Nancy Drew Mystery Stories

Olivia -my seven year old daughter- has recently gotten into Nancy Drew mysteries in a big way. It started with her asking if there were any books she could read that were a little "spooky". "You know... something kind of mysterious that will scare me a little, but not give me nightmares." Nancy Drew was the best I could come up with at the time. She's read five books in a week and a half, and has two more to go from our current library stack. I asked her the other day what she would tell other people who were thinking about reading the books. Olivia said (Mom typing furiously while she talked):

"It's fun to read about what happens to Nancy and her friends. You don't know what's going to happen, and that makes it feel spooky and exciting. You start getting interested in the story right away, and I like how unexpected things happen. I have read four [now five] Nancy Drew books already, and am I'm excited to read the others. My favorites so far are The Clue in the Jewel Box, The Secret in the Old Attic, and The Clue in the Broken Locket. It is a good series to read if you like mysterious and exciting stories."

  There you have it.
  I remember loving the Nancy Drew books, when I read them as a pre-teen. And they are clean reading, which is why I've allowed Olivia to read them. I think they've held up fairly well over the years, because they are fast paced with interesting (for kids) plots.
  Reading them as an adult...mmmm, not so much. Highly improbable situations, slightly absurd scenes, irritating characters, and -dare I say it- cheesy writing. These books do not cross the boundry into good adult reading, BUT, I don't think it's necessary that they do. While I think a great book remains a great book no matter the age of the person reading it, I also think it's okay that there are books that only the young can appreciate.
Some interesting sites where you can read up on the history of Nancy Drew:
http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/history.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Drew