Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Nancy Drew, Jet-Setter


Nancy Drew is just awesome. She just is. The date on The Clue in the Crossword Cipher says 1967, which means it is part of the second wave of Nancy Drews, with shorter texts and a more perfect Nancy. In the first chapter she bounds down a hill after a dinner plate and dives into the river to rescue it. Then she drives home in her convertible (she puts the windows up) and is met by Hannah, who doesn't even blink at the young girl's sodden state. A motherly housekeeper who doesn't notice river weed hanging from Nancy's ears? We know we are on a wild ride!

My next jolt of delight was the invitation to visit an acquaintance in Peru. In two days. Why, go along, honey, says daddy, and then he suggests calling Bess and George to see if they want to hop on the plane too. Well, of course! And luckily the Peruvian friend's father is fabulously wealthy and has them flying all over South America in his company's aircraft looking for clues. George makes fun of Bess's weight at least four times, but that doesn't stop our Bessie from going for that THIRD slice of bread. Well, OK, it does stop her, but she comes back for seconds at the buffet dinner soon after.

This book was pure delight, with adventure and silliness crowding the page. I'm pretty sure I haven't read this one before, although honestly, with these series it can be a bit hard to tell. I'll see if my fourth grader wants to try it; the adventure is good, but I doubt he will appreciate the nostalgic silliness.

ETA: I saw a note that today was C day on Reading at the Beach's Wednesday A-Z theme. So I'm in!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've never read any of the Nancy Drew books but I did watch the show years ago.

Anonymous said...

BTW: Thanks for joining A-Z Wednesday!

Kinga said...

Not growing up in this country I am among the few who have never read a Nancy Drew, but sooner or later it has to come to its end :D

Nise' said...

I so loved Nancy Drew and this is one I remember!