The Secret of the Old Clock, Carolyn Keene
Okay, brace yourself, guys: I never read Nancy Drew as a child. I was more into books about horses and history than Nancy Drew. Still, as an adult I felt this hole in my education, and when the first book in the series turned up on my shelving cart, I secretly abstracted it and read it.
It's really good! It's a genuine mystery, and if you can suspend your disbelief long enough to believe a teenage girl would do the stuff Nancy does instead of just going to the police (and I want to add here that she does go to the police at least twice during the book; she's just doing more than most kids would do before she does), it's a fun quick read. I liked that Nancy made most of her breakthroughs just by making friends and talking to people. I also liked that the book is pretty much not sexist at all, and that Nancy does go to the police when things like arrests need to happen.
I think my only real problem with the book was the writing, and that may be only a problem for those of us reading Nancy Drew for the first time as an adult. It did decrease my enjoyment of the book by a lot, but I tend to ask for a lot from my authors, and I didn't think Keene delivered. Still, I am not the book's intended audience. I can definitely see why these books are so popular among the people who are.
This entry is crossposted at http://bookblather.dreamwidth.org/329808.html. Please comment over there if possible.
It's really good! It's a genuine mystery, and if you can suspend your disbelief long enough to believe a teenage girl would do the stuff Nancy does instead of just going to the police (and I want to add here that she does go to the police at least twice during the book; she's just doing more than most kids would do before she does), it's a fun quick read. I liked that Nancy made most of her breakthroughs just by making friends and talking to people. I also liked that the book is pretty much not sexist at all, and that Nancy does go to the police when things like arrests need to happen.
I think my only real problem with the book was the writing, and that may be only a problem for those of us reading Nancy Drew for the first time as an adult. It did decrease my enjoyment of the book by a lot, but I tend to ask for a lot from my authors, and I didn't think Keene delivered. Still, I am not the book's intended audience. I can definitely see why these books are so popular among the people who are.
This entry is crossposted at http://bookblather.dreamwidth.org/329808.html. Please comment over there if possible.