tarot cards, and destiny, Sue believes she knows her baby is going to be a boy, and that, regardless of her daughters' opinions, moving will be the best thing for the family. On the morning of the move, a man named Bruce (a work associate of Dixie's father) shows up with a van to transport their things. Martine at first insists she is going to stay with Tony, but Sue manages to persuade her to come temporarily, saying she needs her to help her look after the baby. Martine says goodbye to Tony, and Sue and her other daughters and Bruce (as well as some boys her second daughter Jude has persuaded to help) finish packing up the van. They leave, and although Sue is happy, she is crying. Dixie asks her if she is alright and Sue says she is, claiming this is the start of their brand new life.

She remains optimistic, but the excitement wears off her eventually. A little way into the journey, they stop at a service station to eat lunch. The bill comes to £36.99. Sue is irritated by the cost, and it becomes apparent that she has little money left in her purse, though she has to pay Bruce for moving their things. After they sit down, Sue tries to talk to Bruce, although he is quiet and unresponsive. Dixie, however takes a liking to Bruce, and begins calling him her uncle. She strikes up a conversation with him, but becomes upset when he reveals that her father Terry has a wife, Stella and three daughters, after Dixie asks him to talk about her father. 

The journey progresses, Sue and Dixie discussing their new house and the baby. They move through grim motorways for a long time, and they then branch off into a bleak town, full of ugly square buildings, torn down posters and scribbled over walls. Sue is disgusted by the appearance of the town, believing they are only passing through, although she does not see Bruce's grim expression. The girls, horrified, pay attention, looking around, especially Dixie, who is frightened. Sue remains oblivious, talking to Bruce and even to the baby. Bruce pulls up at a grim house, which is revealed to be theirs, on Mercury Street, number 30. The house is frightening and rundown, and is even more worse than their previous home on the Bletchworth Estate. Sue, horrified, panics, claiming their real house is different, that the girl who discussed moving houses with her down at the council showed her lovely photos of their real house, with a prettily painted house and flowers in the garden. Martine, disgusted by her mother's ignorance and stupidity, alerts her to the fact that the girl down at the council obviously showed her pictures of the house years ago, when it was brand new. She has a go at Sue, although Jude tells her to shut up. Sue, refusing to admit her huge mistake, goes through the house, which is equally filthy and unkempt. She phones the Housing Department, and desperately pleads her case to them, but they ignore her. Sue, giving in and angry, cries on the floor. Bruce, anxious to get back to his house, tries to get her and the girls to help, but they refuse, all except Dixie. As Sue pulls herself together and they start to clean up, Dixie goes over the wall at the back of the garden and into the garden of one of the rich, prettily painted houses, and makes friends with a little girl called Mary.

On Dixie's return, she helps Sue clean in the bathroom and explains what she has been doing, until they hear shouting. Dixie and Sue run outside, to see the middle two sisters, Jude and Rochelle arguing with a group of boys. Rochelle is angry because she is attracted to one of the boys and tried to flirt with him, but Jude intervened to protect her. Jude is angry because the boys are older teens hitting Rochelle, who is only twelve. After one fat boy insults Rochelle and Jude, Jude punches the boy, but is overpowered by the group, who slam her up against Bruce's van. The boy who Rochelle flirted with insults her and Jude says something rude back, and spits in his face. Bruce intervenes before the boy punches her, and the boys run off. Jude and Rochelle continue to argue, until Jude loses her temper and pushes Rochelle over. Rochelle sees the good looking boy is still watching her. Embarrassed and angry, Rochelle stands up and scratches Jude. Martine attempts to intervene, but Jude accidentally punches her in the shoulder and her attempt to end the fight is unsuccessful. Sue finally ends the fight by pouring a bucket of water over the girls, but they are all still furious, even Dixie. Sue's water breaks and Bruce drives her to the hospital along with Martine, leaving the younger three girls on their own in the new house. 

In the house, the sister discover the electricity is not working. Jude goes out for fish and chips, and also brings back a pack of matches. They eat, and Dixie suggests borrowing candles from her friend Mary. Jude and Dixie go to Mary's house, and ring the doorbell. A beautiful woman with curly blonde hair and cornflower blue eyes answers the door. She seems wary, at first thinking they are begging, but she does give them candles. As Dixie and Jude leave, Dixie hears the woman calling for Mary, and then the sound of a slap, and then somebody crying.

