Children - Fiction & Literature

Shakespeare's Secret

Name: Shakespeare's Secret
Author: Elise Broach
ISBN: 9780312371326

by Elise Broach

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Overview

Named after a character in a Shakespeare play, misfit sixth-grader Hero becomes interested in exploring this unusual connection because of a valuable diamond supposedly hidden in her new house, an intriguing neighbor, and the unexpected attention of the most popular boy in school.

Synopsis

A missing diamond, a mysterious neighbor, a link to Shakespeare—can Hero uncover the connections?

Janis Flint-Ferguson - KLIATT

Hero Netherfield is entering the sixth grade in a new town and a new school. Her father has just recently taken a job at the Maxwell Library and the family has a new home; Hero just wishes she didn't have to start the whole process of learning to fit in again, especially with a name like Hero. Both she and her 8th-grade sister Beatrice have been named for the women in Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing. (Their father is a Shakespearean scholar and met their mother in a Shakespeare class.) Hero meets the older woman who lives next door, Miriam Roth, who shares the story of a missing diamond and a missing daughter with Hero. Quite accidentally, Nero becomes friends with the police chief's son who also knows Mrs. Roth and about the missing diamond. He happens to be the coolest boy in his sister's grade. Together they look at clues—a quote from Dylan Thomas, a picture of a necklace belonging to Anne Boleyn, and the mystery of who wrote the Shakespearean plays. The clues lead them to the lights in Nero's home and a late-night search when no one is around. The diamond is found, and so is the lost daughter of their friend, Mrs. Roth. The mystery is well developed, with historical details about William Shakespeare, Edward de Vere and Queen Elizabeth I. KLIATT Codes: J—Recommended for junior high school students. 2005, Henry Holt, 256p., Ages 12 to 15.

About the Author, Elise Broach

Elise Broach lives with her family in rural Connecticut, where she writes books for children and teens, including When Dinosaurs Came With Everything, Shakespeare's Secret and Wet Dog!, and serves in town government. Visit Elise at www.elisebroach.com.

Reviews

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Editorials

VOYA

In this well-crafted and engaging literary mystery, twelve-year-old Hero, the new kid in school again, discovers from her elderly neighbor and the police chief's son that a seventeen-carat diamond is hidden in her family's new house. The trio's search, guided by a Dylan Thomas quotation and fueled by Hero's research of the owner's maiden name, leads them to Anne Boleyn, who probably passed the diamond to Elizabeth I, who gave it to her illegitimate son, Edward de Vere, possibly the real Shakespeare. Their journey and discovery reveal that Hero herself, and not her Shakespearean name, is the greatest block to her making new friends. A modern mystery also is solved-the elderly neighbor and police chief's son, both deserted by the same woman, are grandmother and grandson. Filled with coincidences, the plot still works. The clearly explained Much Ado About Nothing connections encourage young readers to explore Shakespeare. The historical references, provided by Hero's Shakespearean scholar father, reinforce one of the book's major themes: Reaction to an event is more important than the event. Middle school girls will love the suspense and identify with the characters' personal decisions, reflecting Shakespeare's universal themes such as loyalty, the public versus the private self, integrity, true love, and humor's dark side. An author's note and time line clarify the historical context. VOYA CODES: 5Q 4P M (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8). 2005, Henry Holt, 256p.; Chronology., Ages 11 to 14.
—Lucy Schall

KLIATT

To quote a review of the hardcover in KLIATT, May 2005: Hero Netherfield is entering the sixth grade in a new town and a new school. Her father has just recently taken a job at the Maxwell Library and the family has a new home; Hero just wishes she didn't have to start the whole process of learning to fit in again, especially with a name like Hero. Both sh\e and her 8th-grade sister Beatrice have been named for the women in Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing. Hero meets the older woman who lives next door, Miriam Roth, who shares the story of a missing diamond and a missing daughter with Hero. Quite accidentally, Hero becomes friends with the police chief's son who also knows Mrs. Roth and about the missing diamond. He happens to be the coolest boy in her sister's grade. Together they look at clues--a quote from Dylan Thomas, a picture of a necklace belonging to Anne Boleyn, and the mystery of who wrote the Shakespearean plays. The clues lead them to the lights in Hero's home and a late-night search when no one is around. The diamond is found, and so is the lost daughter of their friend, Mrs. Roth. The mystery is well developed, with historical details about William Shakespeare, Edward de Vere and Queen Elizabeth I. Age Range: Ages 12 to 15. REVIEWER: Janis Flint-Ferguson (Vol. 42, No. 1)

