Book review: The Official Nancy Drew Handbook
Katherine Gottli
Issue date: 12/4/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment
Growing up as a typical girl living in St. Suburbia, I was subjected to the Nancy Drew series by my mother, as well as every female teacher throughout my elementary school education.
When I found The Official Nancy Drew Handbook, I was embarrassingly excited, as it would essentially encapsulate my entire childhood life lessons in one neat and brightly coloured handbook. I guess I forgot, however, that the Nancy Drew series was dripping in stereotypical descriptions of young women, the epitome of it all being Miss Drew herself. The Handbook is no exception.
Divided into chapters such as "Clues to Success in Relationships and Life" and - my personal favourite, if only for how depressingly girly the entire chapter was - "Clues to Love and Romance", the book outlines how Nancy would deal with practically any G-rated situation that a young beautiful sleuth might find herself in, and how to get herself out of the especially sticky ones while keeping her hair in place (there is a section devoted to how to keep your hair looking neat while driving in a convertible - seriously).
I can't decide if the Handbook was a tongue-in-cheek parody of how ridiculously stereotypical the original Nancy Drew series was, or if it was written to legitimately inform the new generations of Drew fans of how to live their life exactly like the famous super-sleuth. Regardless, the Handbook is an entertaining read, and I did actually learn a few useful things (for example, boys who wear brown lace up Oxfords are the most reliable, and will likely be the best choice for a boyfriend).
When I found The Official Nancy Drew Handbook, I was embarrassingly excited, as it would essentially encapsulate my entire childhood life lessons in one neat and brightly coloured handbook. I guess I forgot, however, that the Nancy Drew series was dripping in stereotypical descriptions of young women, the epitome of it all being Miss Drew herself. The Handbook is no exception.
Divided into chapters such as "Clues to Success in Relationships and Life" and - my personal favourite, if only for how depressingly girly the entire chapter was - "Clues to Love and Romance", the book outlines how Nancy would deal with practically any G-rated situation that a young beautiful sleuth might find herself in, and how to get herself out of the especially sticky ones while keeping her hair in place (there is a section devoted to how to keep your hair looking neat while driving in a convertible - seriously).
I can't decide if the Handbook was a tongue-in-cheek parody of how ridiculously stereotypical the original Nancy Drew series was, or if it was written to legitimately inform the new generations of Drew fans of how to live their life exactly like the famous super-sleuth. Regardless, the Handbook is an entertaining read, and I did actually learn a few useful things (for example, boys who wear brown lace up Oxfords are the most reliable, and will likely be the best choice for a boyfriend).
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