Scan barcode
aplace_inthesun's review against another edition
4.0
A murdered school teacher.
A gay uncle and his fashion designer boyfriend.
An emo next door neighbour.
An 11 year old amateur sleuth.
A small New Zealand town.
Welcome to the Nancy’s. 11 year old Tippy Chan, her uncle Pike and his boyfriend Devon form the Nancy’s, a club of 3 paying homage to Nancy Drew while they investigate the murder of Tippy’s school teacher.
It’s a fun, slightly irreverent book with slapstick, tongue-in-cheek humour. There’s profanity galore. There’s diverse characters - LGBTQ representation.
Tippy is the narrator, which I needed to remember as her voice belies her years, as does her wry sense of humour. It’s also a book layered with relationships, identity, grief and loss, and finding out the truth regardless of how painful it might be.
Great to read on my rainy Sunday afternoon.
A gay uncle and his fashion designer boyfriend.
An emo next door neighbour.
An 11 year old amateur sleuth.
A small New Zealand town.
Welcome to the Nancy’s. 11 year old Tippy Chan, her uncle Pike and his boyfriend Devon form the Nancy’s, a club of 3 paying homage to Nancy Drew while they investigate the murder of Tippy’s school teacher.
It’s a fun, slightly irreverent book with slapstick, tongue-in-cheek humour. There’s profanity galore. There’s diverse characters - LGBTQ representation.
Tippy is the narrator, which I needed to remember as her voice belies her years, as does her wry sense of humour. It’s also a book layered with relationships, identity, grief and loss, and finding out the truth regardless of how painful it might be.
Great to read on my rainy Sunday afternoon.
thisreadinglife's review against another edition
4.0
This was an ideal book to take on a weekend away, it's an easy fun read that you can just pick up and put down again. I loved how the author didn't forget that Tippy (the narrator) was eleven and most of her uncles' dirty banter sailed right over her head.
The mystery in the book was satisfactorily solved, I thought I had worked it out early on but had been sucked in by the red herrings planted in the beginning.
The mystery in the book was satisfactorily solved, I thought I had worked it out early on but had been sucked in by the red herrings planted in the beginning.
melbsreads's review against another edition
3.0
Trigger warnings: death of a parent (in the past), grief, murder, blood, serious injury to a friend, slut shaming, alcohol abuse.
For the most part, I enjoyed this story about an 11 year old Nancy Drew obsessed kid in small town New Zealand investigating the murder of her teacher with assistance from her chaotic uncle and his fashion-designer boyfriend. There's plenty of humour in the story and I loved having Tippy as a narrator because so much of the adult conversation goes over her head (but not the reader's).
However. Part way through the book, I noticed that McDonald writes in a very clipped way and that the characters all speak in 1-2 sentence blocks which made the book feel...choppy? And once I noticed it, I couldn't unsee it and then it turned into all I could see and anyway I wanted to love this because the start was so much fun buuuuuuut the writing wasn't my favourite and I'm bummed about that.
For the most part, I enjoyed this story about an 11 year old Nancy Drew obsessed kid in small town New Zealand investigating the murder of her teacher with assistance from her chaotic uncle and his fashion-designer boyfriend. There's plenty of humour in the story and I loved having Tippy as a narrator because so much of the adult conversation goes over her head (but not the reader's).
However. Part way through the book, I noticed that McDonald writes in a very clipped way and that the characters all speak in 1-2 sentence blocks which made the book feel...choppy? And once I noticed it, I couldn't unsee it and then it turned into all I could see and anyway I wanted to love this because the start was so much fun buuuuuuut the writing wasn't my favourite and I'm bummed about that.
lydiaffagan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
usernamegenerator's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
sophie_visentin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I devoured The Nancy's in just one day! This book hooks you in not just through accessible, witty and lyrical language to describe the small town and the events that go on, but the characters are what make the book extra special. The dedication to developing strong, complex, loveable characters, and inclusivity in all respects, allows for everyone reading to find a character that they can relate to at some point.
This story, yes, does partly centre on suffering, grief and trauma (so a trigger warning for some readers) amongst the main mystery. However, this book is most importantly about family, friendship, dealing with and coming to terms with aforementioned trauma in a hilariously heartwarming dialogue of characters that together creates a story that I believe many will enjoy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent and Homophobia
Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Car accident, Homophobia, and Vomit
avidreader999's review against another edition
5.0
A delightful light hearted salute to Nancy Drew mysteries. The story is told from the perspective of 11 year old Tippy Chan whose father has died in an accident but under some kind of cloud that she doesn’t quite understand. When her mother heads off on a cruise, her Uncle Pike and his boyfriend Devon come to take care of her. When her teacher is murdered in mysterious circumstances, and with their joint love of Nancy Drew mysteries, they decide to create a crime solving club “the Nancys”. The story tracks not only the mystery of who murdered her teacher but also the complexity of humans, forgiveness and accepting people for who they are. It also helps that there are some laugh aloud moments. A joy to read.
narpetcards's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
questingnotcoasting's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Addiction and Gore
Minor: Suicide attempt and Panic attacks/disorders
mittymyers's review against another edition
4.0
A little bit adult a little bit childish and honestly just a good time. The mystery was one I actually wanted to solve, and the whole thing had me smiling.