210 pages
English language
Published Jan. 5, 1991 by Applewood Books, Distributed by Globe Pequot Press.
Nancy Drew's keen mind is tested when she searches for a missing will.
I picked this one up at a library sale, and it was a nice little mystery, although obviously a product of its time.
Nancy Drew has a lot of empathy and persistence, two qualities I like to see in an amateur sleuth.
My grandson (8) and I enjoyed this mystery 'thriller'. The story makes for great breakfast & lunchtime reading. He especially enjoyed the story's plot twists and vocabulary learning.
Where it all began. Nancy sticks her nose in everyone's business and saves the day. Spoiler, the rest of the series is going to follow this formula.
Nancy almost runs over a young girl, chases down some robbers, and gets involved with a missing will. I'm going to give you three guesses where it's hidden, guys, and the first two don't count. She gets captured, breaks out, nearly gets captured again, and saves the day. Did we expect anything else?We don't get any Bess & George, but don't worry, they are coming soon. Plenty of Carson Drew, father of the year, and Hannah Gruen, the best surrogate mother around.
These books are silly but I loved them growing up. I review them all so you don't have to. You're welcome.
This is the original 1930 version of the book that started the Nancy Drew series. Like most girls I was completely obsessed with the series, but mostly I read the yellow-cover revisions that even I can remember were very poorly written potboilers. For nostalgia's sake I’m planning to reread at least the first bunch of books in the series, and also because I’m curious about the original versions.
This book was both so much better than I expected it to be, but also a product of its time in a terrible cringey way. The characters are really thin and stereotyped; the bad people are bad in every way and the good people are nothing but good. There is a really horrible racist portrayal of a black caretaker in the middle of the book that was painful to read. Nancy herself is independent and plucky but intensely privileged; she’s clearly super …
This is the original 1930 version of the book that started the Nancy Drew series. Like most girls I was completely obsessed with the series, but mostly I read the yellow-cover revisions that even I can remember were very poorly written potboilers. For nostalgia's sake I’m planning to reread at least the first bunch of books in the series, and also because I’m curious about the original versions.
This book was both so much better than I expected it to be, but also a product of its time in a terrible cringey way. The characters are really thin and stereotyped; the bad people are bad in every way and the good people are nothing but good. There is a really horrible racist portrayal of a black caretaker in the middle of the book that was painful to read. Nancy herself is independent and plucky but intensely privileged; she’s clearly super smart, just out of high school, with her own car, but lives with her father and does not seem to have any ambition at all. In between solving mysteries there is lunch, and shopping, and vacations at the lake, and charity balls. Nancy is about as unwoke as a well-off white teenager can be, and despite her being the heroine it’s hard not to view her unfavorably with today’s lens.
On the other hand the plot is action-filled and fast-moving, the mystery is a bit obvious but still compelling, and the original art from is really well done.
So very dated, and so very class and propriety aware. Nevertheless, a decent read, and I've high respect for the boundaries it broke.
When I was about 8 or 9 I was obsessed with Nancy Drew. It was hilarious to read it as an adult. Things I learned from Ms. Drew:
1. It is awesome when your dad is rich and you don't have to do shit for money
2. Politeness is mandatory at all times
3. Rural, poor people are simple, kind and trusting
4. It is appropriate to wear a matching sweater suit when sleuthing
5. Always describe the outfit changes of your protagonist
6. Being able to change your own tire means you are an extraordinary girl
7. Criminals are dumb
8. Police will always help you (if you look like Nancy Drew)
9. If the people around you are simple enough, the most basic logic looks like genius
10. Cute convertibles have constant car trouble
I mean, at least the 1950s version took out most of the overt prejudice …
When I was about 8 or 9 I was obsessed with Nancy Drew. It was hilarious to read it as an adult. Things I learned from Ms. Drew:
1. It is awesome when your dad is rich and you don't have to do shit for money
2. Politeness is mandatory at all times
3. Rural, poor people are simple, kind and trusting
4. It is appropriate to wear a matching sweater suit when sleuthing
5. Always describe the outfit changes of your protagonist
6. Being able to change your own tire means you are an extraordinary girl
7. Criminals are dumb
8. Police will always help you (if you look like Nancy Drew)
9. If the people around you are simple enough, the most basic logic looks like genius
10. Cute convertibles have constant car trouble
I mean, at least the 1950s version took out most of the overt prejudice and just erased most everyone. That's better. Right? Sadly, my inner 9 year old still wants to tool around in a convertible, wear cute clothes, and solve puzzles. And I'm still super pissed that they made Nancy Drew a cop in this new tv show coming out.
