I won't knock this too much as this was the series that made me a reader but dang, it's like a book version of Scooby Doo!

"Nancy Drew, an attractive girl of eighteen, was driving home along a country road in her new, dark blue convertible."And with that fateful first line begins the journeys of Nancy Drew. Little did she realize that these adventures would last for years to come.Nancy Drew was my childhood. Since I was handed a copy of this book when I was 8 years old, the same age my mother was when she first read Nancy Drew, I was hooked. I dabbled in some Trixie Belden and the Boxcar Children (I even named one of my cats after Trixie), Nancy Drew was always my favorite. I can't even begin to tell you how many of her books I read when I was in elementary and middle school, and how many AR tests she helped me pass. And it's not just me she's influenced. She's been cited by everyone from Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Sonia Sotomoyer, future president Hilary Clinton (see what I did there, eh?), and Queen Oprah as a major influence. If my eight year old self were to give this a rating, she's surely give it five stars. And yet as I'm sitting here as a 21 (almost 22), year old woman, I'm giving it three stars. I know, I know, you're saying; WHAT ARE YOU THINKING??!!! Well, I'm giving it three stars for several reasons.The first reason is that everything seems to come to Nancy so easily. I'm not saying that she didn't work hard for her clues, but it seemed that she had no trouble at all getting to them, either. Two; everyone seems to either love Nancy to the point of goddess worship or hate her to the point of reserving a special place in hell for her. There's no middle ground, and with the exception of four people, most of the characters in this book fall into the former category. They take one look at her and immediately start telling her their life story, offering her food, their left hand (just kidding, but you get the idea). She's just so perfect. A little TOO perfect. And finally, it was extremely predictable. It's not predictable for the little critters that it's targeted for, but for an adult rereading it, the mystery is pretty much one you can solve within the first couple of chapters. But despite my reservations as an adult today, I still have a soft spot in my heart for Nancy Drew. And here's why.1)She don't need no man.Ned who? He hasn't entered the picture at this point, but Nancy doesn't need no man to take care of her. She can take care of her own damn self, and that's one point that I really liked about her. She does get into an awful lot of distress, but she doesn't just sit around twiddling her thumbs for some hot guy to save her. HALE NO. She saves her own butt without a second thought. Girl power for the win!!2)Speaking of independent, she does pretty much everything herself.Got a flat tire? Call Nancy Drew. I'm pretty sure there's nothing that she can't do, which can be both mind-boggling and increasingly frustrating at the same time. I have expect her and MacGyver to show up with paper clips and diffuse a bomb or something like that.3)When it comes to fashion, she slays.Be prepared for the author to describe literally everything Nancy wears in great detail. I'm sure hard-core feminists would argue that it isn't important, she pays too much attention to her looks, she should wear pants, blah, blah, blah. But when it comes to looking fashionable in every situation imaginable, Nancy's got you covered. I'd love to raid her closet one day, as I'm sure it'd be full of marvelous things and killer outfits.1)She eats like a champ.Despite her slim physique and her petite size, you'd never know it from the many food scenes that author writes. If you didn't know any better, you'd think she was a hobbit. If she ever WERE welcomed to Middle Earth, Bilbo Baggins and his dwarf company would welcome her with open arms... and a feast to boot. All the food scenes in the series will make your mouth water and make you exceedingly hungry, and wonder how in the world she manages to eat all that food, but who cares? FOOD PORN.So thanks for the memories, Nancy. You've served as countless inspiration for many little girls. And when I have a daughter, and she turns eight years old, I'll give her my copy of Secret of the Old Clock and sit with her while we read the first line.Nancy Drew, an attractive girl of eighteen, was driving along a country road in her new, dark blue convertible.

91st book read in 2017.Number 340 out of 655 on my all time book list.Just a kind story of people needing help during the depression and someone stepping up to help.