And this week I came across a couple dozen old Nancy Drew books lining my bookshelves...or rather my sister's. Both of us went through a crazed Nancy Drew Phase. I read everything the library had. She bought all the books she could afford.
For the most part, I'm not a mystery person. And let's face it, Nancy is written in a pretty cliche style. But every now and then...I don't know if its nostalgia or if there's really something in these stories...I just get a hankering to reread them.
So I thought it'd be fun to make a list of the reasons why Nancy Drew continues to be so popular after all these years.
So the reasons I've always loved Nancy:
- Awesome book covers. As an artist and an indie author who does her own covers, I must point out that the artwork on those hardbound yellow books is pretty dang awesome!
- She gets to travel all over the place. I mean, come on!
- cool bits of history, facts, and info learned while reading a story.
- Despite not being the best "quality" writing, their easy to read. The plot is intriquing enough that you don't mind too much. ;)
- Don't forget Ned Nickerson: I mean she had an (apparently) good-looking boyfriend, but he was not the clingy type...he didn't hesitate to protect Nancy, but he obviously admired her greatly and never "held her back" in any way. Though to be honest I alway found him a bit dull. ;) And the few times they "smile romantically" at each other and someone teases them and Nancy "blushes." Yeah. I admit it. I laugh.
- Then there's George and Bess! Let's be honest. Those two are the epitome of awesome best friends. And considering how hard it can be for a threesome to keep everyone feeling included, I think these three do a great job at being supportive caring friends.
- Mystery. Duh.
- The settings themselves.
- How smart and clever Nancy is. Okay, so most of the plots are simplistic in retrospective and it looks like a three-year old could figure them out...and half the time the wonder isn't that Nancy figured it out...its that no one else noticed either. But so what if Nancy lives in a world of simpletons. When we read these books at the age of 12 or 13 they made us feel like WE were Nancy and we were the smart, clever, beautiful, capable sleuth...
- And who doesn't want to grow up to be brilliant sleuth, huh? Answer me that.
- And the fact that Nancy is beautiful and capable...when your 12 years old and you read about the heroine roaming all over the seven continents solving mysteries...how can you not be impressed?
- She has the awesome dad ever. That's for sure.
- Oh, and the housekeeper. Mrs. Gruen is pretty lovable too. In fact all the adults seemed pretty laid-back and perfectly okay with their young daughters running around looking for adventure and jumping headfirst into danger....
- She's eighteen (sixteen in the original stories!) but apparently has no school or college connections tying her down. She has all the freedom anyone could wish for!
- And the best reason? She was never a damsel in distress. If some villain tied her up and locked her in the closet, she didn't just sit there and wait for Ned to come rescue her. Oh no. She always figured out a way to free herself. Now that's what I call a role model for young girls! ;)
Comment below on your favorite Nancy Drew read (or Hardy Boys if you read those instead!), and why you like it!
No comments:
Post a Comment