Great story, just exciting enough for our middle grade and early chapter book readers. Not scary and has some great vocabulary words to learn, could get kids excited about travel and museums.

This was an interesting story following a young heroine travelling to Paris with a mix of art, mythology and history. While some of the scenes seemed a little unrealistic, this could be a great inspiration for young detective-wannabees to enjoy a good mystery. For a nine-year-old heroine, some of her behaviours and decisions seemed too mature to integrate into her character and that took a star off my rating. Overall, this kept my attention up to the very end.

The book was beautifully written and the audiobook was read amazingly. The author made careful word choices that were very impactful. Overall, the book was well written and I did really enjoy it.

Thank you Publisher Spotlight Audio | Live Oak Media for allowing me to read and review Julieta and the Diamond Enigma on NetGalley.

Narrators: Adriana Santos, Ulka Simone Mohanty, Frankie Corzo, Ramon De Ocampo.

Stars: 3

Personally this was a difficult read/listen; it was quite trying. The voices were set at an octave that was high pitched and caused nervosing. I did listen to the entire story in small sittings. As far as the story went, I thought the daughter was age appropriate. Her excitement was spot on; when she didn't want to miss the plane, her action tickled me. Her dad took it well too.

I didn't like the act of locating (not spoiling) the missing artifact. That sends the wrong message to children in this targeted age group. I did like the three sections at the end of the story relating to Art. I found those areas quite impressive.

I would recommend this for children who have an attentive guardian. The need for imagination versus reality needs to be gently explained.

Julieta and the Diamond Enigma is a wonderful middle grade book. I highly enjoyed reading it! This book follows Julieta as she travels with her father to France for his museum work. While enjoying the sites, a diamond is stolen. This book was funny with great family relations and quick paced plot. Didn’t want to stop reading. I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in trade for my honest opinion. My thoughts are my own.
YouTube Review: 05/29/24
YouTube Handle: KeenCat

Got this audio book for my 9 year old daughter. She really enjoyed the story and said it was fun and interesting. The narration was good and easy to follow. She says she would recommend it.

My daughter and I listened to this book during our drives to and from school and we loved it! I am a dual language teacher and loved the way that this book teaches language, culture, and so many aspects about seeing and exploring our world. We both loved the intrigue and suspense. Julieta was an extremely relatable character and role model for young readers. I highly recommend this for school libraries and young readers who crave adventure, travel, and language.

A must read for middle grade kids. It's got it all....a very lovable protagonist, a loving and supportive family, a mystery, a trip to Paris and a visit to the Louvre....and a new baby!!!

My kids loved this one!

The narration was a little hard to follow at times but overall great story,

I think this can be enjoyed by both boys and girls but my daughter was definitely more into it than my son.

Thanks to NetGalley for letting me listen to this hilarious, exciting story. It may not have been as much fun to read it on my own, because the performers were amazing.
The main little girl is 9 and overly dramatic, which is my personal experience with many 9-year-olds. She was also charming and clever and independent, wanting to solve her own problems as they arose.
I asked to read this because of the languages, and I did appreciate that there were multiple languages and information about art. Kids and parents will enjoy reading this together and discussing the choices made.

This was a very good audiobook! I really like the narrator and the way the author writes! I plan to read more by this author!
The story was beautiful!

<i><u>I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. </i></u>

the audiobook of this story was great and helped us follow Julieta along in her mystery. the pronunciation guide at the beginning was great to know what certain words and phrases meant before getting started.
the story was fun, funny, and interesting without getting you lost in a complicated mystery since it's geared toward children
i know we were following a 9 year old but she definitely seemed to be a bit younger which worked out for my child who was able to see herself in the story more because of this

Such a good book. It’s fun and adventurous and just what little girls need. They can see themselves as the investigator 🕵️‍♀️ willing to solve the problem. And that is a perspective we all can use a little of. To see a problem and to come up with a solution, even if it requires investigation.

The icing is the language immersion, adding in both Spanish and French. So you have a bit of a spring board to learning more of these languages and reading these languages.

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
I liked the book and the mystery. Julieta did seem younger than her stated age by the way she acted.

When I first started listening I struggled with the narrator for Julieta because she was a little dramatic and the story was not. I almost stopped listening but decided to continue and I am glad I did. The story became more intriguing as Julieta and her father leave for France leaving her mother behind who is close to delivering a baby boy. Things heat up in France and Julieta becomes an accidental detective. She also matures through the events that take place in France (her goal had been to be a support for her dad on the trip so her parents would trust her to care for her soon to be born brother). The review of the French and Spanish words that were going to be used in the story was helpful and informative as well as many words explained throughout the story as Julieta learned them. At the end many of the art pieces that were part of the story were given their historical background which also makes this book informative. I ended up thoroughly enjoying it and am looking forward to sharing it with my students once it is published! Thank you, Netgalley for the opportunity to preview this audiobook.

This was such a fun little mystery that I think my kids would really enjoy. Julieta was such a sweet girl and I loved her passion for Greek mythology and learning in general! I was obsessed with Greek mythology at her age so it really hit close to home and has inspired me to start a mythology unit with my kids. I really enjoyed all the different narrators that were used. It was so fun hearing the different accents and helped differentiate between who was talking. The only thing I slightly struggled with (and I know my kids would struggle with) was that the translation glossary was at the beginning of the audio so it would be hard to go back and listed to what was being said. That’s much easier to do when you have a print copy of a book. Overall I really enjoyed this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this audiobook. All thoughts are my own.

This was a cute book! I appreciate children's books that have bilingual main characters because I have taught many bilingual students. It is important for them to see themselves in the characters they read about. Julieta speaks both Spanish and English but also learns French on her adventures. This book kept my attention and would be a great recommendation to my students.

The audiobook version had a fabulous narrator! She was captivating and fantastic. I loved her expression and her accurate pronunciation.

Wow!! Get this audiobook!!! The narrators are FANTASTIC!!! My kids and I were hooked! The way they narrate made the story so entertaining. You could feel how enthusiastic, energetic, and fun Julieta is!! This is laugh out loud funny and entertaining! We were all completely hooked and couldn't stop listening! We had to know what was going to happen next!

I love the fun mix of Spanish and French words included! It was fun for the kids (who are in a Spanish dual-immersion school) to pick up on them. I love the traveling and art! And the fabulous family dynamic!! This is such a fabulous story!!

I will definitely be picking up physical copies for me and my kids!! I highly recommend this middle grade read!!

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher Spotlight Audio, Live Oak Media for our review audiobook!

I am so pleased by the recent middle grade audiobook choices, and Julieta and the Diamond Enigma is perfect for young middle grade readers. The narrator is lively, engaging, and accurately represents the bilingual accent of Julieta. The story is fun and engaging. My 9 year old niece would love this, and I encourage families to check this out for a great audiobook to listen to on a road trip. It's sure to spark discussions of future bucket list travels.

It's a great read. I love it when there's another language. Sometimes I forget what the word is, but I just follow along with the story. Thanks to Publisher Spotlight Audio, Live Oak Media and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to this audiobook for a review.