Nancy gets a call for help late one night from a girl she befriended over the phone when getting technical support to help fix her computer. When the line goes dead, Nancy is determined to get to the bottom of things. Soon,
Nancy, her Dad, and friends George and Bess are on their way to India to find Kalpana, the girl who wasn¹t there! It's only a matter of time before Nancy is captured by Sahadev the crime lord and is being sacrificed to Kali! Ages 8 to 12.
Papercutz is the exciting new graphic novel publisher that's building a huge following among the next generation of comics fans. Even the most reluctant readers are becoming addicted to the Papercutz approach of giving classic characters a modern makeover! Each Papercutz graphic novel features comics stories drawn in the style of the popular Japanese comics known as manga, and beautifully rendered with state of the art color. While educators rave about the high quality of the Papercutz writing and artwork, readers 8 and up are simply enjoying the great adventures found in each fun-filled volume. Be sure to check out other Papercutz titles such as The Hardy Boys, Zorro and Totally Spies.
My thoughts:
I was browsing at a comic book store last weekend and came across this book on the used manga shelf. I grew up reading a lot of mysteries. Nancy Drew and Trixie Beldon were two of my favorites. I wanted to be a detective and look for clues! I had not heard about this line of books and was excited to give this one a try.
Nancy, Bess and George accompany Nancy's dad to India because a friend of Nancy's called her for help and then went missing. They look for clues at the company the girl worked for and at the girls home. Nancy ends up kidnapped, George is great with technology and Bess can fix mechanical things. I recall that Bess was good with mechanical jobs but not what George was supposed to be good at. The drawings depict them similar to how I remember, just updated. Bess is blond and rounder, George has short dark hair and Nancy has longer reddish blond hair.
Since this book is intended for young readers a lot of explanation was included about how call centers for computer companies are in India, how in India they speak two languages and the a lot more. It almost felt like the author was trying to sneak learning into the book, but I think more likely he just wanted to make sure that children understood what was going on.
I started to get worried that the mystery wasn't going to be resolved before the end of the book, but as in all the ones I recall for childhood, Nancy and her pals save the day and solve the mystery and the bad guy is apprehended. That part reminded me a bit of Scooby Doo which is not an association I ever made before, but the kids like to solve mysteries in both.
I liked the use of technology and the way the story was brought into current times. I haven't read a Nancy Drew book for years. I am not even sure if they are still being written, but I wonder how they are dealing with all the changes that have happened since the series started. I recall some of them being a bit dated when I was reading them and that was pretty long ago! I think this new (or newer) series is a nice introduction for readers who are new to the characters.
Product Details
Pub. Date: January 2006
Publisher: Papercutz
Format: Paperback , 96pp
Age Range: 8 to 12
Series: Nancy Drew Graphic Novels: Girl Detective Series , #4
ISBN-13: 9781597070126
ISBN: 1597070122
Sounds interesting. I may have to look into them to see if it's something my son would like. Thanks for the review.
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