Confessions of a Teen Sleuth : Book

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1) Hardcover Book Confessions of a Teen Sleuth by Bloomsbury USA. a quick read that is a whimsical spoof of a much beloved classic character. After reading some of the reviews I was afraid I might find it offensive, but I bought it anyway and I´m glad I did. I thought it was funny and lighthearted, and realy enjoyed the way other youth detective classics were referred to in various situations. The illustrations were very funny as they look very similar to the originals but had captions from the text. The only thing I wished that was different about this book is that is was longer. I find it a delightful read if you just want to relax and laugh to yourself for a few minutes.

If you are looking for a more serious hommage to Nancy, try Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her. That book is rich with details about her and is a nice, comprehensive account of the girl detective that was an important part of countless childhoods.¤

2) Hardcover Book Confessions of a Teen Sleuth by Bloomsbury USA. I checked this out of the library, and I´m glad I did -- I wouldn´t want it taking up space on my bookshelf. It´s pretty funny for the first few chapters, but "pretty funny" seems to be the best Cain can offer here. After the first few chapters, there´s nothing new and very little that´s at all amusing.

The jokes here are tired and old, and Cain does nothing to follow them up with actual story. The funniest part of the book, the concept that Carolyn Keene was Nancy´s real-life college roommate who stole her adventures and then mischaracterized them in fiction, goes nowhere. When I started this book, I wanted to read about Nancy confronting her fictional self, her interactions with Carolyn, anything about that. Aside from one preachy chapter near the end and a failed conversation between the two, the most promising idea in the book is wasted.

By the end of this book, I was thoroughly sick of Nancy Drew -- something that never happened when I read the originals.¤

3) Hardcover Book Confessions of a Teen Sleuth by Bloomsbury USA. This light, short Nancy Drew parody takes Nancy from the 1920s to old age, with timely adventures for her in each chapter including Rudy Vallee-type college pranks and Cold War escapades. The joking criticisms of always-perfect Nancy are right on target; they may be too repetitive, but then humor at this length is hard to sustain. I can´t give away the jokes; you´ll have to read them for yourself. Also features Cherry Ames, the Hardy Boys, et al., as characters. Highly recommended for fans of the old series (I first read the books 50 years ago).¤

4) Hardcover Book Confessions of a Teen Sleuth by Bloomsbury USA. I haven´t laughed so much at a book in a long time. This was a hilarious parody of the Nancy Drew series - I loved everything from the chain smoking Hannah Gruen to the anorexic Bess - just hilarious. If you were a Nancy Drew fan as a kid, you have to read this book.¤

5) Hardcover Book Confessions of a Teen Sleuth by Bloomsbury USA. Chelsea Cain´s Confessions of a Teen Sleuth purports to be the posthumously published memoirs of titian-haired teen sleuth Nancy Drew. Nancy wrote the book to correct some popular misconceptions about herself: it seems that Carolyn Keene, Nancy´s college roommate-turned-unauthorized biographer, played fast and loose with the facts. Nancy records a different adventure from her life in each of the book´s ten chapters. We watch her age--while remaining stylish--against a backdrop of 20th-century history, from internment camps to the Red Scare to hippies and feminists. Along the way we learn some shocking information about Nancy´s mother and about the Drew´s long-time housekeeper Hannah Gruen, as well as about Nancy herself (hint: the book is dedicated to Frank Hardy, the elder Hardy boy).

Cain writes in the earnest style of the series, with endearingly outdated lingo. And her characters never just say anything: they cry gaily and explain mechanically and muse fretfully. Nancy, meanwhile, though no saint (her early parenting is more reminiscent of Britney Spears than June Cleaver) remains naive enough that her juxtaposition with the real world is amusingly jarring:

"When my plane landed in San Francisco, I collected my old blue suitcase and got in line for a shuttle bus. As you may be aware, at that time San Francisco was a great gathering place for young people from all over the country. These young people grew their hair long and wore untailored, unironed clothing. While I had briefly encountered bohemian types shoplifting at Burk´s, I was looking forward to experiencing the counterculture firsthand. I had stood in line only a few minutes when I was approached by one of its representatives."

Nancy still loves a good mystery--maybe a little too much--and she is wont to incorporate a bit of excitement into her otherwise humdrum, post-teen-sleuthing life whenever she can:

"´It seems as if you´re avoiding your husband. You don´t enjoy cooking. Or cleaning. You barely garden.´"

"´Oh, Hannah,´ I smiled. ´That´s silly. You´re talking about last weekend. I couldn´t go to Ned´s office party. I had to rescue Ned Junior from the old well in the backyard.´"

"´But how did he get in the well?´"

"´I lowered him. We were playing ´rescue from the old well.´´"

Cain plays with the fictional/real-life divide not only by breathing life into Nancy and other literary characters--the Hardy Boys and the Bobbsey Twins and Tom Swift all make appearances, for example. But she also makes Carolyn Keene, the fictional "author" of the Nancy Drew mysteries, a real but untrustworthy reporter. Nancy and Keene cross paths toward the end of the book, and in an interesting scene we see the line between fiction and fact further blurred.

You´d have to be well-steeped in Nancy Drew lore to appreciate all the in-jokes in Chelsea Cain´s clever, charming parody. But even if you haven´t read a Nancy Drew novel in decades--or at all--you´ll enjoy the read.

-- Debra Hamel¤

"If you are reading this, then I am gone and this manuscript, per my instruction, has been delivered to the writer Chelsea Cain for publication as she sees fit..."

America´s favorite girl detective is back to set the record straight. According to our titian-haired heroine, she was not a fictional character, but an intrepid real-life sleuth who investigated some of the twentieth century´s biggest mysteries. And the famous series she starred in was not cooked up by a team of writers, but plagiarized from her exploits by a nosy college roommate-who, not surprisingly, got a whole lot wrong.

Here are the daring escapes, brilliant hunches, and dependable stock characters, including interlopers from numerous other beloved series, that have delighted generations of fans. And here, also, are the details of teen-sleuth life that you never saw: the secret romances, reckless driving, minor drinking problems, political action, and domestic drama that have, up till now, remained hidden from these brave detectives´ adoring public.

Confessions of a Teen Sleuth

Author - Chelsea Cain ... [Goo?] [Posters]

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