The Secret of the Old Clock by Nancy Drew

Month 2 of the #NancyDrewBookCrew readalong was the book that started it all: The Secret of the Old Clock! My used bookstore had both a 1959 edition as well as an edition with a modern day cover (I have TRIED and FAILED to figure out what year) so I grabbed them both. After learning in Girl Sleuth that the editions were sometimes changed, I decided to see if I could compare the two. Aside from a different cover, dyed edges, decorative end pages, and a slightly larger font, the '59 edition is identical to it's modern covered counterpart (at least, the one I have). I first read these books in elementary school, so I was surprised to discover that Nancy is age eighteen in The Secret of the Old Clock. She's an innocent and immature eighteen, though, a product of another time. Still, I understand why I (and so many others) were drawn to Nancy Drew. She's beautiful and bright, modest and well mannered. She zips around in her convertible rescuing drowning children and locating lost wills, because Nancy always seems to be around when excitement is afoot! Speaking of which! There are so! many! exclamation points! This may have been the style at the time, or a tactic to keep young readers engaged, but the exclamation points and adverbs were so over the top, it took me out of the story at times (Nancy exclaims joyfully, accepts readily, smiles grimly, and says enthusiastically at every turn). In spite of that though, it was so much fun to return to Nancy Drew in her first venture as a detective. I can't wait to see what shenanigans she gets into next!