Me, Frida, and the Secret of the Peacock Ring

Authored by Angela Cervantes, Me, Frida, and the Secret of the Peacock Ring is a middle grade novel published in 2018. It tells the story of Paloma Marquez, a 12-year-old Kansas girl who must spend four weeks of her summer vacation in Mexico after her mother is awarded a research fellowship there. Her mother is eager for Paloma to immerse herself in her late father’s native country to learn about its rich heritage, but Paloma is skeptical. Initially reluctant to leave behind her friends, Paloma quickly changes her mind when she meets twin siblings her age who invite her to work with them to solve a mystery: A valuable ring designed and owned by Mexican painter Frida Kahlo has gone missing. As the three set out to solve the mystery, Paloma discovers the richness of her heritage, the power of art, and the importance of justice.

Cervantes, a descendant of Mexican immigrants to the US, has authored several novels for young readers as well as adaptations of the Disney films Coco and Encanto. She has also collaborated on books in the American Girl series. As a Latina writer, she sets out to develop characters that reflect this heritage. She has won several awards, including the Pura Belpré Honor; the Best Youth Chapter Book by the International Latino Book Awards; and the Bank Street College of Education’s Best Book Award. Me, Frida, and the Secret of the Peacock Ring was a Junior Guild Selection and named to Texas’ Bluebonnet Master List in 2019 (Angela Cervantes).

This guide references the 2018 hardcover by Scholastic.

Plot Summary

Twelve-year-old Paloma Marquez accompanies her mother on a four-week stay in Coyacán, Mexico. Her mother, a university professor, has earned a fellowship and is eager for Paloma to learn about the birth country of Paloma’s late father. Paloma is reluctant to give up four weeks of summer plans and even more dubious when she learns that her mother has enrolled her in summer courses in Coyacán. Paloma quickly changes her mind about Mexico after a reception held to welcome them on their first night held at Casa Azul, the former home-turned-museum of Mexico’s beloved painter, Frida Kahlo. There, Paloma becomes acquainted with a boy her age, Tavo Farill, and twin siblings Lizzie and Gael Castillo. As Paloma leaves the party that night, Gael slips her a note. It is an invitation to help him solve a mystery that he claims is of great importance and that will right a great injustice.

Paloma is dubious about the request, certain it must be a joke. The next morning, the Castillos arrive at her home, having been recruited by Paloma’s mother to tutor Paloma in Spanish. Gael tells her the details behind his request: Two weeks ago, they overheard their father, a painter who is working in the United States, speaking on the phone about a piece of missing jewelry. The jewelry—a valuable silver ring adorned with jewels arranged in the shape of a peacock—was designed by Kahlo shortly before her death. After her death, her husband locked the ring in a room in Casa Azul with instructions that the room was never to be opened. However, when museum personnel learned of the special ring, they opened the locked room only to find the ring missing. Gael and Lizzie are certain that the ring has been stolen and are adamant that it must be returned. They hope to find the ring by July 6, the date of Frida’s birthday, when a large party is scheduled to be held in her honor at Casa Azul. Paloma is hesitant. She insists that she is ill-equipped to solve a mystery. Initially, Lizzie, too, disagrees with Gael’s request for Paloma’s help, certain that Paloma lacks the courage needed to search for clues.

Over the next couple of days, as Paloma experiences Mexico’s rich culture and views Kahlo’s paintings, she agrees to help. She and her mother continuously bump into the same fortune teller who sells elaborate jewelry. Paloma even inquires as to whether the fortune teller might have a peacock-shaped ring and, when the fortune teller responds strangely, Paloma’s suspicions are raised. Paloma and Gael begin their search by inspecting the locked room at Casa Azul which, to Paloma’s dismay, is a bathroom. Paloma has an idea, however: Perhaps there is another locked room in Casa Azul where the ring has been hidden. In the courtyard, they find one hidden behind trees. They decide that they will sneak into Casa Azul in a few nights’ time to inspect it further.

In the interim, Paloma and her mother are invited to dinner at the home of the Farills. Despite the Castillos cautioning her to be careful of Tavo, Paloma looks forward to the evening. The Farills’ home is extravagant; while there, Paloma thinks that she sees Gael trying to enter the premises. When she questions Tavo, he insists that he does not know Gael. At dinner, the Farills talk of Frida’s birthday party. Mr. Farill has just come up with the idea of making it a masquerade party.

