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 12-year-old 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 10, the youngest of the Diamond girls, and the narrator of the story. She was preterm birth 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