When Martine and Bruce return later in the evening, they explain that Sue has not had the baby yet, and Bruce fixes the electrics. He intends to leave for good, but when Dixie begins to cry, he promises to come back the next day to take them to see Sue and the baby in the hospital. Early in the morning, Dixie hears Martine being sick in the bathroom.

Sue returns the next day in a taxi with the baby, named Sundance after the Western film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Bruce arrives shortly after, with croissants and orange juice for breakfast, more food for lunch and tea, nappies for the baby and flowers for Sue. They clean up the house, and Dixie sneaks off to see Mary. Mary is evasive and quiet, and Dixie discovers that Mary's mother has cut her nails right back to the quick. Dixie does not know what to do, although she hates the way Mary is treated. 

Sue refuses to let Martine or the other girls help care for Sundance, claiming she is still bonding with him. Dixie eventually changes Sundance's nappy in secret one night when Sue is tired and sore. She is shocked to discover that "he" is actually a little girl. Dixie hides the nappy in the drawer of Rochelle's dressing table, desperate for Sue not to find out that she now knows the truth. She bumps into Martine, and tries to tell her about Sundance, but Martine refuses to listen, and goes upstairs to phone Tony. There is a knock at the door, and Dixie goes to answer it. Rochelle flounces in, and tells Dixie that Ryan – the good looking boy that Rochelle flirted with – is now her boyfriend. Dixie disapproves, and she says she is worried that Sue will find out, but Rochelle threatens that if she tells, she'll rip Bluebell's head off her shoulders. Rochelle goes off, and there is another knock at the door, and Dixie lets Jude in, whose nose and her knuckles are bleeding, and she reveals she has been in a fight when she went out, with some boys she came across. Bruce cleans her up, and worried about her, offers to teach her a martial art suited to women – and 'weedy blokes like [him]' – called Wing Chun. Jude accepts, and they begin practising the basic positions. Dixie leaves them and goes to see Sue, who is asleep, and confronts her with what she knows about Sundance. Sue initially refuses to acknowledge it, but finally admits the truth and begs Dixie to keep quiet. Dixie agrees.

Dixie continues to help Sue, but she is clearly unhappy with her secrecy. Dixie goes to visit Mary again, bringing her Barbie dolls with her to play with, but Mary is not in the garden. Instead, she encounters Mary's father, who is busy gardening with a pair of shears. He brings Dixie inside their immaculate house to eat lunch with Mary, who is in trouble for not eating her crusts. Mary's mother is clearly irritated and suspicious by Dixie coming over, but she pretends to be painstakingly polite. Dixie eats lunch with her, including sandwiches and cake. When she asks for a glass of water, thinking that if Mary's mother goes to get it, she can eat Mary's crusts for her, but Mary's father goes instead, Mary's mother staying looming over Mary. Mary's mother insists that she should go, but she wraps up some cake for her. Dixie dares to ask if they hit Mary, but they decline. Mary's dad ushers her out, explaining that from what Mary's mother tells him, Mary can be quite difficult. He reminds her that she has forgotten her Barbie dolls. Dixie dashes back for them, and is horrified to see Mary's mother pinching Mary's nose and ramming the crusts down her throat, so her head jolts back. Mary's mother notices her and makes a cruel, witty comment 'There! Mary's eaten up all her crusts like a good girl.' Dixie runs for Mary's dad, who praises Mary, but Dixie does not know if he's seen what happened. Dixie decides there is no point in telling, and grabs her Barbie dolls. She dumps the cake underneath a bush and runs back to her house.

Rochelle goes out to see Ryan, although Jude tries to stop her. Dixie tells Bruce and Jude that she thinks she knows why Rochelle might have gone. Dixie goes out to McDonald's with Bruce and Jude in Bruce's van, convinced that Rochelle and Ryan are going to get into trouble, or more accurately, she is worried that Ryan is going to hurt Rochelle. Ryan turns out to be harmless and good-hearted, but Bruce still demands that they come back to the house, especially after Dixie gets into a fight with Rochelle, and Rochelle and Ryan anger Jude. When they arrive back, Bruce is determined to get the furniture moved into the house properly and sorted out, saying that the girls 'need to be taken in hand'. Sue takes offence at it, even though Bruce meant no harm and only wanted to help. She shouts at him, but Dixie manages to calm her down. Sue quietens and nurses Sundance. Martine, Jude and Rochelle are staggered that Sue listened, as she is usually incapable of shutting up at all when she is on a rant. Martine refuses to help, claiming she has a stomach-ache, and Dixie agrees with this, saying that she heard her being sick in the night. She means to help, but Martine tells her to shut up.

