Reviews

Famous Mistakes by Carolyn Keene

jennshelfishlife's review

adventurous informative mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I love the Nancy Drew Diaries! These modern retellings are far more realistic than the classics, albeit I love those, too. I love that Nancy relies more on her friends, understands and acknowledges her weaknesses, and listens to her friends and family. I loved Beth in this story, showing her many strengths and unique abilities. I also appreciated George's contributions.
In Famous Mistakes, a comedian, Brady, plans to perform at the new art complex in River Heights. He hires Nancy when his room is trashed at the urging of Ned, who is interviewing Brady for his new podcast. There is a lot of intrigue and layers of mystery in Famous Mistakes. Overall a fun mystery that I recommend to fans of Nancy Drew.

opalescence's review

3.0

I was quite disappointed in this one. First of all, the title spoiled the mystery, because a majority of the book is about solving a mystery about a comic, and we aren’t “told” much about the paintings at all.

Second, the concept wasn’t as thought-out or compelling as the previous ones; I was really impressed with the Heliotrope Lane one, but this one was just so pedestrian? I’m just worried that this dip in quality means that the writer has changed which I hope isn’t the case!

locdbooktician's review

mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.0

I think for young readers reading this book there was a lot to be digest. Of those things it is understanding when a joke can offend a group of people. And understanding that every joke isn’t meant to just be purely for comedy they can literally affect someone’s livelihood. And I think this book was trying to make the argument of if you are a comedian everything should be considered a joke or just because you are a comedian doesn’t mean that everything that you say is a joke. Even though I felt like the comedian and this series kept digging his heels and trying to justify his atrocious language towards women, I think Nancy Drew was doing the best that she could to get him, an adult, to understand her point of you.

jmcneill's review

lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

corncobwebs's review against another edition

“George, do you have your lock picks?” I asked.

“Do you even have to ask?” George responded.

Love a gal who's prepared to pick a lock at a moment's notice.

Also:

1) Carson Drew explaining "punching up" to Nancy & co. WTF

pussreboots's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

karisannakathryn's review

adventurous inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

I'll admit, I was pretty skeptical about a Nancy Drew book about cancel culture, but this was actually really well-done, with conversations about the importance of free speech as well as acknowledgement that words can cause real hurt, and freedom of speech does not mean freedom of consequences. The discussion about how jokes need to punch up, rather than down, was especially refreshing, as that's something a lot of so-called satirists seem to miss. The mystery itself was especially good, as well!