The Secret Diamond Sisters

December 23, 2013
There's more glitz than substance in this series opener from Madow, author of the self-published Transcend Time books. When Savannah, Courtney, and Peyton's alcoholic mother enters a rehab program, the sisters are whisked from California to Las Vegas to live with their rich, hotel magnate father, a virtual stranger, who seems primarily interested in cultivating his newfound image as a family man. The girls see little of him, but they are showered with lavish surprises: an ultraglam penthouse condo of their own, credit cards without spending limits, bodyguards, and plenty of boys ready to take them out. Each girl reacts to her posh new surroundings differently: naïve Savannah revels in it, sensible Courtney feels overwhelmed, and rebellious Peyton wants her old life back. Unfortunately, the plot, which consists of a series of shopping sprees, parties, and failed romances told from the girls' alternating perspectives, comes off as scattered and rushed. Questions about the girls' mother's condition and their father's long-term absence are addressed on only a surface level and left to later books. Ages 14âup. Agent: Molly Ker Hawn, the Bent Agency.