Review: Diamond Fever!

By Steve Sheinkin

New York : Roaring Brook Press, 2026. Informational. 243 pages.

You've probably heard of the gold rush, but have you heard of the Great Diamond Hoax of 1872? During the gold rush, prospectors and buisnessmen alike were in search of the next big score. While some found ways to make normal land seem like a literal gold mine, no one believed the same could be done with diamonds. That's until Phil Arnold and John Slack walked into the office of a business acquaintance and asked him to hold some precious stones for them overnight and the con snowballed until it involved major investors on both coasts buying into a salted "diamond mine" on the border of Colorado and Wyoming.

Steve Sheinkin is known for writing very interesting children's nonfiction and this book is no exceptions. Young readers will want to stay up past their bedtimes to find out whether or not the cousins were caught. Hand this to fans of true crime or the wild west. This one is a winner!

Comments

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