You know, I read a lot of Nancy Drew as a child. I mean, sure, there were other series that I held closer to my heart. In fact, because it's top ten Wednesday, that list would probably go a little something like this:
1. Sweet Valley High
2. Sweet Valley Twins and Friends (No, they are NOT the same.)
3. The Baby-Sitter's Club
4. Fear Street
5. Nightmare Hall
6. Goosebumps
7. The Boxcar Children
8. The Laura Ingalls Wilder collection
9. A series whose name I cannot for the life of me remember involving two mystery solving sisters (I think one of the girls was named Cris...although now that I think about it, that seems a little suspect. Is anyone really named Cris? Sigh...). The only title I remember in said collection: The Jellybean Scheme. PLEASE contact me if you remember this series. Thank you.
10. Nancy Drew
ANYWAY...my whole point here is that, though I reached for Elizabeth and Jessica first, I had my fair share of Nancy as well. I liked the old-fashionedness of it all: the fact that the girls (Nancy, Bess, and George) were referred to as "sleuths;" the fact that Nancy's bf's name was Ned (which just sounds old-fashioned); and especially, especially, especially the covers. I loved the Nancy Drew book covers. Nancy was always crouching down, peering into a window, furtively hauling away a clock/charm/locket/diary/candlestick, etc. And she was always dressed quite smartly. Which is why this saddens me. Emma Roberts, young niece of the lovely Julia Roberts, is the star of the soon to be released film, Nancy Drew (tagline: "Get a Clue").
To be honest, I have no beef with Emma Roberts. Pre-"stardom," she often graced the pages of my Teen Vogue's, and she always looked pretty good. I mean, she's cute, she seems sweet, and she certainly has the connections needed to make it big in Hollywood. But I still don't want to see a sixteen year old walking around with the imprint of a black lace bra on her otherwise sensible, chic gray sheath. I just don't. Especially when that girl is just months away from bringing to life one of the much-loved literary figures of my childhood. Next thing you know, they'll cast Mary Kate and Ashley in the big screen adaptation of Sweet Valley High. Which actually, now that I think about it, would be nothing short of phenomenal.
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5 comments:
from Sarah:
This is the sort of "literary" discussion I can get into. Forget anything I read post 1993; nthg I've ever been assigned in school can hold a candle to the series I read as a wee-ling. A smattering of my faves:
1. Ramona Quimby all the way. My first child, boy or girl, WILL be named Quimby in her honor, no matter what Pat or anyone else says!
2. Babysitters Club -- Claudia being yet another name on my future baby names after book characters list; and, as we should all remember, Mary Ann's BF Logan was from Louisville (or Loovul, as he called it)
3. Sweet Valley Twins -- not allowed to read SWH, of course, but ohohoh, which twin should I be more like when I finally got to middle school? Screw it, I'm gonna be Lila -- but def NOT Amy. Such a nerd.
4. Anastasia -- Lois Lowry at her best(s)!
5. Christopher Pike until I got to one with kids going scuba diving or smthg and I got to a part that was so scary where they were underwater and someone was like going to blow up or smthg because they were coming up too fast and I had to stop reading and never went back to a scary book again
5. The Cat Who . . . a family obsession. Dumb mysteries starring an old man and his two cats Koko and YumYum, but don't knock it til you try it.
P.S. Sorry, no help on yr mystery title. Sounds familiar . . .
Oh, Christopher Pike! I loved those books; how could I forget them? They were so much more racy than Fear Street. And Sarah, if you thought Amy was a nerd, in SVH, Elizabeth's BF was named Enid Rollins. Bleh. In fact, in SVH, Amy was cool and was a cheerleader with Jessica. I kid you not.
Cynthia Blair. The Pratt Twins. Is that it?
theresa is officially my hero. if anyone was keeping track.
Yay! I'm someone's hero! (And not just anyone's.)
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