They begin to move the furniture with Bruce's help, but whilst they are shifting Rochelle's dressing table into one of the bedrooms, the drawer with the nappy in it shoots out, and the nappy flies out and lands on Bruce. Trying to shake it out of his hair, he dodges sideways, hurting his back. He commandeers Sue's mattress, whilst she is forced to therefore relocate herself temporarily upstairs, until Bruce recovers. Dixie's sisters are irritated when Sue once again picks Dixie to help her look after Sundance. They ask her why, which turns into an argument, ending in Sue shouting at them to clear off.

The next morning, Dixie wakes up at dawn. She goes to help Sue, but she does not want her. She goes to Bruce and gives Sue her tea after she kindly makes Bruce a cup, but stops when she hears Martine being sick. Sue, angry, goes to speak to Martine. An argument breaks out. Dixie goes back down to Bruce, and says that she thinks Martine is going to have a baby. Bruce, horrified, says how she is mucking up her life. Martine hears him and begins insulting him. Sue attempts to put Martine in her place, saying how she is going to be the one looking after her and her baby, even though it is hard enough managing her own children. The tables are turned, completely, however, when Martine says Sue can't even look after herself, let alone the rest of them. She reminds her all the boyfriends who have left her, including the one-night stand who fathered Sundance, and whose name she probably didn't even know, and that she doesn't believe the story she spun about him being an artist. She even goes as far as calling her a slag. Afterwards, Martine packs up her stuff and leaves to go back to Bletchworth and live with Tony.

Sue refuses to speak or listen to any of her children, although she is deeply grateful when Bruce sticks up for her, saying that she is not a slag at all, and that she is a great mother to her children, no matter what Martine says. Sue attempts to contact Tony's mother, but she only finds out that Martine is with her, before Ms Wingate cuts off the phone.

After Dixie invites Mary over to their house, she gives her Bluebell, feeling sorry for her.

Later, worrying that Mary's mother will have binned her like she did Mary's teddy bear, she goes into Mary's garden to see Mary standing at her bedroom window in her nightgown. It is clear she is in trouble. She is relieved to see she is holding Bluebell. Mary tries to say something, but Dixie cannot hear her. Dixie watches as Mary opens the window, and with horror remembers the words she said to Mary when she gave her Bluebell, just before she went home All you have to do is jump into the air and Bluebell will flap her wings and you'll both fly into my arms. Terrified, Dixie runs forward to catch Mary before she falls.

She later wakes up in hospital, to find her sisters, Sue, Bruce and even her father gathered around her, Martine holding Sundance. It is revealed that she has been in a coma and that she has broken both her legs. Martine says she came back to them because Dixie was hurt, but also because she has left Tony after him and his mother insulted her and her family. Dixie is worried for Mary, but it is revealed that she is staying with her aunt and uncle after Mary's mother, who has post-natal depression, which caused her cruel behaviour to Mary, is now in the psychiatric ward in hospital. Sue then reveals that Sundance is a girl, not a boy, and Dixie says that she knew along. Sue says that she wanted to stay in her own little world, despite all the drama in their household, Rochelle getting a boyfriend, Jude fighting, Martine getting pregnant (where Martine reveals that she is going to keep her baby) and that it took Dixie getting nearly dying to shock her back into her senses, and adds 'About blooming time and all!'. Martine says then, that maybe her baby will be a boy – Sue's first grandson. Sue says that they'll love it whether it's a boy or it's a girl, but hopes that it will be a girl: then they'll all be Diamond girls together.

