Nancy Drew Diaries Reviewed & Giveaway

UPDATE: Winners will be posted once I receive the prices - I can do the drawing now, but there's not much fun in not knowing what you win ;-) Prizes include Diaries books and other things. Hopefully we'll get the drawing done by middle of this next week...Stay tuned!

PRIZE WINNERS:

Judah Ben-Hur

Creative Cutie

Betsy

Courtesy of Simon & Schuster, you will receive both diaries books, a notebook (1 of pictured) and some neat pins:

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Nancy Drew has a new series to sleuth around in, the Nancy Drew Diaries series. This series debuted this past February with two titles, Curse of the Arctic Star and Strangers on a Train. It's never easy restarting an old favorite of fans young and old, but this series has an interesting premise--Nancy writing in her diary at the beginning and end of each case and now has an illustrator for the covers, Erin McGuire. Gone is the clip art and photographic covers of the recent Girl Detective series. They're still being written in first person perspective. The titles are a bit more mysterious and the cover art a bit darker which is always a plus in my book.

How do they fare with this long time fan? I'm going to review the first two books in this posting and then do a little activity for all you Nancy fans that might inspire those with a hand in this series! I'll also be giving away some Nancy Drew books, notebooks, and pins! To be entered into the drawing, here's your mission if you choose to accept it--please leave comments on this post with your name and follow the directions below.

Rather than your own comments about the series, I want you to think outside the box and complete the following 5 spooky titles with your imagination--something you'd like to see in future Nancy Drew Diaries titles. Deadline to enter: Sat. April 14, 2013. You get 1 entry for doing just that. Even better, complete the titles and then give me 1 brief paragraph synopsis (100 words or less) of a mystery that fits one of your titles, and you get 10 entries into the drawing.

The Secret of the _______    ________.

The Mysterious _________ of _________ Hall.

The Hidden _________.

The Phantom of _________    __________.

Nancy's _________   __________.

PLEASE KEEP IN MIND: Comments are Moderated, so they will not show up until approved.

Thoughts on Nancy Drew Diaries & Where is Nancy Drew?

Book #1 - Curse of the Arctic Star

Synopsis:      In this mystery, Nancy and her friends Bess and George go on a cruise to Alaska to investigate strange things happening on the ship. They arrive with Bess's new boyfriend and pretend they're contest winners. One part of the mystery seems to be solved at the end of this mystery but it continues in a two-parter with book two, Strangers on a Train in which Nancy solves the whole case.

Book # 2 - Strangers on a Train

Synopsis:     Nancy Drew continues her Alaskan cruise in part two of this mystery. She's solved one mystery but is it really completely solved? She realizes quickly that there's more going on that she thought and finds herself still on the case to uncover who is behind more threats and old threats that never did get resolved. She even stumbles upon another mystery involving smuggled animal bones. In the end, she solves the case and presumably she and her pals can finally just enjoy a mystery free vacation--until the next mystery, that is! 

Target Age:     8 to 12

A Few Clues About Nancy Drew Diaries...

Nancy has always been a popular character--for over 80 years now--in part due to a simple formula. She's a mystery magnet, who loves to solve a mystery no matter how baffling or how many threats she gets to stay off a case. She's bold, independent, and loyal.She could use her wits and skills of deduction to solve any mystery and tackle any predicament she found herself in. She's a role model and kids have looked up to her and wanted to be like her. The more flawed she is, like in the recent Girl Detective series (which may be more realistic), the less attractive she really is and the less we want to be like her. In the real world, we're all human, so we're all already flawed, we don't need a repeat version of ourselves necessarily. We read these books for entertainment and fun and we end up inspired along the way. We need someone to aspire to be and someone to motivate us and lead by example. That's the Nancy of generations of mystery readers. That's the Nancy who has inspired countless detectives and lawyers to take up the reigns and fight for justice and right wrongs in their own lives and careers. That's the Nancy who inspired a child to break free from a car trunk during a kidnapping and escape after she pondered, What Would Nancy Drew Do? That's the Nancy who inspired first Ladies like Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton; Supreme Court Justices like Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Where is this Nancy today? I don't feel like she existed the longer the Girl Detective series continued on. Does she exist in Nancy Drew Diaries? That's the real mysterious question that everyone including her publishers should be asking themselves...

My answer? Yes and no.

