Secret of the Emerald Star Author:Phyllis A. Whitney Artistically inclined Robin is drawn into the mystery of the cranky old woman next door and a beautiful young girl who seems to be held against her will. Twelve-year-old Stella and her mother are refugees from Cuba, and Stella's overbearing grandmother treats her like a helpless baby because of her blindness. In defiance of her grandmother, ... more »Stella constantly wears a beautiful emerald and diamond pin in the shape of a star, a gift from her (dead) Cuban grandmother. Robin senses that more is at stake when a mysterious, unpleasant stranger shows up at the Devery house searching through rubble and sneaking around, but is preoccupied with trying to find a subject to sculpt in clay so that she can enter a sculpting class by a talented local artist.« less