Characters

Sue Diamond
Sue Diamond is the mother of the four (later five) Diamond girls. She has always had a poor relationship with her mother, who as Sue put it 'always said I'd go to the bad'. Sue was the girlfriend of Dave, who she was with in Year Ten. She became pregnant when she was sixteen. Although Sue was thrilled that she was pregnant with Martine, her mother was furious. Dave initially tried his best to support Martine and Sue, but left her when he was unable to cope raising a child. Two years later, she met Dean. He was a good boyfriend at first, and he tried to be a father to Martine. He could be very sweet and tender with Sue and her, but he could be 'a tricky guy, especially if he was crossed'. Dean later became abusive towards Sue, which caused her to leave him. Sue then met Jordan, who was very handsome, and as Sue said, he was musically talented 'and would have been a real star in the music world if he'd only had the right breaks'. Jordan later got into drugs, and took an overdose when Rochelle was two. Sue was contacted by the police of Jordan's death, and was devastated. After Jordan's death, Sue was struggling to cope with her grief. Terry, an embalmer, was compassionate towards her and spent time talking to her and organising the funeral arrangements. Upset and unable to think straight, Sue had a one-night stand with Terry. Dixie was born shortly after.

Personality: She is apparently quite promiscuous and at their original estate, Bletchworth, was referred to as a slag. All of her children have different fathers, and Sue probably has forgotten the name of Sundance's father, or as Martine observes, 'maybe she didn't even know it in the first place'. Her disreputable behaviour notwithstanding, she genuinely loves her daughters and does have some reasonable excuses, such as death or abuse, for parting with her previous boyfriends. She has thick black hair and wears short skirts. She chose unusual names for her daughters to make up for her own common name, where Dixie suggests she changes the spelling to be less common, such as 'Sioux', the name of a Native American tribe.

The characters listed below are the main characters and the daughters of Sue Diamond:

Martine Diamond
Martine is the oldest of the Diamond girls, aged sixteen. Her mother met her father Dave in Year Ten- when Dave got Sue pregnant, he tried to be a father to Martine, but left because he was unable to cope. At first, Martine is reluctant to leave because she does not want to be away from her boyfriend, Tony. However, after her sister Sundance is born, Martine decides to stay. At the end of the book it turns out she is pregnant. She has her mum's thick black hair, but dyes hers blonde, and because her mum wears short skirts, she wears low slung jeans. Martine tries to take care of Sundance, her baby brother (sister), but as there is a secret involved only Dixie knows, mother Sue makes sure to have the baby away from the rest of the family, which sadly is one of the reasons why Martine escapes, although she returns at the end of the book after hearing about Dixie's accident. She decides to keep her baby of fear.

Jude Diamond
Judy "Jude" is the next oldest, aged fourteen. She is small, but very tough and streetwise. Although not pretty, Jude is clever, although she does not particularly try hard at school. Her father, Dean, was abusive towards Sue, and even though she states that 'he could make my heart melt' she had to leave him. She is Dixie's favourite sister, and is very protective of Dixie. She often gets into fights with boys (including Rochelle's boyfriend Ryan). She is also taught Wing Chun by Bruce, and is the second sister to warm up to him after Dixie.

Rochelle Diamond
Rochelle is the third daughter at the beginning of the novel. She is girly and flirtatious. She has long blonde curly hair, a heart-shaped face and pouty lips, and likes to wear revealing, tight and sparkly clothes. After they move to their new house she begins dating a sixteen year old boy named Ryan. Her father was an aspiring musician called Jordan who died of a drug overdose when she was two.

Dixie Diamond
Dixie is ten, the youngest of the Diamond girls, and the narrator of the story. She was born prematurely and remains small and skinny. Her father is an embalmer called Terry, who Sue met while she was arranging her previous boyfriend Jordan's funeral. Terry is married to a woman named Stella and has three young daughters with her. He rarely talks to Dixie or contacts her; however, at the end of the book he visits Dixie in hospital and says he wants to introduce her to her half-sisters. Dixie has a toy budgie called Bluebell, who she keeps up her cardigan sleeve. She befriends six-year-old Mary, who is abused by her mother.

Bruce
Bruce is a working friend of Terry, and at first keeps asserting that he is 'not Terry's mate'. Bruce is described as having a bad haircut, glasses and a sweet but goofy smile. He owns a florist's shop called 'Freda's Flowers', which his mother Freda ran before she died. He treats Dixie like a niece and she in return adores him. Bruce damages his already bad back moving furniture in the Diamonds' new house, and has to stay at the Diamond residence while he is unable to walk or sit up. It is suggested he and Sue might begin a romantic relationship. Dixie calls him 'Uncle Bruce'.

