BLEU BRILLIANT

We start with the largest and most coveted blue diamond in the world. King Louis XIV of France is in possession of this priceless gem, but for it to shine like the sun, it must be cut!

Juliette Pitau's father, the Crown Jeweler, is tasked with transforming it into the Brilliant Cut and thus worthy of the Sun King, but it is beyond his skill. Fearful of the consequences of displeasing his king, he abandons his family. It is up to Juliette to find a way to complete the commission and save her father from disgrace. But to do so, she must venture into the forbidden parts of Paris that could cost her her life and betray Rene, the young scribe she has grown to love.

Caught and thrown into the king's dungeon, Juliette has only a few hours to convince the man she loves of her innocence before she is executed at dawn.

Enthralling and beautifully written, Bleu Brillant is a novel that explores love, duty, betrayal and ambition against the backdrop of the glorious court of Louis XIV, the Sun King.

Jeannie Mobley is currently a professor of anthropology in northern Colorado as well as a two-time winner of the Colorado Book Award. She is the author of three historical middle grade novels: Katerina's Wish (McElderry, 2012), Searching for Silverheels (McElderry, 2014), and Bobby Lee Claremont and the Criminal Element (Holiday House, 2017), which have received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and Library Media Connection. Other honors include the Willa Award, Junior Library Guild Selection, and inclusion on numbers notable lists, including the Amelia Bloomer List for Feminist Literature, Library of Congress 52 Great Reads List, the New York Public Library Notables, the Jefferson Cup List for Historical
Fiction, as well as a variety of state lists.