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A review by readerturnedwriter
The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene
2.0
I honestly don't know if I have read this first book or not, though I read countless Nancy Drew books as a girl. This first one was surprisingly ... boring. I had heard the actual writing in it wasn't that great (and so was expecting that), but the plot really didn't hook me either. Nancy is looking for a will by talking to a lot of different people between doing activities that rich girls did in the 1930's (shopping, a girls camp, etc.). The reviews are actually really high on Goodreads and a lot of people talk about the fast pace, and I just don't get it.
I started reading this aloud with my girls (8, 6, and 4) after we watched the Nancy Drew movie (which we all love). At first, they were excited and liked it, but about 1/3 of the way in, they were bored and asked if we could read something different. I was also bored with it, so I immediately agreed. I did decide to finish it on my own because I wanted to read/reread this as an adult and just see what it was like as a whole (and it's also fairly short).
To make a long story short, I just love Trixie Belden. I've read the first two aloud with my girls and we all loved them, and I reread them countless times growing up. I know that Nancy Drew has a lot of different writers (all under the same name, I think?), so maybe future books are better done, but this one fell flat for me. I would take Trixie Belden over this book any day.
I started reading this aloud with my girls (8, 6, and 4) after we watched the Nancy Drew movie (which we all love). At first, they were excited and liked it, but about 1/3 of the way in, they were bored and asked if we could read something different. I was also bored with it, so I immediately agreed. I did decide to finish it on my own because I wanted to read/reread this as an adult and just see what it was like as a whole (and it's also fairly short).
To make a long story short, I just love Trixie Belden. I've read the first two aloud with my girls and we all loved them, and I reread them countless times growing up. I know that Nancy Drew has a lot of different writers (all under the same name, I think?), so maybe future books are better done, but this one fell flat for me. I would take Trixie Belden over this book any day.