Children's Literature

Shakespeare's Secret unspools against the backdrop of a middle-school intrigue that rivals anything in an Elizabethan court. Dark and brooding, 11-year-old Hero finds herself the focus of a scandal that sweeps her new school. And like her namesake in "Much Ado About Nothing" (her dad is a Shakespearian scholar), Hero must suffer till her name is cleared—by none other than Danny, a popular eighth grader. The wonderfully complicated plot takes Hero and Danny in search of the lost diamond in an heirloom necklace that once belonged to Anne Boleyn, scorned mother of Elizabeth I. Like Shakespeare, first-time novelist Elise Broach loves playing with identity. An elderly neighbor's secret marriage is exposed, Shakespeare unmasked, a long-lost child revealed to be Danny's mother—and Hero possessed of a greater understanding of her true self. All's well that ends well. 2005, Henry Holt, Ages 8 to 12.
—Mary Quattlebaum

School Library Journal

Gr 4-7-Hero has always hated her Shakespearean-based name, for, as her new sixth-grade classmates are quick to tell her, it's better suited to a dog than to a girl. Resigned to their constant teasing, she concentrates instead on her newfound friendship with her kindly, if somewhat eccentric, elderly next-door neighbor. Mrs. Roth tells Hero about the missing "Murphy Diamond," a precious jewel that supposedly disappeared from the house where Hero now lives. Mrs. Roth has the necklace that once held the diamond, an heirloom that possibly once belonged to Anne Boleyn, and she is convinced that it is still hidden in the vicinity. She and Hero set out to find what the police could not, and, with help from Danny, a popular yet self-assured eighth grader who befriends them both, they succeed. Only then do the real connections among the three of them come to the surface and change their lives forever. The mystery alone will engage readers, but Broach adds a number of other interesting details to entice her audience. Readers will also find numerous facts about Elizabethan history, theories about Shakespeare's writings, and, perhaps most importantly, a moral but not preachy tale. The main characters are all well developed, and the dialogue is both realistic and well planned. Girls will relate to Hero and the defenses that she uses to protect herself from being hurt by the cruel comments and behaviors of difficult classmates. This is a good choice for recreational reading but also useful as an intro to either the complexities of Shakespeare or the tenets of good mystery writing.-Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Sixth-grader Hero Netherfield knows she's in trouble when, on her first day at her new school in Maryland, a classmate unthinkingly announces that Hero is her dog's name. Despite the inevitable humiliations that ensue, things look up for Hero when she discovers that her family (including her beautiful older sister Beatrice, graphic-designer mom and Shakespeare-obsessed dad) has moved into the "Murphy Diamond House," where a centuries-old, million-dollar diamond might be hidden. Mrs. Roth, the kindly next-door neighbor, plies Hero with cinnamon toast and tantalizing information about said diamond, and they become fast friends with each other . . . and, interestingly, with the cutest, most popular boy in the eighth grade, Danny Cordova. The plot thickens as Mrs. Roth reveals that she is in possession of the Elizabethan necklace that once held the missing Murphy diamond, an artifact that may even help illuminate the much-debated identity of Shakespeare himself. More linear and traditionally evidence-driven than Blue Balliett's Chasing Vermeer (2004), this agreeable history-mystery may have even more appeal to budding sleuths. (author's note, historical timeline) (Fiction. 9-12)

From the Publisher

"A new kid in town and her name is Hero. Just wait until you read about her and the mystery she's uncovered. I couldn't wait. I kept turning the pages. Terrific Hero, terrific book. I loved it!"—Patricia Reilly Giff (author of the Newbery Honor Books Pictures of Hollis Woods and Lily's Crossing)

"More linear and traditionally evidence-driven than Blue Balliett's Chasing Vermeer, this agreeable history-mystery may have even more appeal to budding sleuths."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review