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John Diamond

Leon Garfield

1980166 pagesabout 3–4 hours
1980
first published
  • 1980Kestrel Books · 180 pages · ENGISBN 9780722656198
  • 2001Farrar Straus Giroux · 177 pages · ENGISBN 9780374324506
  • 2004Elliott & Thompson Limited · 166 pagesISBN 9781904027324

Unsettling words from his dying father set twelve-year-old William Jones on a desperate search through darkest London for John Diamond, the son of a man his father apparently once cheated badly. In the course of his search, he encounters an odd assortment of characters, some of whom seem determined to kill him. Originally published in the United States as *Footsteps*, *John Diamond* combines a cast of remarkable eccentrics with superb sensory descriptions. This title was a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book.

How it feels

How it reads

Plot intensityEventful
Character focusSmall ensemble

Worth knowing

Written forChildren

When and where

Reading situationRead aloud
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