Eleven-year-old Cornelia is the daughter of two world-famous pianists--a legacy that should feel fabulous, but instead feels just plain lonely. She surrounds herself with dictionaries and other books to isolate herself from the outside world. But when a glamorous neighbor named Virginia Somerset moves next door with her servant Patel and a mischievous French bulldog named Mister Kinyatta, Cornelia discovers that the world is a much more exciting place than she had originally thought.
An unforgettable story of friendship and adventure that takes readers around the world and back again, "Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters "is a dazzling first novel by Lesley M. M. Blume.

"From the Hardcover edition."

★ ""A story that is as rich as it is delicious."--B"ooklist, "Starred"
Franny Hansen is a 10-year-old piano prodigy living in Rusty Nail, Minnesota. Once the Coot Capitol of the world, in 1953 it's just a run-of-the-mill town with one traffic light and a bizarre cast of characters. She's long exhausted the talents of the town's only piano teacher and seems destined to perform at church events and school assemblies, until a mysterious Russian woman arrives in Rusty Nail. Franny's neighbors are convinced the "Commie" is a threat to their American way of life, but Franny's not so sure. Could this stranger be her ticket out of Rusty Nail?
Lesley M. M. Blume returns with the poignant and laugh-out-loud funny story of one girl's attempt to pursue the American dream in small town America.
"Blume has skillfully combined humor, history, and music to create an enjoyable novel that builds to a surprising crescendo.""--School Library Journal"