Shakespeare's Secret
by Elise Broach
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 365)
Shakespeare’s Secret’s main character is Hero Netherfield, a 6th grade girl who is trying to adjust to a new school. She is an outcast that contrasts greatly to her outgoing, pretty sister Beatrice. Both girls get their names from the Shakespearian play Much Ado About Nothing, which is a favorite of their Shakespearian scholar father. Hero is miserable because of the teasing of classmates, but the friendship of an elderly neighbor and a neighborhood boy who confides the details of a famou...more
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Read in October, 2005
recommends it for:
mystery lovers
I really enjoyed this mystery. I would definately recommend it for upper 4th-7th grade set. It reminds me of Chasing Verhmeer and the Mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil.... From School Library Journal Grade 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...more
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Read in May, 2007
Hero dreads starting at a new school again. She's never been popular like her sister Beatrice and she knows that the first day will be the worst. This first day is the worst she's ever had. When introduced to her new class, a girl in the class blurts out that her dog's name is Hero. Henceforth, Hero is known as the girl named after a dog. With no friends at school, Hero begins spending time with her neighbor Mrs. Roth who is telling her about the mystery of the large diamond that is suspected to...more
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This was a fun and quick read that I was previewing as a possibility for Sarah to read. I think I've decided to let it wait another year or so--mostly because I just think she'll enjoy it more then. She's going into third grade next year, and the main characters are in sixth and eighth grades, so the context is just a little bit older for her.
Anyway, this is the story of Hero (named after the character in Much Ado about Nothing) and her family who move into a new town and a house with a ...more
Anyway, this is the story of Hero (named after the character in Much Ado about Nothing) and her family who move into a new town and a house with a ...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
Shakespeare fans, mystery lovers
Shakespeare’s Secret
By Elise Broach
2007-2008 Mark Twain Award Nominee
September 3, 2007
Wow! I am not a Shakespeare fan, but thought I would try this book because others told me it was good. It is historical fiction. The facts about the famous people in the story are (as far as we can tell) true facts. Hmm, now I may need to read some Shakespeare.
Hero is a new girl in town, and has some tension about the first day of school. Hmm, it probably could have been worse, but not much...more
By Elise Broach
2007-2008 Mark Twain Award Nominee
September 3, 2007
Wow! I am not a Shakespeare fan, but thought I would try this book because others told me it was good. It is historical fiction. The facts about the famous people in the story are (as far as we can tell) true facts. Hmm, now I may need to read some Shakespeare.
Hero is a new girl in town, and has some tension about the first day of school. Hmm, it probably could have been worse, but not much...more
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Read in June, 2008
This is a fun read about Hero Netherfield, a young girl saddled with an improbable name because her father is a Shakespeare scholar.
When Hero moves to a new town, she dreads starting a new school, and the constant ribbing she'll get about her name. Her worst fears are confirmed when a fellow student blurts out that she has a dog named Hero, and the torment at school begins.
Fortunately for Hero, she has a kindly next door neighbor who alerts her to a mystery she must solve -- a mystery invo...more
When Hero moves to a new town, she dreads starting a new school, and the constant ribbing she'll get about her name. Her worst fears are confirmed when a fellow student blurts out that she has a dog named Hero, and the torment at school begins.
Fortunately for Hero, she has a kindly next door neighbor who alerts her to a mystery she must solve -- a mystery invo...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
fans of ya mysteries and Shakespeare authorship stories
This was an okay book.
It's about a girl named Hero, named after a character from Much Ado About Nothing, who has moved to a new town again, and has to go through the ordeal of starting at a new school. Because of her name, she finds it hard to make friends and fit in. Sure enough, the same thing happens again, but this time she doesn't mind as much, because the old lady who lives next door tells her about a diamond that might be hidden in the house Hero is living in. Suddenly there is more adv...more
It's about a girl named Hero, named after a character from Much Ado About Nothing, who has moved to a new town again, and has to go through the ordeal of starting at a new school. Because of her name, she finds it hard to make friends and fit in. Sure enough, the same thing happens again, but this time she doesn't mind as much, because the old lady who lives next door tells her about a diamond that might be hidden in the house Hero is living in. Suddenly there is more adv...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone who likes history and a mystery
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 play 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. There's a million-dollar diamond hidden in her new house (or so she's told), a curious woman next door who seems to know an awful...more
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Read in December, 2005
I listened to this book while doing my tri-state pre-Christmas driving tour. That is to say, I listened to the whole thing while driving from Williamsburg to Leesburg, then to College Park, MD, then to Alexandria, then back to Richmond where I shuttled between my parents' house and Judson's parents' house. Lots of driving, lots of time to follow along with the mystery.
I liked the main character - something that rarely happens - and I liked the premise. This is a story about a lonely, sligh...more
I liked the main character - something that rarely happens - and I liked the premise. This is a story about a lonely, sligh...more
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Read in March, 2007
Hero Netherfield, a sixth grader, has enrolled in yet another new school. At this school, just as other schools, all the kids tease her about her unusual name. Everyone, that is except Danny Cordova, the coolest boy in the eighth grade. Hero is also befriended by her next door neighbor, Mrs. Roth. Danny and Mrs. Roth are already great friends. Danny and Mrs. Roth tell Hero about the beautiful Murphy diamond, a 13 carat treasure that is supposedly hidden in Hero’s new house. The diamond may ...more
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Read in December, 2007
Hero has always hated her name. Her father is a Shakespeare scholar and she and her sister, the pretty and popular Beatrice, are named after character in Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing. Hero is shy and doesn't make friends easily. She gets picked on a lot at school.
