Bookshelf Reviews: Nancy Drew and Me

April 15th 2018

A little chat about a series of books that fill my heart with joy~

Since I am not finishing books as fast as I would like to and I would hate to see this series die, I decided to come on and write a little post that is more personal than objective. Nancy Drew has been in my life for as long as I can remember, both in the form of games and novels. Although I haven’t read even half of the stories in the series, the overall feeling that Nancy Drew gives me is something that I find it quite hard to explain.

When I was a little girl, Nancy Drew made me want to grow up to be a detective. I got this idea in my head that solving mysteries was exactly like it was in the books or in an episode of Scooby-Doo. I believed that all mysteries can be solved through exploring clever puzzles and all bad guys could be stopped with wit and a strong trap. The idea that a teenage girl was capable of fighting crime with brains as opposed to brawn was something that made me feel so hopeful.

The Nancy Drew series of books were first released in the 1930’s and were written by a team of ghostwriters and created under the publisher Edward Stratemeyer, who used the pseudonym Carolyn Keene as the books were intended to appeal to a female audience. Nancy was created as a female counterpart to the Hardy Boys series! It wasn’t until very recently that I learned this, but it hasn’t detracted from my enjoyment of the books even slightly. I still find it incredible that, in the 1930’s, someone was able to write a successful book about a headstrong girl who was going against societal convention and solving mysteries. It also warms my heart to know that, as a young girl, my nanny would read the books in the back seat of her family car while it rained. She would sit and read and enjoy an apple and the sound of rain.

HER Interactive also offers a series of Nancy Drew computer games which are still some of my favorite games of all time and my brother always tries to get me the newest one for Christmas if a new one is to come out. It has been a couple of years now but I believe the new release is set for spring of 2019! The amazing part of the games is how intricate and beautiful they are. You feel like you really are solving a mystery filled with twists and turns. And even at 23 years old, I still play on junior detective mode because senior detective mode has super hard puzzles!

Overall, my favorite thing about the Nancy Drew series is that she continues to be a positive role model to young girls with book series continuing to bring new life to the beloved character!

What is your favorite book or book series? How has it shaped you? Let me know in the comments below because I would love to hear about other amazing books!

Jess~