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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
Though the writing is dated rather than classic, the story itself was engaging— and you cannot help but fall for spunky, smart Nancy Drew!
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a fun story with all the regular characters plus new friends made.
adventurous
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:
Yes
Since it's hard to find the correct book versions for Nancy Drew Mysteries on Storygraph, this review is for the Revised Text version of the story; I understand they're quite different.
I really liked Keene's writing voice in this one There was humor to the plot, a romantic rivalry, and some delightful George moments. The setting in Illinoise was well utilized with a section on river barges, a sighting of The Arch, and in general a good attention to detail. Keene also manages the large cast with skill, compared to the muddy attempt in the previous volume.
The whole read was made quite uncomfortable by the focus on excavating ”Indian Burial Mounds”; the book I'm reading in parrallel has just highlighted the modern struggle to reclaim these kidnapped ancestors by various indigenous peoples around the world. The pain those kinds of excavations cause still has not been resolved to this day. It made certain triumphs and scenes in the book hard to read without cringing:desecrating a baby's grave is not all that exciting unless you've forgotten the Iriqouis were/are people too, and not just artifacts to be discovered. For that I've taken off two whole stars: it's a five star if you ignore the coloniser mindset but I'm opting not to.
I really liked Keene's writing voice in this one There was humor to the plot, a romantic rivalry, and some delightful George moments. The setting in Illinoise was well utilized with a section on river barges, a sighting of The Arch, and in general a good attention to detail. Keene also manages the large cast with skill, compared to the muddy attempt in the previous volume.
The whole read was made quite uncomfortable by the focus on excavating ”Indian Burial Mounds”; the book I'm reading in parrallel has just highlighted the modern struggle to reclaim these kidnapped ancestors by various indigenous peoples around the world. The pain those kinds of excavations cause still has not been resolved to this day. It made certain triumphs and scenes in the book hard to read without cringing:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
I am deeply aware that I read this when I was younger, but I absolutely did not remember anything about the plot. It felt very much like the first time I was reading this. It was fun, but not my favorite in retrospect. There was one too many digs about Bess’ eating habits, & a random guy who was overly jealous of Ned, & some really odd time of events. I love Nancy, but this did not hit home as much as I’d hoped it would.
Wow! Reading the reviews is fascinating... Why on earth would there be a rewrite of the original with a completely different plot? I had no idea until now that the version I read (1930s) wasn't the only one!
The 30s story is one of the more bizarre Drew books I've read. But in an extremely fun way - the plot is all over the place and makes NO sense. Nancy comes off as a complete sociopath 50% of the time. Carson Drew comes to help solve the mystery in Canada half way through and is fine with bringing his kid to a shootout over property dispute. Truly bizarre.
In comparison to other Nancy Drew books this one isn't very good. The plot is just too all over the place. But we had tremendous fun reading it.
The 30s story is one of the more bizarre Drew books I've read. But in an extremely fun way - the plot is all over the place and makes NO sense. Nancy comes off as a complete sociopath 50% of the time. Carson Drew comes to help solve the mystery in Canada half way through and is fine with bringing his kid to a shootout over property dispute. Truly bizarre.
In comparison to other Nancy Drew books this one isn't very good. The plot is just too all over the place. But we had tremendous fun reading it.
mysterious
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The anti-indigenous racism, though somewhat lampshaded, is very intense, given the plot. It's a shame, especially since the mystery and queer subtext sparkle.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The mystery is solid and the tension is kept high, but the treatment of American Indian burial grounds had not stood up well at all. There's some rather disrespectful handling of human remains.