Review of "Nancy Drew Diaries: Monkey Wrench Blues and Dress Reversal graphic novel," by Carolyn Keene

 Review of

Nancy Drew Diaries: Monkey Wrench Blues and Dress Reversal graphic novel, by Carolyn Keene, ISBN 9781629912936

Four out of five stars

Changing times have changed Nancy and her group as well

 When I was in elementary school, a boy down the street turned me on to the Hardy Boys series, a male friend introduced me to the Tom Swift books and a female classmate lent me one of her Nancy Drew books. In the years since, I have occasionally read the more modern books in all three areas, I find them interesting as barometers of how adolescent fiction has changed over time.

 In this graphic novel of two adventures of Nancy Drew and her friends, they are very modern young women. In the first, Nancy is driving a technologically advanced car in a race against other cars. The goal is to win the race using only a minuscule amount of gasoline. Bess is an ace mechanic and is riding shotgun, fixing problems while the vehicle as it is moving.

 The second involves Nancy and her friends dressing way up for a party, only to have Nancy kidnapped and stuffed in a van. The prelude involves Nancy and her friends dress shopping, where they act like all the cliches regarding women shopping for new fancy clothing. A distinct difference from their actions in the first story.

 While there is dialog and it is sometimes quite snappy, there is a heavy  reliance on the images to provide all the action and context. The artwork is very modern, faces are smooth, rounded and often expressionless. This new way of expressing Nancy Drew and her friends is much more suited to the modern reader than what came before.