by Luisana Duarte Armendáriz (Author)
New Visions Award Winner, Tu Books
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler meets Merci Suarez in this smart young middle-grade mystery about a diamond gone missing from the Louvre and the sweet and spunky girl who cracks the case.
Nine-year-old Julieta is finally about to put a purple pin in her family's world traveling map! She's off to Paris to help her art-handler dad collect pieces for a new exhibit at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Sadly, they must leave Julieta's very pregnant mother behind, but they're sure they'll be back before the baby is born.
Julieta sees the best of Paris: the Eiffel Tower, the Sacré-Coeur, and plenty of great art. But things go awry when she and Dad walk in on a thief stealing the Louvre's most prized piece, the Regent Diamond--a priceless cursed diamond with a shady history.
When Julieta runs for help, she accidentally frees the thief instead! Now Dad's job is in danger and he's become a suspect. Can Julieta determine who the thief really is before it's too late?
Winner of the Tu Books 2018 New Visions Award!
Author Biography
Luisana Duarte Armendáriz grew up on the Juárez, Mexico--El Paso, Texas border. A writer and graphic designer, Luisana earned her BA from the University of Texas at El Paso and her MA/MFA in Children's Literature and Writing for Children from Simmons University in Boston. She won the 2018 Lee & Low/Tu Books New Visions Award for her debut novel, Julieta and the Diamond Enigma. Luisana now lives in Michigan, where she is the dean of discipline at a boarding school. Find out more at luisanaduarte.com.