mehsi's review against another edition
5.0
I received this comic collection from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.
I was so excited for this one. The art looked amazing, and I just adore Nancy Drew. I was excited about the story, what kind Nancy would we get this time (which is always a question I ask when I start a new incarnation of the famous girl detective), what kind of adventures and mysteries would come our way?
When we first meet this Nancy she is hauling a goat with her, apparently for a case. It had me in stitches to see her try to guide that goat to the right places, and ending up with swimming in the lake. I loved the look of this Nancy, she seems as tough as the original, and just as much fun. Then we meet her friends and I was severely confused, who are these people? Where is my Bess? Where is George? Hello! Did you ditch your friends/family? Thankfully, we quickly get an answer when Nancy receives a threat message and heads to Bayport (apparently she wasn’t even living there any more, OMG, I need details).
Bess is delighted to see her, but George? George isn’t that happy with Nancy. Apparently Nancy moved years ago and they totally lost contact. I agree with Nancy, but if I hear George/Bess talk it seems like you, Nancy, also didn’t do the communication thing correctly.
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG fangirls The Hardy Boys are in this one!!!!!!!!!!!!! JOEEEEEEEE!!!! FRANKKKKKKKKKK!! And they looking fricking adorable and awesome in this art style. heart eyes Joe is exactly how I expect him to be, and Frank, Frank is still the smart one of the brothers. :P
Things get really exciting when THAT happens to Nancy, and then we got a nice flashback to what happened 7 years ago (so right around the time Nancy moved away). Which I loved, but also made me feel unhappy because I wanted to know if Nancy ended up all right. I am guessing yes, given that this story is all about her and we are still 100 pages from the ending. ;P But still!
OK, holy crap at that flash back. Poor Nancy, I can imagine why she moved, and why she probably forgot to communicate so much with her friends.
Haha, Nancy please. Your friends are passed out, you are down in a cave, and all you can do is focus on the handsome stranger in front of you. :P Oh Nancy. I was at first not too happy that she went with that guy, but I guess it is also typical Nancy especially since she knows what she is doing.
Though I did wish she would have told her friends/family where she was going. They know about the threat letter, they were there when things went dangerous, and yet you don’t let them know anything? That is not how things work.
We do find out why that person send that letter, and I am happy that Nancy was able to forgive them and also wanted to help them out.
EEP, I was just so delighted with the Bess and Joe romance. It made me delighted. Also I loved George and her girlfriend. <3 Oh, and I can’t forget Nancy and Pete, I was definitely hoping they would get together. :)
The story got more and more exciting with each new issue and I just had to continue reading as I wanted to know more of what was going on.
OMG, that ending! No, I thought this was a pretty much stand-alone bundled part with the whole story included, but that ending. That cliffhanger! Arghhh. I was already planning on checking out the rest should there be more, but now I definitely need to get my hands on it.
I adored the art in this story, it was just a style that fitted Nancy perfectly. I loved seeing all my favourite characters in this amazing style.
There was one little thing, but that doesn’t have anything to do with the book per se, but more with Netgalley. It was at times quite hard to read. It didn’t help the pages were a bit blurry which made it even harder. I do want to mention this, as it is part of my reading experience.
All in all, I had so much fun reading this one, it was exciting, mysterious, it had romance and friendship, the Hardy Boys were there, and I would recommend it to all.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
I was so excited for this one. The art looked amazing, and I just adore Nancy Drew. I was excited about the story, what kind Nancy would we get this time (which is always a question I ask when I start a new incarnation of the famous girl detective), what kind of adventures and mysteries would come our way?
When we first meet this Nancy she is hauling a goat with her, apparently for a case. It had me in stitches to see her try to guide that goat to the right places, and ending up with swimming in the lake. I loved the look of this Nancy, she seems as tough as the original, and just as much fun. Then we meet her friends and I was severely confused, who are these people? Where is my Bess? Where is George? Hello! Did you ditch your friends/family? Thankfully, we quickly get an answer when Nancy receives a threat message and heads to Bayport (apparently she wasn’t even living there any more, OMG, I need details).
