Rating: 
Summary: Great little nugget of a book
Review: A fine book buried behind a lousy cover and poor marketing, "Diamond Dogs" is a real treat that I might easily have over-looked had a friend not mentioned it to me. It is the engaging narrative of Neil, a high school football star from a troubled family who, after a night of drinking and recreational cruelty, accidentally kills a classmate. His father, the local police chief of their Nevada town (just outside of Las Vegas) disposes of the body without even talking to Neil, and thus begins three days of tension and mayhem.Some of the elements of "Diamond Dogs" are a bit over-cooked. I found the father's obsession with Neil Diamond more gimmicky than believable, which is too bad because the rest of the father/son relationship is drawn brilliantly. I found Neil's problems with his father, his yearning for his long-departed mother, and his relationships with his friends and girlfriends both believable and moving. Neil is not a particularly likable character, but what makes this novel so compelling is that Alan Watt had built him around an utterly irresistible narrative voice. I was hooked from the first page, and I just kept on reading. I don't know if it is true, but I have heard a rumor that Watt wrote this novel in six weeks. If that is the case, I tip my hate to him and bow in awe. Even if it is not the case, I am very impressed and I look forward to more good things from this talented young author.
Rating: 
Summary: Disgusted!
Review: A friend of our family's has a daughter in middle school. She happened across this book one day in her school's library in order to read it for Accelerated Reader. When I saw just the first few pages I was so disgusted it almost made me sick. For this book to be in a library where children can read it is totally irresponsible, neglectful, and downright innaprpriate! I gave this book only one star because it would'nt let me give. We REALLY need some sort of a rating system for literature just as we do movies or video games. That way I could teach my child that they could only get books that were appropriate to their age and maturity. It saddens me that this is what we are putting in our children's hands. As if the world isn't scary enough now, we have to make reading a sex ed lesson. Reading is supposed to be an adventure that can relax and teach young readers to enjoy reading. I'm not sure I want my child to learn ANYTHING from this book! Therefore if your reading this trying to decide whether to buy this book for your child i implore you PLEASE PLEASE reconsider or at least get it and read it yourself first.Then if you still think it's ok, then buy it. Thank you
Rating: 
Summary: whoop whoop whoop
Review: Diamond Dog by Alan Watt was an attention-grabbing book. The book is about a young boy named Neil Garvin who kills another young boy named Ian Curtis. Neil panics after killing Ian and throws him into the trunk of his father's car who is the town's sheriff. The book takes a real spin from there. FBI agents are called in to investigate the disappearance of Ian Curtis, father son turmoil stirs, and a son is wondering about the disappearance of his mother from years back.
Neil is forced to confront his dad about the disappearance of his mother and Ian's body. When he confronts his dad, all of his feelings change and Neil sees the world in a different way.
I thought that this book was alright. It could have been better. The author would do flash backs when flash backs were not needed and confused me if it was from the past or present. The book was also a little graphic. If this book was a movie it would get the rating of "R" for sexual content and use of language. If you want a book to read for your leisure time I would suggest it but I would not suggest it as a family reading.
Rating:
Summary: whoop whoop whoop
Review: Diamond Dog by Alan Watt was an attention-grabbing book. The book is about a young boy named Neil Garvin who kills another young boy named Ian Curtis. Neil panics after killing Ian and throws him into the trunk of his father's car who is the town's sheriff. The book takes a real spin from there. FBI agents are called in to investigate the disappearance of Ian Curtis, father son turmoil stirs, and a son is wondering about the disappearance of his mother from years back.
Neil is forced to confront his dad about the disappearance of his mother and Ian's body. When he confronts his dad, all of his feelings change and Neil sees the world in a different way.
I thought that this book was alright. It could have been better. The author would do flash backs when flash backs were not needed and confused me if it was from the past or present. The book was also a little graphic. If this book was a movie it would get the rating of "R" for sexual content and use of language. If you want a book to read for your leisure time I would suggest it but I would not suggest it as a family reading.
Rating: 
Summary: English Class Novel Review
Review: Diamond Dogs is an excellent novel about a father-son relationship and its hidden secrets. This novel begins with Neil Garvin, the quarterback for the Nevada High School football team, telling his story.
"It all started at Fred Billing's house," on a night Neil will never forget. A night Neil used his popularity and strength to put down and torment Ian, a boy he will never get a chance to know. Just as his father does to him, something Neil fears most of all, is that he will become, "Like Father, Like Son." Soon Neil will realize that his fear is no longer a fear, it is becoming a reality, after the night he killed Ian. Neil then begins to realize that if he doesn't want to become his father, he will have to have what his father doesn't have, which is a strong friendship, honesty, and compassion. He will not only learn secrets about his father's past, but what truly happened to his mother, who had picked up and left so many years before. "She loves you," said Neil's father, something Neil never thought was true. Because of this, Neil also learns and understands why his father master minded a plan to cover up for his mistake he made that night at Fred Billing's house. Neil and his father will soon grow to have a healthy father-son relationship after they turn themselves in and reveal their secrets to the world. Now Neil will continue to learn life lessons and grow from each and every mistake.
