Me, Frida, and the Secret of the Peacock Ring

 

Cervantes, A. (2019). Me, Frida, and the secret of the peacock ring. Scholastic, Inc.

Genre: Middle-Grade Mystery

    Paloma and her mother travel to Mexico for four weeks because of her mother's fellowship. There she meets twins Lizzie and Gael who get her involved in a mystery to find Frida Kahlo's stolen peacock ring. However, the twins aren't everything they seem. Are they truly looking for the ring for a reward or is there an interior motive at play? One night after sneaking out of the house, Paloma is forbidden from seeing the twins again and they have to communicate by leaving secret notes to each other. Later, we find out that the twins are searching for the peacock ring because their father was pinned for the crime of stealing it by the professor who invited Paloma's mother to Mexico.

    The diversity in this book is multicultural. The entire book delves into a specific subsection of Mexican art with Frida Kahlo. Kahlo, her artwork, and her history are woven into each word of the book. The text describes and analyses her art with such color and thought. The author is a self-admitted Frida Kahlo fan. Cervantes took inspiration for the book from a biography and traveled to La Casa Azul in Coyacan Mexico to learn all her art and jewelry.