The bulk of this post was written in February 2023 and was never finished. I found it as I went through old draft posts, so I finished it up well enough to publish. Here it is.
These questions are not easy to answer. The best answer that can be given is to suggest that a couple books could be read to see what they are like. Even that won't tell the entire story.
The Nancy Drew Diaries series is like none of the previous Nancy Drew series. The series is highly inconsistent, making it impossible to compare to previous versions. Also, the Nancy Drew Diaries series is a watered-down version of Nancy Drew. The stories are sometimes bland and boring; other times, they are bizarre. The series is wildly uneven with Nancy acting significantly out of character in some books. It depends on who the ghost writer was for each book. There is little oversight by S&S on these books.
I briefly looked at one of the Nancy Drew Notebooks stories to see how they read. This passage is from pages 2 and 3 of Nancy Drew Notebooks #63 The Snowman's Surprise.
When the girls reached the park, Nancy thought it looked beautiful all covered with snow. The trees were covered with snow. The benches were covered with snow. Even the swing sets were covered with snow. Nancy liked the way the snow crunched under their feet and the way the cold air made their cheeks tingle. She loved winter! She especially loved winter vacation, when they could just play and not have to go to school.
The above text is obviously for young children. The text is repetitive to help children learn to read. Nancy Drew likes to play in the Notebooks series, while in the Diaries series she drives a car. The Nancy Drew Diaries covers make Nancy look rather young, but she is an older teenager. I am mystified as to why Nancy looks so young on the Diaries books.
It's become difficult to understand exactly what Simon & Schuster is doing with the franchise.
This is the opening of Nancy Drew Diaries #24 Captain Stone's Revenge:
The airplane made a wide turn as it descended through the clouds toward Burlington International Airport. I pressed my face against the small oval window. All at once, I could see green hills, fields dotted with farms, and our ultimate destination: the clear blue waters of Lake Champlain.
"We're almost there!" I said. It was my first trip to Vermont, one of the smallest and least populated states in the country. I couldn't wait to explore, try the world-famous maple syrup, and of course, go sailing at my friend Megan's new club and resort!
"Thank goodness!" George grumbled behind me. Our small commercial jet's seats were grouped in twos. George had taken the seat behind me and Bess. She was using the empty space next to her to stash her computer, e-reader, and cell phone.
"Motion sickness?" Bess asked, dabbing on fresh lip gloss in preparation for landing.
"No, my e-reader is about to run out of charge!" George said with a groan. "And I'm right in the middle of a really good book! What sort of airplane doesn't have power outlets?"
"Maybe the kind that's built to fly, not charge all your equipment? I mean, I know which one I'd prefer," I teased. George gave my seat a little nudge and we laughed.
Bess put the cap on her lip gloss and dropped it into her navy-blue purse. As usual, her outfit was perfectly themed for our destination. She wore a blue-and-white-striped shirt with a sailboat crest on the front, white linen pants, and a pair of navy Top-Siders. Her cousin George, on the other hand, was outfitted in cargo pants with enough pockets to hold all her electronics. (I don't even want to talk about how long it took us to get through security back in River Heights!)
The intercom dinged and the captain came on. "Hello, passengers," she said in a smooth voice. "We're making our final descent into Burlington, where skies are clear and the temperature is seventy-five degrees on this beautiful June day. In preparation for landing, please return your seat backs and tray tables to their upright positions. We'll be on the ground shortly!"
I folded the Sudoku puzzle I'd been working on, tucked it away, and clicked my tray table back into place. I sat up straight. The plane took a sharp turn and descended quickly, angling toward the runway. In a matter of minutes, the wheels touched down with a thump. We lurched forward in our seats as the plane slowed. I pulled out my phone and switched it off airplane mode. A text notification immediately filled the screen. It was from Megan.
Nancy! I'm so sorry, but I'll be late picking you up. Had a little accident this morning. Nothing major! Will explain when I get there. Can't wait to see you all!
Poor Megan! I wondered what happened. I told Bess and George about the delay, then quickly texted Megan back to let her know it was no problem, of course, and we hoped everything was okay. I never minded having a little time to explore, anyway. There's always something new to see and learn, wherever you go.
Let's compare that opening to the opening of one of the Nancy Drew Digests. I selected #125 The Teen Model Mystery. I wanted a title well into the run of the digests but not from the very end of the series. I also selected a story that is good but not one that could be considered excellent. The book is just an average title in the set.
Nancy Drew paused at the curb, waiting for the light to change. A stiff breeze off nearby Lake Michigan whipped a few strands of her reddish blond hair across her face. Just a few blocks away, the skyscrapers of downtown Chicago gleamed in the morning light.
Nancy's friend Bess Marvin suddenly grabbed her arm. "Look, Nancy, there's Cindy!" she exclaimed. "There, on that billboard."
Nancy followed Bess's pointing finger. Across the street, mounted on the roof of a six-story brick building, was a big poster advertising a sale at a local department store. A tall, slim girl with honey blond hair was shown dashing happily across a street, carrying several shopping bags.
