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bupdaddy's review against another edition
3.0
I'd never read a Nancy Drew, because, you know, I was a boy and it would have been unthinkable and all. As an adult, I always thought I should at least read The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew #1). But when I came across this original text version of #5, I knew the universe was speaking to me.
Nancy and...introducing Bess and George (so I'm told), and a cousin Alice go to a ranch for the summer (several day train trip to "the west") and go more than a third of the book not even knowing what mystery there was to solve. Still, enjoyable enough in its awkward, stilted YA style of the early 1930's. And there were some !exciting! vignettes out on horseback in the mountains with flash floods and mountain lions. It really wanted for some quicksand somewhere, but one takes what one can get.
Finally we figure out there's something mysterious about the little gamin who's confused about where gamins should be and lives in a bedroom in a little shack in the middle of nowhere in the west. And her mean guardian. Something mysterious about her, too, I mean.
Around the third time the girls get lost in the woods and end up at that shack again, I think anybody'd figure out all roads lead to the shack so let's not run from our destiny, let's plunge through this. Nancy confronts the mean woman, things get worse before they get better, Nancy solves the mystery and makes everything better, and - bonus! solves another huge mystery in the last 5 pages while she's popping a zit or whatever.
What makes the original text worth it:
- Nancy Drew, gunslinger. She carries a revolver and knows how to use it.
- Nancy decks a guy. He's only dazed, but laid out on the floor, and it buys her enough time to mount her horse and skedaddle.
- a big plot point hinges on her telegraphing her dad and waiting for his response to come in at the telegraph office, days later. If he doesn't respond, she has no way of finding out why. I mean, if there were better ways of communicating long distance, they'd have done that in the first place.
- supposedly it's an entirely different book than the revised text (and the title changed from Secret at Shadow Ranch to Secret of Shadow Ranch. So you can read both!
Nancy and...introducing Bess and George (so I'm told), and a cousin Alice go to a ranch for the summer (several day train trip to "the west") and go more than a third of the book not even knowing what mystery there was to solve. Still, enjoyable enough in its awkward, stilted YA style of the early 1930's. And there were some !exciting! vignettes out on horseback in the mountains with flash floods and mountain lions. It really wanted for some quicksand somewhere, but one takes what one can get.
Finally we figure out there's something mysterious about the little gamin who's confused about where gamins should be and lives in a bedroom in a little shack in the middle of nowhere in the west. And her mean guardian. Something mysterious about her, too, I mean.
Around the third time the girls get lost in the woods and end up at that shack again, I think anybody'd figure out all roads lead to the shack so let's not run from our destiny, let's plunge through this. Nancy confronts the mean woman, things get worse before they get better, Nancy solves the mystery and makes everything better, and - bonus! solves another huge mystery in the last 5 pages while she's popping a zit or whatever.
What makes the original text worth it:
- Nancy Drew, gunslinger. She carries a revolver and knows how to use it.
- Nancy decks a guy. He's only dazed, but laid out on the floor, and it buys her enough time to mount her horse and skedaddle.
- a big plot point hinges on her telegraphing her dad and waiting for his response to come in at the telegraph office, days later. If he doesn't respond, she has no way of finding out why. I mean, if there were better ways of communicating long distance, they'd have done that in the first place.
- supposedly it's an entirely different book than the revised text (and the title changed from Secret at Shadow Ranch to Secret of Shadow Ranch. So you can read both!
avidreader5678's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism
krisjesswall's review against another edition
1.0
I know this was written like a century ago but I couldn’t handle the fatphobia and the million other offensive things
dizzybell06's review against another edition
3.0
This was a cute book. I liked the setting and it was very easy to get through. I liked how this mystery played out.
postitsandpens's review against another edition
3.0
Continuing on my Nancy Drew readalong with book five! Obviously with the Nancy Drew books, you know going in there are going to be some problematic elements due to their age. This installment had more than the previous four, however, and I found myself cringing, even though the mystery was sound enough. The use of the word "Indian" is what first jumped off the page, but we also have a sheriff who, for some reason, refers to men as "hombres" and the girls dressing up in Native American clothing to attend a town barbecue. Nancy is also annoyingly prepared for whatever life throws at her (including just having to have packed a compass, of all things), which is honestly just laughable at this point. Still, I had a fun time reading all about Nancy's adventures on a ranch in Arizona, and it was nice to see George and Bess make their debut on the pages. While not the best written books in the world by any means, it's fun to revisit some childhood favorites for nostalgia's sake each month.
situationnormal's review against another edition
3.0
I knew I'd get to this point eventually but I'm a little sick of how perfect Nancy is in every way. The writing in this one seemed particularly outdated, too. That said, they're easy reads and it's always fun to put pieces together.
nlwisz's review against another edition
5.0
In this latest installment of Nancy the Invincible, our hero solves her first out-of-town mystery while vacationing in the Wild West. She is harassed at the airport, flung from a galloping horse (and suffers nary a broken bone), and bakes a delicious chocolate cake. After a brief hostage situation, the mystery is revealed and the treasure ends up in the right hands. All is well...for now.
sqeeker's review against another edition
3.0
- Another fun and satisfying Nancy Drew mystery!
- I like that Nancy Drew went all western in this story. It was a western treasure hunt! Great stuff! I love that each Nancy Drew is so different and unique. The hunt for an outlaw's treasure was cool, and I wish there had been more back story on Valentine.
- A girl named George?
- Nancy knows a lot of people! She has friends everywhere! I guess it is no surprise. She is very polite and kind, and I would like to be her friend.
- I feel like a character is more heroic and macho when they are on a horse. It might be just me, but I liked that Nancy was an experienced rider.
- The phantom horse was a fun element to the mystery, and I liked how Nancy and Chief figured out how the phantom horse thing was pulled off.
- Nancy is so clever and lucky! She can put clues together, and determine what others will do, and I also think she is incredibly lucky!
- When reading these books, you can't let your eyes glaze over or zone out. Things happen fast, and I sometimes had to go back and read a couple paragraphs. Some important event will occur, and it takes place in one or two paragraphs. The story moves fast! I like that there is no fluff.
- I like that Nancy Drew went all western in this story. It was a western treasure hunt! Great stuff! I love that each Nancy Drew is so different and unique. The hunt for an outlaw's treasure was cool, and I wish there had been more back story on Valentine.
- A girl named George?
- Nancy knows a lot of people! She has friends everywhere! I guess it is no surprise. She is very polite and kind, and I would like to be her friend.
- I feel like a character is more heroic and macho when they are on a horse. It might be just me, but I liked that Nancy was an experienced rider.
- The phantom horse was a fun element to the mystery, and I liked how Nancy and Chief figured out how the phantom horse thing was pulled off.
- Nancy is so clever and lucky! She can put clues together, and determine what others will do, and I also think she is incredibly lucky!
- When reading these books, you can't let your eyes glaze over or zone out. Things happen fast, and I sometimes had to go back and read a couple paragraphs. Some important event will occur, and it takes place in one or two paragraphs. The story moves fast! I like that there is no fluff.