Nancy Drew Challenge-- Check!

Hey, I finally finished a challenge.... from last year..... whatever, at least I'm finished.

So I have officially read all 56 of the original Nancy Drews..... and I'm feeling seriously OVER Nancy Drew!  Holy Hannah.

I may never read another as long as I live.

But hey, I'm done.

:D

May I Gripe?

Like you could stop me. ;)

I am SO FREAKING SICK of Nancy Drew!!!!!

I swear, how many times can a) someone steal her car, b) someone kidnap Ned, c) someone deliver a threat before she even knows about the case.

PLUS I just found the same boat name used in two different books in two totally different locales.  :P

Honestly, there is one thing that is seriously bothering me: I loved George as a kid, but as an adult I can't stand her!  She's a jerk and a bully.  I had considered reading these with Boo, but I cringe everytime George harps about Bess' weight!  Which she does in EVERY STUPID ONE OF THEM.

Girls today are presented with enough reasons to hate their bodies-- Nancy Drew should not be adding to those.




Okay, I'm done now.

Only 16 more to go for the challenge.... then I may never read another one as long as I live.

The Secret of the Forgotten City by Carolyn Keene

4 stars.... just 'cause that's what I've given all of them....
Nancy Drew # 52

Okay, I know, I haven't been reviewing these.... largely because I don't have a whole lot to say.

But, this one had some weird details....

Like the whole search for the golden plates.  Call me paranoid or oversensitive, but I'm LDS, and you can't make "golden plates" references to me without me thinking that either a) someone LDS was involved in the writing or b) you're making fun of the LDS church.

Anyone else think that's kinda weird?  Probably not.  It's probably just me.  :)

And you can tell this is a later one, because Ned actually kisses Nancy.  *Gasp!*  LOL.  In fact, he kisses her more than once.  Shocking.

But is anyone else sick of hearing that Bess is chubby and struggles with her weight?!  Seriously, move on.  Leave the poor girl alone.  I always loved George as a kid, but I swear if she harps on her cousin's weight one more time....

I don't know what I'll do.  Probably nothing.  Because heaven knows it's going to come up again in the next one I read. 

It's really getting on my nerves.  Girls have enough trouble with body image these days without reading stuff like that.

I wonder if there's as much of that in the old original versions.... Hmm....

Nancy's Mysterious Letter by Carolyn Keene

I know, I know, I wasn't going to review them all.  And I'm not. 

Because frankly, after reviewing a couple I run out of things to say... they're kind of all the same. ;)

BUT this one.... wow.

And I don't mean that in a good way.

Does anyone else think it's hilarious that Nancy's "sports clothes" are a skirt and sweater?

And seriously, does she actually expect a total stranger to get her message of "don't get married, talk to me first!" and take it seriously?  Really?

And is it just me, or is Ned Nickerson playing every position on the football field at once?  The descriptions from the game are so funny!

One other thing I've noticed-- reading these books is a LOT like watching Scooby Doo with my kids.  LOL.  (Speaking of Scooby Doo, has anyone else ever noticed that Velma's intelligence seems to be in her glasses?  Every time she loses them she becomes an absolute idiot.  I'm ready to duct tape them to her head!)

Anyway.  Nancy's Mysterious Letter may be the lamest of the 10 I've read so far...

But hey, lame or no, they're just the right length for a bubble bath.  :D

THe Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene

Okay, so while I knew that the "yellow cover" Nancy Drew's were updated some (they're still older than I am, but whatever) I totally didn't realize that at least some of the originals had been rereleased.

And so I ended up with one such original when I checked out The Secret of the Old Clock.

And honestly.... I'm not sure how much was really changed.  Now granted, it's been more than a decade certainly since I read the yellow cover version, but just given the style and tone compared to the other yellow covers I've read.... I don't see it.

Okay, yes, in the original Nancy is only 16, which as a "modern" reader did kind of bug me.  In today's world a 16 year old should still be in school and really doesn't need a convertible.  :D

And I would imagine the conversations with the black caretaker are a little different in the updated version, but really I didn't think any of that was all that racist.  Stereotyped yes, but Nancy treats him with a reasonable amount of respect.  Her irritation with his drunkenness doesn't seem to be anything she wouldn't feel towards anyone else in the same circumstances.

I'm not sure if this next part has changed in the update, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE what it says in the original--
(This is a physical description when we first meet Ada Topham, a wretched girl Nancy knew at school.)

In spite of the expensive clothes she wore, she was anything but attractive, for she was tall and slender to the point of being "skinny".

I LOVE IT!  In today's world of scary-thin models and airbrushed pictures, I love the nearly disgusted tone at the idea of being "skinny".  Hilarious.  And beautiful.

Anyway, a fun romp.

Even though it's not technically the yellow cover edition, I'm still counting this for the Nancy Drew Challenge and it was my February pick for my book club. :D

Nancy Drew

I'm not going to review each of these as I go.

I had planned to, but really.... I don't think I'm going to have much new to say after the first couple.

'Cause they're really all very similar.

And they're hilarious.... unintentionally.  :D  Talk about the quintessential fluff mystery.

Not real well written.... not real complicated.... and yet they're classic and enduring and endearing.

And I have no idea why.

I'm wondering if kids still read them, though, because the language is a bit out of date.  Not quite as bad as the Curious George books maybe.... but still.  (Seriously, when was the last time you tried to actually READ ALOUD one of the original Curious George books?  Wowsers.  I rephrase a LOT.)

So why??   Why are these so blasted popular?  Why do I keep reading even as I'm laughing at how silly they are?

There's just something universal about them.

Anyway-- I've read The Clue of the Black Keys and The Scarlet Slipper Mystery and The Crooked Banister.  (Those being the 3 yellow-cover originals I own.)

The Crooked Banister totally has the coolest cover.  :D