Passage IV

Nancy Drew in the Twenty-First Century

I thought the Nancy Drew mystery series had went out of style. I was sure that girls growing up today would have more up-to-date role models and my generation’s favorite sleuth would of been retired to the library’s dusty, back rooms. I was wrong.

Nancy Drew, the teenaged heroine of heaps of young adult mystery novels, is alive and well and still on the job. I know because my niece, Liana, and her friends were reading that all summer long. By the time Liana went back to school and had followed Nancy Drew on a safari to solve The Spider Sapphire Mystery and had explored Incan ruins for clues to The Secret of the Crossword Cipher. With Nancy’s help, Liana had read about different places and various cultures all over the world.

When I was a girl in the 1960s, my friends and I loved Nancy Drew. (55) We loved her loyal companions, her bravado, and there was a love for her freedom to do what she wanted. We also loved how smart she was and now pretty, how confident and successful. We were surprised and delighted that eighteen-year-old Nancy was so accomplished at so many things. She was able to solve crimes, win golf tournaments, kick bad guys in the shins, and impress her father’s distinguished clients. She did it all—and without scuffing her shoes or losing her supportive boyfriend, Ned.

Liana and her friends don’t seem to care that Nancy is pretty or popular. They laugh, mockingly I think, at Nancy’s friend Bess, who squeals at spiders. They prefer her other girlfriend George, the judo expert and computer whiz. They skip over the long descriptions of outfits and fashion accessories. According to Liana, they just want to get on with the story.

Perhaps I am overly optimistic, but I’d like to believe that Liana’s generation doesn’t love Nancy Drew because she’s a successful girl detective. They don’t need to be reminded that girls can be successful they know that. What these girls need and love are the stories themselves: those exciting adventure tales spiced with mystery.