Starting sixth grade at a new school is never easy, especially when your name is Hero. Named after a character in a Shakespeare play, Hero isn't at all interested in this literary connection. But when she's told by an eccentric neighbor that there might be a million dollar diamond hidden in her new house and that it could reveal something about Shakespeare's true identity, Hero is determined to live up to her name and uncover the mystery. “I like this book because it involves a girl trying to solve an unfinished case. Even my friends say it's a good read!” ― Discovery Girls tween reviewer “(More) evidence-driven than Blue Balliett's Chasing Vermeer , this agreeable history-mystery may have even more appeal to budding sleuths.” ― Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review “Elise Broach's debut mystery is a gem. An engrossing mystery that touches several historical elements.” ― School Library Journal “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.” ― Voices of Youth Advocates “Sophisticated readers, particularly fans of Blue Balliett's Chasing Vermeer , will appreciate the true emotions, the rich language, and the revelations of many-layered mysteries that tie the past to the present.” ― Booklist “Terrific hero, terrific book. I loved it.” ― Patricia Reilly Giff, Newbery Honor-winning author of Picture of Hollis Woods “The historical references, the highly developed characters, and the intriguing plot make this a page-turning satisfying read.” ― Armchair Interviews Elise Broach is the New York Times bestselling author of Masterpiece , Shakespeare’s Secret and Desert Crossing , Missing on Superstition Mountain , the first book in the Superstition Mountain Trilogy, as well as several picture books. Her books have been selected as ALA notable books, Junior Library Guild selections, a Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book, a New York Public Library Best Book for the Teenage, an IRA Teacher’s Choice, an E.B. White Read Aloud Award, and nominated for an Edgar Award, among other distinctions. Ms. Broach holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in history from Yale University. She was born in Georgia and lives in the woods of rural Connecticut, walking distance from three farms, a library, a post office and two country stores. Shakespeare's Secret By Elise Broach Henry Holt and Company Copyright © 2005 Elise Broach All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-312-37132-6 CHAPTER 1 It was the last day of summer. Hero Netherfield stretched across the quilted bedspread in her sister's room, her feet drifting over the edge of the mattress. She wasn't thinking about their new house. She wasn't thinking about school. She wasn't thinking about stepping off the bus tomorrow into a sea of strangers. If she thought about any of those things, she'd get that old, tight, panicky feeling — and what was the point? So instead, she rested her cheek against the soft cotton and breathed. The air was thick with summer smells: lawn clippings and suntan lotion and late-blooming roses. She could hear the distant shouts of a tag game down the street. She closed her eyes and made her mind completely blank, as heavy and blank as the summer day. It took a lot of concentration. Too much. After a minute, she rolled on her side and said to her sister, "You got the best room." Beatrice's room in the new house was full of angles and alcoves, like Hero's, but it was bigger, with more windows. Beatrice had hung posters on the sloping ceiling, and they floated colorfully overhead, like the inside flaps of a circus tent. Her sister sat at the desk with one foot propped on an open drawer. She painted her toenails with quick, smooth strokes. "So?" she said. "It was my turn." That was true. They took turns choosing bedrooms every time they moved, and Hero had chosen first at the house in New York. "You have a good room, too," Beatrice said. "You just need to put stuff up on the walls." "Yeah, I know." Hero sighed. But what? She'd finally opened the moving boxes from her old bedroom yesterday. They were filled with stuffed animals, seashells, crunched wildlife posters, all the things she'd collected since she was five. She wasn't sure she even recognized that person anymore. None of it belonged in the room of a sixth-grader. A little wistfully, she'd packed it all up again and shoved the boxes in one of the closets under the eaves. That was the strange thing about moving so often. It forced you to think about starting over every time, whether you wanted to or not. The only things Hero kept out for her new room were her books and a shoe box of antique bottles she'd found at a garage sale, colorful glass vials that once held medicine, hair tonic, maybe perfume. The books she wedged into the dark corner bookcases, stacking a pile of favorites next to her