Nothing is hard for her older sister, who can walk into their new school and make friends and be popular in one day, but it takes Hero a while to make new friends and feel comfortable in a new place. When her new neighbor takes an interest in her, Hero really likes talking to her and feeling as though someone understands and cares. As she gets to know Mrs. Roth, the neighbor, she learns that her new house contains a mystery. There is a story that a fabulous diamond may be hidden in the house somewhere. Hero decides to investigate, and as she works on the case, the son of the town sheriff decides to join her.
256 pages 978-0805073874 Ages 9-13
Keywords: mystery and detective, Shakespeare, secrets, neighbors, 9 year old, 10 year old, 11 year old, 12 year old, 13 year old
*********
Hero changed into a T-shirt, grabbed a book, and padded barefoot into her sister's room. The large windows overlooked the backyard. She could see the moonlight streaming over the trees and bushes, making long, crazy shadows across the grass. Was there a diamond hidden out there somewhere? She looked at Beatrice, already settled under the covers. She wanted to tell her about the Murphys, but at the same time, she didn't. She wanted to keep the secret. To have something that belonged only to her.
A missing diamond, a mysterious neighbor, a link to Shakespeare-can Hero uncover the connections?
When Hero starts sixth grade at a new school, she's less concerned about the literary origins of her Shakespearean name than about the teasing she's sure to suffer because of it. So she has the same name as a girl in a book by a dusty old author. Hero is simply not interested in the connections. But that's just the thing; suddenly connections are cropping up all over, and odd characters and uncertain pasts are exactly what do fascinate Hero. There's a mysterious diamond hidden in her new house, a curious woman next door who seems to know an awful lot about it, and then, well, then there's Shakespeare. Not to mention Danny Cordova, only the most popular boy in school. Is it all in keeping with her namesake's origin-just much ado about nothing? Hero, being Hero, is determined to figure it out.
In this fast-paced novel, Elise Broach weaves an intriguing literary mystery full of historical insights and discoveries.---from the publisher