Mary's father
Mary's father is a kind man, and is seemingly unaware of the treatment that his wife cruelly gives to Mary. He is told that Mary can be quite difficult, but he otherwise seems oblivious, although at the end of the book he told Sue that his wife had PND and that she had gone to hospital, in the psychiatric ward, because of her mental state, whilst Mary goes to live with her aunt and uncle.

Mary's mother
Mary's mother abused Mary because of a long post-natal depression, according to her husband. Although beautiful (with long shoulder-length blonde curly hair and cornflower blue eyes) and seemingly sweet and kind on the outside, she is inwardly made cruel by her PND, and treats Mary very badly. She forced Mary to eat crusts by stuffing them down her throat, cut her nails back to the quick, slapped her for befriending Dixie and threatened to cut out her tongue when she told a friend about her mother hurting her. She initially treats Dixie with kindness when she comes to her door with her sister Jude asking for candles, but she is taciturn and visibly cold and unpleasant when Dixie, who has befriended Mary, comes round to her house to play, obviously suspicious, and irritated by Dixie's friendliness and persistence, although Mary's father approves of Dixie and her kindness. She ends up in hospital, in the psychiatric ward, because of her mental state, at the end of the book.

Mary
Mary is a six-year-old with long blonde hair, which is worn in plaits. Although she looks immaculate on the outside, her mother has post-natal depression, and is abusive towards her as a result of her illness. She befriends Dixie, who witnesses the abuse. Mary is afraid of Dixie at first, but gets used to Dixie and her family. After her mother is admitted to a psychiatric ward because of her PND, Mary goes to live with her aunt and uncle.

Ms Diamond
Ms Diamond is mentioned briefly. She is Sue Diamond's mother. She always had a poor view of her daughter, and 'always said [she'd] go to the bad.' She was later furious when Sue, only sixteen, becomes pregnant with Martine, after Sue went out with Dave, her first boyfriend, in Year Ten. She virtually disowned Sue and her grandchildren, as Rochelle says she never sent them birthday and Christmas presents, and Jude says 'She didn't like [them] much anyway.' She is also, as Jude reveals, dead.

Ms Wingate
Ms Wingate was Tony's mother. She and Tony lived next door to the Diamonds, at number 113 on the North Block on the Bletchworth Estate, which gave Martine, his girlfriend, the ability to go over nearly every single day to see Tony. Martine initially refused to come with her family when they moved to the Planet Estate, but Sue eventually persuaded her to come, saying she needed her to help with the baby. When Dixie and Sue discovered Martine was pregnant, Sue and Martine argued, before Martine packed her things and went back to the Bletchworth Estate to live with Tony. Ms Wingate hated Sue and once had an argument with her, Martine joining in, outside their flat, before the Diamonds moved house. She also briefly (and with clear reluctance) told Sue that Martine was with them after Martine left the Diamond's new house, before cutting off the phone. After Martine had an argument with Tony and Ms Wingate, she left to go and live with the Diamonds again for good.

Tony Wingate
Tony was Martine's former boyfriend. He lived with his mother in number 113 on the North Block of the Bletchworth Estate, next door to the Diamonds. Martine initially refused to go with the Diamonds when they moved house, but Sue eventually persuaded her to come, saying she needed her to help her look after the baby. After Dixie and Sue found out Martine was pregnant, Sue and Martine had an argument, before she left to live with Tony on the Bletchworth Estate. After she had an argument with Tony and Ms Wingate, Martine left to live with the Diamonds again, dumping Tony. Martine falls pregnant with Tony as the father, which creates mass argument between all the diamond girls.

Ryan
Ryan is a boy who was in the gang that Jude fought. He is good looking, with an earring, dark curly hair, and a black scarf, like a pirate. He soon becomes Rochelle's boyfriend. He and Rochelle meet up at McDonald's, but Dixie, worried for Rochelle's safety, follows them, although Ryan turns out to be harmless and goodhearted.

References

External links
 The Diamond Girls at Fantastic Fiction

Category:2004 British novels
Category:British children's novels
Category:Novels by Jacqueline Wilson
Category:2004 children's books