Sleuthing Sundays - Nancy Drew 36, 37, 38

The Secret of the Golden Pavilion (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #36)

She hurried upstairs and from one of her suitcases took the magnifying glass which her father had given her for Christmas.  I twas a very fine one and Nancy called it her "Pride and Joy."  p.86

Nancy goes to Hawaiian! Given another intriguing mystery by a client of her father's, Nancy and her friends are on their way to Hawaii to solve a mystery of some mysterious Polynesian symbols as well as prove that people posing as grandchild of Mr. Drew's client's grandfather are fake.  (Yes, I know.)  Thankfully, the Emerson boys just happen to have travel plans to Hawaii so Ned is around to "help" Nancy out.  It's up to the girl detective to make everything right as well as uncover the plans of a notorious gang called the Double Scorps,  (Yes, I know.)  Can she do it?  Yes.  Because she is Nancy Drew.

The Clue in the Old Stagecoach (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #37)

"The only real detective among us is Nancy Drew, but we all go to her training school," Burt Eddleton spoke up with a grin.  p.154/155

Summary: Nancy is asked by an elderly woman to find her great-uncle's lost stagecoach to help out her failing town.

I've read 36 Nancy Drews so far this year and this one was my least favorite so far.  I'm not sure if it is the whole stagecoach thing that frankly didn't make much sense to me or the fact that Nancy and her friends are going on dates with boys other than Ned, Burt, and Dave.  They are at some sort of resort/camp thing and they're just hanging out with these guys.  Poor Ned!  You know he isn't going around dating or hanging out with any other girls.  Anyway, like I said I wasn't fond of the mystery that much.  It was a little blah although the resolution was not what I expected so there's that.

The Mystery of the Fire Dragon (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #38)

"A firecracker!" Bess repeated, thinking that mysteries for Nancy Drew had started in many unusual ways but never before with a giant firecracker.  p.9

Nancy ends up in Hong Kong after a case takes first to New York and then leads to Hong Kong.  She is looking for her aunt's missing neighbor who is Chinese.  Chi Che is missing with a suspcious  note left behind and it is up to the girl detective to find her. 

Nancy is speculator at solving cases even in foreign cities where she doesn't speak the language.  Thank God for her that the villains are really dumb and end up being people that have involved themselves with Nancy and her friends enough for her to remember them.  Though the gang in this mystery is really big which is unusual.  And international as well!  This case is a real notch under Nancy's belt!

Another Faust by Daniel and Dina Nayeri

Five children disappear one night, but no one really remembers.  Five  years later, five extraordinary teenagers begin attending the Marlow School, one of the most prestigious schools in New York.  All of them are gifted with amazing, but dark gifts.  Who are these five and where did their gifts come from?  And how does their governess, Madame Vileroy, fit?

She had arrived at the party with her pack of five teenagers - all striking and strange.  When they stood at the entrance, every conversation had halted, replaced by craning necks and fascinated whispers.  p.25

Most people are familiar with the Faust story in one way or another.  It is a common theme, the desire to do or be something great and in exchange, the selling of your soul to the devil.  Another Faust takes this to the YA level with the story of five teenagers, most of whom have sold their soul for something they desire: beauty, success, control.  I enjoyed this book and was anxious throughout about how it would all turn out.  The ending was satisfying even if it is was a little sad, but it was appropriate as what happened to the children.  It is a very much character-driven book.  There is very little action and most of it comes from the manipulations of Madame Vileroy.  I can't say that I liked any of the characters that much except maybe Bicé, the most sympathetic of the teenagers.  I did feel sorry for her.  But the rest were horrible as befitted the story.  Still I didn't mind since that was sort of the point of the whole book.


Hogwarts: Transfiguration
TwentyTen

A Nancy Drew Drinking Game

As you may or may not know, I'm attempting to read the original 56 Nancy Drew Mystery Stories for the Nancy Drew Reading Challenge.  Because of this I've been inspired to invented a drinking game based on the girl detective's many adventures.




Drink:

- when one of  Nancy's old or new cases is mentioned by title
- Nancy is mentioned as any one of these adjectives: young, slender, attractive, titian haired
- "girl detective" or "sleuth" is used
- it is an orphan, old person, a pair of siblings or poor person in trouble, two if they are any combination
- Nancy uses cunning to escape a bad situation
- Nancy gets a misdirecting note, telegraph, or phone call
- Nancy figures out that the note, telegraph, or phone call is misdirecting
- a phone call is cut off abruptly
- Nancy's car is mentioned
- Something happens to Nancy's car
- Nancy is law abiding despite the circumstances
- there is a car chase
- George punches someone
- Dave and Burt make an appearance
- Togo appears
- Nancy goes on a date during a mystery
- Nancy uses that date to do some further sleuthing
- police rely on Nancy to solve their case
- police complement Nancy's detective skills
- Mr. Drew allows Nancy to go on a trip provided she has a companion (Bess, George or Helen)
- George says "Hypers!"
- Nancy has a friend/relative that has never been mentioned and will never be mentioned again

Do a shot:

- someone is kidnapped, twice if it is someone other than Nancy
- someone is knocked unconscious, twice if it someone other than Nancy
- Ned is jealous
- Ned has a reason to be jealous, i.e. Nancy goes on a date with someone else
- Bess' weight is mentioned
- it is mentioned that George has a boy's name or haircut
- Dave and Burt have dialogue
- Nancy finds something of value hidden in a book/painting/or other object
- Nancy refused to tell the police about her case
- Ned makes some allusion to marrying Nancy
- Ned is romantic toward Nancy
- Nancy ignores romantic intentions

Chug:

- Bess or George or Ned get to make a valuable contribution to the case by figuring out a clue or providing some information that Nancy somehow missed
- Mr. Drew's legal case and Nancy's case have the same solution, even though they started off unrelated
- Nancy receives a prize for solving a case

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**Disclaimer: I'm not responsible for anything that happens if you play this game even if it throws off your sleuthing abilities.
Also if someone else has invented this already, let me know.**

**Also, also, if you have suggestions let me know those too.**

2010 Holiday Reading Challenge - COMPLETE

 

All About {n} is hosting a Holiday Reading Challenge and I'm signing up!  Challenge will start Monday, November 15 and will end Friday, December 31.  You can read anywhere from 1 to 5 books for the challenge or more if you want.







Right now my list looks like this:

1. Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
2. Matchless by Gregory Maguire
3. Miracle on 34th Street by Valentine Davies
4. A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck
5. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

I might not read all of these but that is what I'm starting with.