Shakespear's Secret

(no picture available--sorry!)

Author: Elise Broach
My Description: It's a very enjoyable mystery about a girl named Hero and her search for the rumored 'Murphy Diamond' that is said to be within her newly bought house.
Shakespeare's Secret had a lot to do with history and--shocker--Shakespeare, I had a lot of fun reading it... and though there are a few things that Hero and some of the other main characters do that I don't quite understand, I definitely would recommend this book.
Back-Of-The-Book Description: 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 new found 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.
Starting Date: April 13th
Ending Date: April 15th
Reading Time: Three days
Pages: 272
Writing Rating: 6 1/2
Story Rating: 6 3/4
Overall Rating: 6 3/4

Book #22 of '08