Book written by Elise Broach, published 2005.
When you’re eleven years old, moving to a new neighborhood and starting at a new school can be rough. When you have an older sister that’s always been popular and never has trouble making friends, things can be a little bit harder. But we all know that if you’re the new kid and you have an uncommon name, then school can be downright barbaric. Hero Netherfield is used to this. Her family has moved several times, and she has come to expect the strange looks and the teasing. But this year at Ogden Elementary takes the cake. Her classmates are more interested in the fact that “Hero” is a good name for a dog than in how she was named after a character in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. No one even seems interested that Hero and her family have moved into the mysterious Murphy diamond house. The only ones interested or remotely friendly toward Hero are Mrs. Roth, the next-door neighbor, and—somehow—Danny Cordova, the most popular boy in the eighth grade. Although Hero started the school year with dread, she now spends her weeks researching Elizabethan history and working with her friends to discover how the Murphy diamond relates to the most famous playwright ever known.
This has been one of my favorite books for years. There are many references to Shakespeare, other works of poetry, and history, but Broach approaches these topics from a fresh and exciting angle for younger readers. I don’t want to spoil anything here, but I promise that this one will get you excited about Shakespeare and Elizabethan history. This book also addresses relatable topics, like the struggle of making new friends. I had a hard time with this as a kid, and Hero was . . . well, one of my heroes! She knew exactly how I felt sometimes, and the advice she got was good advice for me too. It’s truly a solid win for any introvert, and I strongly encourage you to read it.
This book is also a solid PG-type read. No language, violence, or romance, but there is a case of breaking and entering.
If you know about Oxford, nothing from here on out will surprise you.
"Sometimes the best way to defend one's honor is simply to behave honorably."
If you haven’t already, definitely read the author’s note that Broach wrote at the end of the book. She talks about her research and all of the theories that she referenced in writing the story. The first time I read this book, I was flabbergasted by the idea that William Shakespeare could be a fraud. That would be one of the best-kept secrets of all time! Since the book itself is about eighteen years old, I decided to do a little bit of my own research to see how these theories of Queen Elizabeth, Edward de Vere, and William Shakespeare hold up. Short story, they do! I won’t go into detail about my own research simply because none of it has really changed from what Broach presented. Recent writings still speculate that Edward de Vere was the illegitimate child of Queen Elizabeth I due to the favor she showed him, and there is still speculation that Vere was the true author of Shakespeare’s plays because of his education and status. There is no concrete evidence for either theory, but it’s certainly an interesting way to think about history! Nowadays, I don’t think it matters who the real Shakespeare was. The plays themselves are still relevant when discussing human nature and society, and I think those mysteries are worth more attention.
Tween life is no picnic, especially when you’re walking into a new school and you don’t know anyone, and I think Broach gave some advice that really hits on what matters most. Danny tells Hero, “What I mean is Triss sort of, well, she lets people like her. She lets people make friends with her. You [Hero] walk around looking like you expect everybody to pick on you. And then they kind of do.” I like that Danny talks about attitude when it comes to making friends. If you walk in and expect everyone to look down on you, then chances are good that’s what will happen. Beatrice also gives Hero good advice: “You need a way in. Just one person. I know you think they either hate you or they like you, but that’s not how it works. You just need one person to let you in, the right person, and then the rest is easy.” So, if you walk into school and allow people the opportunity to talk to you and get to know you—even if you don’t want to be particularly good friends with them, as Beatrice says—you let everyone else see that you’re friendly and not a target. It’s sound advice to me and a perspective I think I need to be reminded of now and again. This is why I love middle grade books; they make everything simple again!
If you were named for a Shakespeare character, who would it be and why?
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