Hero becomes friends with her elderly neighbor, Miriam Roth and they bond over the mystery of the missing "Murphy Diamond," a large diamond that was supposedly stolen from the house where Hero now lives. A...more
Hero becomes friends with her elderly neighbor, Miriam Roth and they bond over the mystery of the missing "Murphy Diamond," a large diamond that was supposedly stolen from the house where Hero now lives. A...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
teens who like mysteries
Hero has always hated her name. Her father is a Shakespeare scholar and she and her sister, the pretty and popular Beatrice, are named after character in Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing. Hero is shy and doesn't make friends easily. She gets picked on a lot at school.
Hero becomes friends with her elderly neighbor, Miriam Roth and they bond over the mystery of the missing "Murphy Diamond," a large diamond that was supposedly stolen from the house where Hero now lives. A...more
Hero becomes friends with her elderly neighbor, Miriam Roth and they bond over the mystery of the missing "Murphy Diamond," a large diamond that was supposedly stolen from the house where Hero now lives. A...more
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Read in February, 2008
250- This story is about Hero Netherfield, a girl who is shy and isn't very popular in school, who moved to a new house in Maryland. She has a sister named Beatrice and both were named after the characters in Shakespeare plays, and total oppisites from each other. Hero meets a neighbor, Mrs. Roth, that tells her about the Murphy Diamond hidden in her house. While she and Mrs. Roth tries to find it, along with some clues, they have discovered many secrets about Shakepeare, Anne Boleyn, Queen Eli...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
Jess, Girls 5-6th grade
I really enjoyed this story. It centers around a sixth grade girl named Hero who has moved again to a new town. As she struggles to make friends, she befriends an elderly lady next door, Mrs Roth, who tells her the story of Hero's home. A missing diamond is thought to be hidden somewhere in the house. The police searched unsuccessfully four times yet a clue suggests it is there. As she searches for the diamond she befriends an older boy who aids her search. Together the two of them with Mr...more
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
Historical Fiction fans, Shakespeare fans, Oxfordians, Children's/YA fans
girl named Hero moves to a new town, and finds a mystery involved with her house. I love this book. Includes references to Shakespeare, the Shakespeare authorship question, and Elizabeth I. Even though this book takes an Oxfordian view of the Shakespeare question (while I am a Marlovian all the way), it does so in an interesting way. And brings up a possible De Vere-Elizabeth connection I had never thought of (or been introduced to). And although some of the plot twists were fairly predictable ...more
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Read in February, 2008
This is on the list for my son's Reading Olympics. I always try to read some of the books, as it gives us something to discuss and I find there are so many great books for kids that I missed when I was growing up (even though I read like a fiend).
I loved this book! A nice little mystery with the dopey new girl in town, the nice little old lady next door and a little bit of Will Shakespeare mixed in. Since I've been reading lots of non-fiction lately, this was a nice diversion. Well-wri...more
I loved this book! A nice little mystery with the dopey new girl in town, the nice little old lady next door and a little bit of Will Shakespeare mixed in. Since I've been reading lots of non-fiction lately, this was a nice diversion. Well-wri...more
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Read in October, 2005
This was a marvelous chapter book that we read in conjunction with Chasing Shakespeares, an adult book on the same topic. This book combo was a great success and both books were very fun. In each, the protagonist is on a quest to find out about the "real" authorship of plays we attribute to William Shakespeare. For me, Shakespeare is Shakespeare is Shakespeare, but I found this to be a really fun and intriguing read. This one is a lot like The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankw
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Read in May, 2007
Fun for summer reading this year, good for readers who enjoyed the historical/art history/mystery elements of "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler", "Chasing Vermeer", and the other one by that author. All the elements are there...secrets hidden from the people closest to you, but revealed slowly, "coincidences" that really aren't, a hidden diamond, and oh yeah....Did the Earl of Oxford really write all of the plays credited to Shakespeare?
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Read in March, 2008
Recommended for gr. 6-8. A pretty quick read - involves a mystery, history and Shakespeare. It was enough to make me want to read "Much Ado About Nothing" - the protagonist was named for a character in that play. Should appeal to both boys and girls. There is a strong male 8th grade character, in addition to the 6th grade female protagonist. Other issues touched on include moving, not fitting in, teasing/bullying, parent/child/sibling relationships.
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Hero doesn't like her name and she doesn't fit in at school but when an eccentric neighbor named Mrs. Roth tells Hero about a precious diamond hidden in her house Hero is ready to embark upon a mysterious adventure.
This is a 2008 YRCA nominee and very well written. Great for kids who like history and a good book for kids who don't, as it exposes kids to Shakespearean history in a subtle but informative way.
This is a 2008 YRCA nominee and very well written. Great for kids who like history and a good book for kids who don't, as it exposes kids to Shakespearean history in a subtle but informative way.
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