Reviews

The Secret of the Old Clock/The Hidden Staircase by Carolyn Keene

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sunflower_13's review against another edition

funny mysterious tense fast-paced

3.5

Fun children’s mysteries where there are some stakes but you know everything will work out and no one will be murdered. Kind of old Scooby Doo vibes at times (though these stories predate Scooby).

Content Warnings

lewill083's review

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adventurous hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

jessmason's review

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

mdpbernal's review

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hopeful informative mysterious reflective fast-paced

3.0

rainynook's review

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

It was fun to read this book again after more than 50 years. My grandmother gave me the book when I was around 10 years old; she wrote my name on one of the first pages. My edition is from 1959. I had hand-colored in the old pen & ink drawings with pencils. It's strange to read this book (intended for 8-12 year olds) with so many relatively complicated topics that I knew nothing of when I was 10: country clubs, lawyers, charity balls, wills, probate. Also, Nancy gets into a great deal of trouble (breaking & entering, petty theft, trouble with evil-doers, etc.) so I'm not sure a modern parent of an 8 year old would see this as appropriate reading material. Nancy lives a very privileged life: lives in a beautiful home with a live-in housekeeper who cooks meals, has a new convertible car, nice clothes, belongs to a country club. She's beautiful & thin (again, this is controversial) - but like Rory & Lorelai Gilmore, she eats whatever she wants (arghghgh). She is beloved by most, & genuinely wants to help people. She's kind, resourceful, athletic, skilled at many things, extremely knowledgeable, but surprisingly, at 18, she's not thinking of college (neither is she thinking about boys). The book is a very quick read, but very enjoyable. Every chapter ends with a page-turning phrase similar to, "And then there was a scream!" or "the evil-doers were getting away!" or "oh boy, this was the major clue I needed to solve the case". I recommend this engaging book for a trip down memory lane.