It was their friend Cindy Sunderland, a River Heights girl who had recently moved to Chicago to pursue a career in modeling. With its high cheekbones, tip-tilted nose, and dazzling sky blue eyes, Cindy's face was unmistakable. No wonder she was fast becoming one of the hottest teen models around.
"Isn't she terrific?" Bess added. "Just looking at her picture makes me want to go catch that sale."
Nancy laughed. "Come on, Bess," she said. "You've never seen a sale you didn't like."
Bess flushed. "Well, maybe you're right," she admitted. "But Cindy's picture does make that ad stand out. I just know she's going to be the next big supermodel. And it's so cool that she asked us to come watch her film this commercial—especially considering that we've only met her a few times."
Nancy giggled. "She could hardly not invite us, you dropped so many hints when we saw her last month," she reminded her friend. "But I think she wanted a little moral support, too. From what she said, it's a really big break in her career—to move up from ad photos and fashion shows to TV commercials. It could lead to an acting career someday. I bet she's pretty nervous."
Bess nodded. "It's too bad George had to go on a trip with her family this week. She would have loved to come along." George Fayne, Bess's cousin, was the third member of this trio of best friends.
The light changed. As they started across the street, Bess looked around at the run-down buildings. "Nancy, are you sure we're in the right place? she asked nervously. She flinched as an elevated train rattle past the next intersection. "Nothing around here looks like a movie studio."
Nancy grinned. "This won't be that kind of studio, silly," she corrected Bess. "Cindy is making a commercial, not a feature film. Come on, the building must be on the next block."
The address Cindy had given them turned out to be that of a solid-looking brick building with wide-arched windows on the street level. Over the entrance a craved stone panel bore the name MacAllister's Stores. Elaborately sculpted vines and flower would through the old-fashioned lettering.
Changing the books to first person narrative was a mistake. We are reading about Nancy Drew (said with a lilt), not I. The first-person narrative is even worse in the Hardy Boys Adventures, since it's often hard to tell which brother is narrating. At least the first-person narrative is passable in the Nancy Drew Diaries series.
When I read a Nancy Drew book, I want to read about Nancy Drew. I don't want to read "I" over and over. I want to delight in that beloved name. It's important to see the name Nancy Drew on the first page of the story.
The Nancy Drew Diaries have moved away from the essence of Nancy Drew. Oh, it's there at times, sure, but we can appreciate our reading experience much better when we see the name. Yes, it does matter.
I have been reading John Benton's teen books. Each book features a different protagonist, but all of the books are in first person. I don't mind the first person, but I find that I can't remember anything about any of the books when looking at the titles. The character's name never imprints on my memory since I see "I" all through the book. I have to look at a summary in order to remember anything.
Making Nancy Drew first person watered down the character.
This is what S&S needs to do.
1. Drop the first-person narrative and return to the story of Nancy Drew.
2. Make Nancy look more like a teenager on the covers.
3. Include Nancy's best friends on some of the covers (Thanks to Todd for mentioning that Nancy's friends are no longer on the covers).
4. Come up with more creative plots that are not just sabotage. It's quite easy to come up with good plots. Just take ideas from the old Nancy Drew books. Use one of the old stories to inspire a new plot. Change it up some. Or use artificial intelligence to do it!
I have thought this through. Since the folks at S&S and their ghostwriters are unable to think of anything except for bland sabotage stories, it's time to use a computer to do it. I experimented with ChatGPT and asked it to write me a Nancy Drew story. It came back with what would work well for a publisher's summary. A ghostwriter could flesh it out into a great story, something much better than what is coming out of the franchise.
Follow this link to see what ChatGPT gave me.
Nancy Drew Plots Created by Artificial Intelligence
I have stated what S&S should do to make Nancy Drew better. Now, I have a specific proposal.
For the 100th anniversary (or please even sooner, Nancy Drew needs help!!!), S&S should relaunch Nancy Drew in third person dialogue. The books would hearken back to the digest series in style. The digests are so much better.
If the series is relaunched, then it needs a new title. It has to be something different. The new series would start over with #1 like how Girl Detective started with #1. Using "Classic Nancy Drew" might be problematic due to the legal agreement, so that might not work. They could call it "Detective Nancy Drew" and start with #1. Or maybe "Nancy Drew, Girl Sleuth." Just something with a different name from all previous incarnations to make it a new series but use the text and story style of the digests
I want to say that the series should be made more young adult, but I fear that would include romance. I don't want romance in a Nancy Drew book. I'd rather see Nancy look like an older teen on the covers with stories that are more detailed. That would be enough.
That's what I wrote in February, finished up and edited to be more cohesive. Someone put a bug in S&S's ear. Nancy Drew needs help!
1 comment:
I agree wholeheartedly. I actually loathe the first person narrative. That’s why I rarely read PI series. Although, Kinsey Milhone is a good one.
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