Bess is delighted to see her, but George? George isn’t that happy with Nancy. Apparently Nancy moved years ago and they totally lost contact. I agree with Nancy, but if I hear George/Bess talk it seems like you, Nancy, also didn’t do the communication thing correctly.
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG fangirls The Hardy Boys are in this one!!!!!!!!!!!!! JOEEEEEEEE!!!! FRANKKKKKKKKKK!! And they looking fricking adorable and awesome in this art style. heart eyes Joe is exactly how I expect him to be, and Frank, Frank is still the smart one of the brothers. :P
Things get really exciting when THAT happens to Nancy, and then we got a nice flashback to what happened 7 years ago (so right around the time Nancy moved away). Which I loved, but also made me feel unhappy because I wanted to know if Nancy ended up all right. I am guessing yes, given that this story is all about her and we are still 100 pages from the ending. ;P But still!
OK, holy crap at that flash back. Poor Nancy, I can imagine why she moved, and why she probably forgot to communicate so much with her friends.
Haha, Nancy please. Your friends are passed out, you are down in a cave, and all you can do is focus on the handsome stranger in front of you. :P Oh Nancy. I was at first not too happy that she went with that guy, but I guess it is also typical Nancy especially since she knows what she is doing.
Though I did wish she would have told her friends/family where she was going. They know about the threat letter, they were there when things went dangerous, and yet you don’t let them know anything? That is not how things work.
We do find out why that person send that letter, and I am happy that Nancy was able to forgive them and also wanted to help them out.
EEP, I was just so delighted with the Bess and Joe romance. It made me delighted. Also I loved George and her girlfriend. <3 Oh, and I can’t forget Nancy and Pete, I was definitely hoping they would get together. :)
The story got more and more exciting with each new issue and I just had to continue reading as I wanted to know more of what was going on.
OMG, that ending! No, I thought this was a pretty much stand-alone bundled part with the whole story included, but that ending. That cliffhanger! Arghhh. I was already planning on checking out the rest should there be more, but now I definitely need to get my hands on it.
I adored the art in this story, it was just a style that fitted Nancy perfectly. I loved seeing all my favourite characters in this amazing style.
There was one little thing, but that doesn’t have anything to do with the book per se, but more with Netgalley. It was at times quite hard to read. It didn’t help the pages were a bit blurry which made it even harder. I do want to mention this, as it is part of my reading experience.
All in all, I had so much fun reading this one, it was exciting, mysterious, it had romance and friendship, the Hardy Boys were there, and I would recommend it to all.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
burstnwithbooks's review against another edition
4.0
This was super fun! I adore the art style and I really loved the way the story was reimagined. I’m slightly confused as to the ages but other than that everything was pretty much perfect. Can’t wait to see more!
gremlintool's review against another edition
4.0
I am a huge fan of all things Nancy Drew! I really enjoyed this. The story was interesting and the artwork is lovely. I loved the representation and diversity of the characters. 3.5/5
starryorbit12's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
My big issue is the how large the cast of characters is for how short the book is. No one gets any depth to them.
Nancy's Riverheight friends? Literally are introduced to never be scene on page again. One hacks some file for Nancy and the other texts her at the end. Neither really do anything for the story. If you cut them entirely, nothing fundamental changes or is broken in the story. And, it's simple enough to have another character hack the files or have Nancy's dad be the one to text at the end.
George's girlfriend is literally just there. Like, she is on page a lot but barely says or does anything. She pretty much exists for the paltry represention.
Considering how much the narrative invests in Joe/Bess and Nancy/Pete, I think the author just wants to be able to say that they have queer representation without actually caring about that representation at all.
Danica is a cardboard cut that just exists in the background of this story is has no real personality outside being George's girlfriend. Even the story seems confused at why she is there, all she gets is a question mark in her introduction.
The Hardy Boys feel there to prop up Nancy most of the time instead of their own distinctive characters that have the own separate, distinctive series where they are capable detectives in their own right.
Honestly, Bess and Pete are the only ones that do something for the story. Bess knows the drug. Their homebase is her house. She gets them into the party and gives them cover to investigate the back with worker positions. Bess Pete gets Nancy back to town, and his mother is the victim. He is the one to get Nancg out the whole and help her find the body.