That night, Paloma sneaks out and meets Gael and Lizzie at Casa Azul. Lizzie stays outside, ready to alert Paloma and Gael of the presence of anyone. Gael and Lizzie are surprised to find the locked room open, but then Paloma grows discouraged when she realizes that the room is a janitor’s storage closet. They do not find anything of interest in the room other than a gold cuff link. Suddenly, Lizzie whistles in alarm and Gael and Paloma hide in the room. A man in a trench coat enters and he seems to be searching for something. Paloma tries to stay quiet but gives her presence away when a spider causes her to exclaim. The trench coat man grabs her, but Gael pulls Paloma in the other direction. Suddenly, Lizzie appears and bangs the man on the head.

The three escape while the trench coat man gets into a black car. They rush back to Paloma’s house where they find her mother, awake and upset at Paloma’s disappearance. For sneaking out, Paloma is punished; her mother takes away her cell phone and forbids her from seeing Gael and Lizzie anymore. That week, Paloma begins a course on Mexican art and culture and a Spanish language course. During a break, she heads outside and finds Gael and Lizzie there. She arranges to exchange messages with Gael via a flowerpot outside of her house, since she no longer has the use of her phone.

Saturday arrives, and the Farills have invited Paloma to spend the day at a museum. She finds a note from Gael telling her that he has seen the black car that the trench coat man rode off in and is fearful that it is watching them. Indeed, that day Paloma sees the black car idling on her street. At the museum, the Farills show her some of Frida’s paintings. Paloma is dismayed to learn that someone has just broken into the Farills’ home. Mr. Farill also laments that security cameras have recently been installed in Casa Azul because of a recent theft by an employee. When Paloma presses Mr. Farill for details, he tells her that some valuable jewelry was stolen from Casa Azul by Mr. Castillo, the twins’ father. He is now imprisoned in the United States.

Paloma is shocked to learn this. Certain that she can no longer trust Gael and Lizzie, she is confused as to why they solicited her help at all. She confronts Gael and Lizzie. They explain that their father is indeed in prison for the theft. He was working at Casa Azul and discovered that several items of Frida’s jewelry were missing. He tried to alert officials, but nothing came of it. Suddenly, he found that one of the items—a necklace—had been planted in his bag. Gael and Lizzie are certain that their father was framed. Further, they believe Mr. Farill to be the thief. They believe that he plans to give someone the ring so that it can be smuggled out of the country. Gael explains that when he saw Paloma speaking with Tavo at the reception, he and Lizzie agreed that Paloma’s closeness to Tavo could be an asset. Their hope is that by finding the ring, they can prove their father’s innocence. Further, they confess that they were responsible for the break-in at the Farills’ home—they had hoped to find evidence of the theft there.

Paloma is certain that the Castillos are telling the truth. Further, she is certain that the cuff link they found in the janitor’s storage room belongs to Mr. Farill, Tavo having told Paloma that he was searching the museum’s lost and found for the missing half of the pair. Paloma returns to the storage closet once again but finds it locked. Dismayed, she throws a rock in the courtyard. When the rock hits the ground and makes a metallic sound, Paloma investigates. She finds a box hidden, and inside the box is a key which opens the locked room.

Paloma searches the locked room until she discovers a loose tile in the floor. Beneath the tile is a box containing the peacock ring. She shows the ring to Gael and Lizzie. Recalling Mr. Farill’s insistence that the birthday party become a masquerade party, they theorize that he plans to hand off the ring to the trench coat man at the party. Paloma believes that the fortune teller—who speaks Russian, like the trench coat man—must somehow be involved.

The three form a plan to replace the ring with the missing cuff link. Along with the key, Paloma had found a note in the box which references a time. She is certain this is the planned time for the trench coat man to take the ring. Gael will hide in the storage room, filming the exchange between Mr. Farill and the trench coat man. When the men realize that the ring is not present, Gael’s recording will be broadcast via Lizzie’s microphone to the party, exposing Mr. Farill. The plan goes nearly perfectly, except that the trench coat man approaches the locked room before the designated time, and Mr. Farill spots Gael in hiding. However, before either man can harm Gael, the fortune teller bursts in. She is actually a police officer who has been undercover. She is working with the trench coat man, tracking thefts of items that have been smuggled out of Mexico to Russia.

Paloma, Gael, and Lizzie are honored by the mayor at a ceremony. Mr. Castillo is released and expresses his gratitude to Paloma. Paloma is saddened for Tavo, whose family will be forced to leave Mexico, but he has left her a note, explaining that he does not fault Paloma for what his father has done. Soon after, Paloma and her mother prepare to depart Mexico for home. Gael and Lizzie present her with a painting to remember them by. In the spirit of Kahlo’s self-portraits, Paloma has painted one of herself for the twins. They pledge to be lifelong friends.