I liked the first two books. I'd like to see more. I'd like to see where it goes. As a researcher and consultant of the series who has gotten to know fans of all ages over the years and who has enjoyed all kinds of styles of Nancy Drew from her various series and spin-offs, I think my opinion is a pretty well rounded opinion on this series. Keeping in mind this is written for today's tweens, I think the writing style is conversational and flows well. There is some humor and good relationships between the girls in these mysteries--I could picture a group of today's girls having some of these conversations, so that part is done well. I enjoyed the setting and thought it was described well in the book, you could feel as if you were cruising right along with everyone and getting a tour of the ship. The mystery was OK, but somewhat generic, though the two-part cliffhanger should keep kids eager to read book two to see how it all turns out.

Though Nancy Drew sailed through and solved her mystery as always, I feel like she can do better. Like, if I was her "sleuth coach," I might suggest she hang out in a few dark alleys or check out a few abandoned mansions, maybe go on a treasure hunt or an old archaeology dig, or maybe check out that old haunted house in neighboring "Spooky Town" -- anything to bring a little more excitement to her life and in ours as the reader following along with her and her chums on their adventures. A little more spooky for me, with a side of dastardly villains please!

The new "Diaries" theme is very girlie--more likely a style that flatters Nancy's friend Bess more than Nancy and George. It's not too far fetched to think Nancy might write in a diary, however if she's 18 like she's usually been or some such similar age since they're not in school anymore, I think she'd be more into journaling. A diary is something little girls keep, so perhaps the 8 to 12 set reading the mystery may not think of it in terms like that and that may be what appeals more to that age set--the term diary over the term journaling. In fact, if this series is as modern as we would assume it to be--they are texting in these books after all--then Nancy would even more likely be keeping a Blog which is like a journal or diary, but online. A Blog recounting her mysteries or crime solving tips and expertise. Or she might even have some fans or perhaps her computer savvy pal George keeping a Blog about her exploits.

Being that Nancy Drew is a super detective, I feel a little bit like the diary concept isn't quite fitting--it's like a step in the right direction from the previous Girl Detective series, but just not quite there yet. We've previously seen a Nancy Drew Files series in the 1980s/1990s for the older teen set, in which the books began with Nancy's case file with a summary of the case, clues, suspects and everything laid out. That better fits a detective series than a diary. Maybe it's a case of semantics--perhaps renaming it a sleuthing journal or sleuth notebook would make more sense. "Nancy Drew Case Notes," "Nancy Drew Case Files," "Nancy Drew Sleuth Files," or perhaps "Nancy Drew's Dossier." Surely today's kids are not so dumbed down that they don't recognize what a "sleuth" is or what a "dossier" is?

The formula is still there - we have Nancy as a motherless sleuth with an attorney father, she's well known for her detective abilities and solving cases, she has two foil friends that are opposites like oil and water, a boyfriend who sometimes helps with the case and a housekeeper who is a motherly figure and a good cook. She's always stumbling upon a mystery and she always solves her case and gets the culprit in the end. But it's not so much the formula anymore, it's how she gets from beginning to end that really makes the case for Nancy Drew--and whether she's still that Mystery Solve-IT-Girl that's become a Pop Culture phenomenon. Does she still have it? It, being her sleuthing Mojo, or whatever you call it. That special something that kept us turning the pages time and time again to journey along on one thrilling adventure after another, even sneaking just one more chapter, and then another, and another...after bedtime under the covers with a flashlight.

Nancy Drew Diaries attempts to keep the series modern, but also lets Nancy rely on her deductive reasoning, sleuthing skills and her wits more than just technology which for Nancy Drew mystery buffs is a plus. There are those classic villain foibles from the classic Nancy Drew mysteries--threatening notes, physical threats and sabotage. Nancy Drew Diaries is almost there, but misses just a bit of what I'd like to call more Gothic suspense and mystery. There needs to be more drama and suspense, and the mystery should be a bit more mysterious to really compel Nancy from the beginning of her journey throughout the mystery of gathering clues and then attempting to solve it in the end. The reader should feel like they can't put down the book until they've dissected every last word and feverishly sprinted to the final psychological moment when everything comes together and the mystery is solved, the culprit revealed and then like Nancy, we are wistful for another mystery to solve, hoping the thrill ride continues. That was classic Nancy. That's what made Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayer come alive as a child. That's what inspired me. Diaries Nancy needs a jolt. She needs a gentle (or not so gentle) shove toward her former self and I hope she finds her way, one secret passageway and spooky old attic at at time...

Jenn:)