Everyone else is kind of their and doesn't do much to progress the plot while also not getting much time to be fleshed out. Frankly, this story needs about another 50 pages to pace the mystery better and flesh the cast out. Like,
So much was missed in terms of world building. Like, Nancy's mom death is big thing for he and yet we don't even know what kind of accident is was, and it's just glossed over why of the fact that Nancy and her Bayport friends haven't spoken in 7 years or the fact that Hardy Boys just got back into town too.
It just feels like a good start but too superficial for me to get truly invested because their is no time be invested because the narrative is stretched too thin by all characters.
Nancy's Riverheight friends? Literally are introduced to never be scene on page again. One hacks some file for Nancy and the other texts her at the end. Neither really do anything for the story. If you cut them entirely, nothing fundamental changes or is broken in the story. And, it's simple enough to have another character hack the files or have Nancy's dad be the one to text at the end.
George's girlfriend is literally just there. Like, she is on page a lot but barely says or does anything. She pretty much exists for the paltry represention.
Considering how much the narrative invests in Joe/Bess and Nancy/Pete, I think the author just wants to be able to say that they have queer representation without actually caring about that representation at all.
Danica is a cardboard cut that just exists in the background of this story is has no real personality outside being George's girlfriend. Even the story seems confused at why she is there, all she gets is a question mark in her introduction.
The Hardy Boys feel there to prop up Nancy most of the time instead of their own distinctive characters that have the own separate, distinctive series where they are capable detectives in their own right.
Honestly, Bess and Pete are the only ones that do something for the story. Bess knows the drug. Their homebase is her house. She gets them into the party and gives them cover to investigate the back with worker positions. Bess
Spoiler
knows about the drug, the party, and spots the missing girl being taken. She also is able to record her own kidnapping.Everyone else is kind of their and doesn't do much to progress the plot while also not getting much time to be fleshed out. Frankly, this story needs about another 50 pages to pace the mystery better and flesh the cast out. Like,
Spoiler
the bad guy is literally just the one guy we meet during the investigation. It has to be him becausetheir are no other suspects. Outside of Nancy and her crew, the only named chracters we meet are mascot theft, a librarian, the guy who employeed the two of the victims, and patronizing cop. Can you guess who did it? Their isn't much mystery and the motive is just as boring as they knew to much.So much was missed in terms of world building. Like, Nancy's mom death is big thing for he and yet we don't even know what kind of accident is was, and it's just glossed over why of the fact that Nancy and her Bayport friends haven't spoken in 7 years or the fact that Hardy Boys just got back into town too.
It just feels like a good start but too superficial for me to get truly invested because their is no time be invested because the narrative is stretched too thin by all characters.
criticalreader's review against another edition
3.0
Art style is great and all the characters bar Nancy are fun. Whilst Nancy Drew is smart and snarky, she is a shit friend and repeats the same mistakes. I did not grow up with the series but I enjoyed the diverse cast and how natural it felt. From different body types, sexualities and ethnicities. It didn't blow me away but it was solid and I would continue. My favourite character is likely Bess.
jkdehaven's review
4.0
This graphic novel is a modernization of the classic Nancy Drew books. Many of the original characters make an appearance and have been updated for modern times. I found it to be an entertaining detective story told in comic book form. For me personally, it was a bit disconcerting to see the classic characters that I grew up reading being modernized, but I still enjoyed the story itself once I worked to get past that. The art style is also accessible and clear. I would recommend this to students who enjoy both well-written mysteries and graphic novels.
ickijones's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
madelinefmcguire's review against another edition
5.0
A graphic novel version of Nancy Drew this time Nancy returns to her home town after receiving a mysterious letter about her mother's death. She apprehensive about working with her friends again, after being a loner but with a little pushing they're all on the case with Nancy.
I adored this graphic novel. The yellow Nancy drew books were the first books I ever really loved, and this series gives Nancy a 2019 update with diversity and a new look for Nancy. 10/10 would recommend for anyone who enjoys a good mystery.
I adored this graphic novel. The yellow Nancy drew books were the first books I ever really loved, and this series gives Nancy a 2019 update with diversity and a new look for Nancy. 10/10 would recommend for anyone who enjoys a good mystery.