Overall I thought this was a good book. The story relates to something that can happen in real life. It also keeps the reader interested and keeps them wanting to read more.
Rating:
Summary: My review
Review: Diamond Dogs is an interesting book about a kid named Neil Garvin. He is your typical 17 year old high school jock. One night when he is out with his friends he gets a little bit drunk and ends up running over a classmate. His father being the town sheriff tries to cover it up in order to protect Neil, but just makes things worse. As the book progresses you learn about how Neil isn't the happy high school quarterback that everyone believes he is, instead he is a kid that is under tremendous stress and is about to snap.
Rating:
Summary: DIAMOND IN THE RUFF
Review: DIAMOND DOGS pulled me in from the first pages. It's about the complexities of a father-son relationship, with a compelling plot: Neil Garvin is the 17-year-old protagonist and he accidentally kills a classmate. His father covers the boy's tracks, thinking he is protecting his son's future. What engaged me is how easily the author lets us see beyond Neil's cool facade into his scarred psyche. On the surface Neil seems like a typical high school star quarterback who dreams of getting out of his crummy town on his "million-dollar arm". He drinks beers with his buddies and is sometimes a bully. Inside, Neil's a real mess. He misses his mother (who he thinks deserted him as a boy) and he can't communicate with his father (the town sheriff and Neil Diamond fanatic). When the accident occurs, it further distances Neil from his father until the situation implodes. DIAMOND DOGS reminded me of another book: BEFORE AND AFTER by Rosellen Brown also about a father covering up for his son. DIAMOND DOGS isn't as good as the Brown book because the story starts to stall toward the end, but Alan Watt is an excellent writer--a diamond in the rough--and I look forward to his next book.
Rating:
Summary: assignment in school
Review: The book that I am reading is "Diamond Dogs" by Alan Watt. This book is about truth, and about how Neil doesn't want to tell the truth because he doesn't want to get into trouble, and gets his friend locked up until he tells them.
It starts out with Neil, who is the star quarterback on the high school football team. The football team and other people are having a party, and Neil and his girlfriend get into a fight. Neil goes outside and starts picking on a kid named Ian; he gives him a wedgie and sends him on his way. Nobody wanted Neil to leave, and urged him to "Come in and have some coffee." Neil should have had some coffee so he could have sobered up before he left. When Neil leaves, he acts stupid and hits something on the road. Neil's dad Chester is the sheriff of Carmen, and so Neil gets away with the whole accident......he didn't just hit "something" on the road, he hit Ian and drove away. Neil's father finds Ian's body in the trunk of their car, but the next day the body is gone when Neil looks for it.
When Neil decides to go with his dad to a Neil Diamond concert he takes his mind off everything until FBI agents start stalking him and try to make him talk about everything that happened. Neil's dad Chester tells him everything about what had happened to his mother. "Like father, like son" they always say, and in this story it is true. "What do the agents want? Did they find Ian's body?" That is what you will have to find about if you read this book...
Overall, Diamond Dogs is a good book that is very thrilling if you could get into it like I did. I give it 4 out 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Novel Review For Diamond Dogs
Review: The novel Diamond Dogs was written by Alan Watt. Diamond Dogs is a novel about the importance of telling the truth and what trouble will come if you decide to keep silent. Neil Garvin must learn the hard way about when to keep quiet and when to speak out. After a horrific change of events, everyone's lives suddenly revolve around one purpose: to determine what happened to Ian Curtis. Also this book focuses a lot on the reputation of the main characters. "How do you think it would make me look if my boy got picked up for drunk driving?" says Neil's father. The reputation of Neil, the star quarterback, and Chester, the town sheriff, are at stake because of the mysterious disappearance of Ian Curtis. After a while, though, the book develops a different twist, where Neil starts asking questions about a past incident, something his father is determined to keep in the dark. One of Chester Garvin's more common sayings is, "Don't ask me questions, boy." Truth prevails in the end, though, for lies are a burden and eventually become our slavery. Diamond Dogs is an excellent book for those who love a good book that starts with death and ends with honesty.
Rating:
Summary: A quick and captivating read
Review: This book is by no means a classic piece of literature, or an epic novel, but it is a very entertaining and interesting read. I read it start to finish in about three hours. I found that I couldn't put it down once I started.
I would like to address all of the negative comments this book has received by overly concerned parents claiming that this book was too sexual for children to read. There are some pretty descriptive sexual interactions described in the book, but I don't think it is anything that a middle schooler and above shouldn't be reading. Granted, this material isn't appropriate for elementary school kids, but for kids in 7th grade and above, they see and hear much worse in their day to day lives anyway.
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