Clues for Real Life: The Wit and Wisdom of Nancy Drew [Hardcover]

Stephanie Karpinske (Editor)

Book Description

Series: The Classic Wit & Wisdom of Nancy Drew

For more than 75 years, young girls have been drawn to Nancy Drew, America's favorite young sleuth. Readers couldn't have missed the words of wisdom sprinkled throughout the book about how to deal with everyday problems mixed in with the mystery. Filled with memorable and fun illustrations of Nancy during the past 75 years, this new book is filled with quotes straight from the pages of Nancy Drew books. And, with chapters covering such topics as Career Clues: The Secrets to Getting Ahead; Mysterious Men: Solving Your Dating Dilemmas; and Friendship Files: Lessons Learned from Bess and George, this is a great gift for Nancy Drew fans.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A smart and capable heroine, girl sleuth Nancy Drew provided a progressive role model for girls in 1930s America, where women had recently won the right to vote. Today, her thoughts on being a woman, dealing with boys, solving crimes and staying fashionable make for deliciously dated browsing. In chapters like "Career Clues," "Mysterious Men" and "The Style Sleuth," Karpinske has amassed fun, shamelessly old-fashioned (read: non-PC) bon mots like, "Do nearly faint upon being rescued so you can be picked up and held by good strong arms!" from The Secret in the Old Attic. Also included are quizzes and sidebars, numerous illustrations from original publications and even a chapter of recipes for Drew's favorite foods, but the most interesting part is the first chapter, which looks at how Drew was created and how she's changed through different authors and times. But unless you're a die-hard fan, the endless list of quotes can prove wearying, especially for their occasional impenetrability ("Using transparent aliases... might just get you locked in a hallway!"), an abundance of exclamation points and casual sexism ("There's safety in numbers, especially when they're men!").
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Meredith Books (November 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0696236249
• ISBN-13: 978-0696236242
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 6.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,209,706 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephanie Karpinske, MBA, MS, RD is passionate about helping people achieve better health in a simple and practical way. As a registered dietitian with a masters in Nutrition Communications from Tufts University, Stephanie has the unique ability to teach people about health and nutrition in a way that is interesting and easy to understand.

Stephanie spent several years as Senior Health Editor at a major publishing company, creating diet and fitness books and healthy cookbooks. She also interned at the ABC News Medical Unit, researching health stories for Good Morning America and ABC World News.

As owner of SK Health Communications, LLC, Stephanie writes for a variety of health publications, including Better Homes and Gardens and My Weight Loss. She's also studying to be a personal trainer. Her latest book, Read Before Dieting, shows readers how to finally make diets work for them rather than against them. It's the must-have book for any dieter!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm so glad I discovered this book!, September 25, 2009

By 

J. Arena (Williamsburg, VA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Clues for Real Life: The Wit and Wisdom of Nancy Drew (Hardcover)

I have long been crazy about Nancy Drew. Just seeing the old book covers gives me a nostalgic thrill, taking me back to reading under the tent I loved to create under sheets and blankets, enjoying the ultimate joy of reading Nancy Drew books by flashlight!

Clues for Real Life: The Wit and Wisdom of Nancy Drew was just the thing to take me back to those wonderful times. This is a book to treasure, and would put Nancy, herself to the blush since it defies her very own advice: "Don't make yourself appear to be too perfect..."

I would not hesitate for one minute to recommend this to any hard-core girl-sleuth, no matter what her age. The illustrations are classic and the writing is just the kind of chatty information that one would expect from a chum!

Don't miss it!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting for Classic Nancy Drew Fans, July 12, 2009

By 

Julie (NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Clues for Real Life: The Wit and Wisdom of Nancy Drew (Hardcover)

If you like classic Nancy Drew, you'll probably like this too. By classic, I mean the old, hard-cover, yellow-jacketed books 1-56. If you're to get anything out of this book, it will greatly help to have read at least a good number of these old classics. The book is basically the "big lessons" Nancy got out of her sleuthing experiences. Comments she would make on guys, danger, and best friends.

Ch 1 also mentions some of the history behind the Carolyn Keene thing. It's interesting to read but not really a "must have" book. Most kids probably won't like it, but the sophisticated ones might. It's not a mystery, more like a little quiz book for you to test yourself about knowledge of Nancy Drew.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Treasure for Nancy Drew Fans, September 4, 2009

By 

Fiona - See all my reviews

This review is from: Clues for Real Life: The Wit and Wisdom of Nancy Drew (Hardcover)

The color illustrations from older and revised Nancy Drew Books make this book well worth the purchase price. Add to this the fact that it is compiled by Jennifer Fisher, an avid collector, researcher and generous sharer of her knowledge of all things Drew...and you have a must have reference book, a delightful gift book for a Nancy Drew Fan, or just a fine book in all ways. And I do mean all ways.

The paper in the hardcover I bought is heavy and of the best quality. If I could stand to use an exacto knife, which I could not bring myself to do, I would cut out many of the charming illustrations and either frame them or collage them.

As for the content, it is clever, highly readable and full of fun facts that stir fond memories for readers who love the older unrevised editions as well as those who are only familiar with the modern Nancy Drews. Anyone "clueless" with the true "mystery" surrounding the actual identity of Carolyn Keene will learn some remarkable facts that, again, make the book a must have.

I have just received "Clues for Real Life", and became so impressed with just a first look, I had to write this review. And I will probably write another one in a few days after I have time to really read and have fun with this treasure. Jennifer Fisher has dug deeply into sources of information that most of us would have to spend days finding, time traveling to investigate, much of which would not be available to even a persistently curious person.

I am surprised that Jennifer Fisher's name is not listed on the cover. She has a topnotch website, is consulted by film-makers, plans conventions and has thousands of faithful followers, young and old, who look upon her as the foremost Nancy Drew Diva on the planet. This oversight is a mystery to me and a confusion to many who search for the book. I am convinced this is the reason more people have not reviewed the book. They don't know it exists. I myself thought I had made an error when my email confirmation invoice listed Stephanie Karpinski as editor. While thrilled that someone else had enough interest to put together a book about the Nancy Drew Phenomenon, I wanted a book that I knew would not disappoint me by being silly or containing alot of psychological jargon and scholarly opinions. I have many such books and some are worthwhile, but I am looking forward to the publication of a book in the works by Jennifer Fisher called "Nancy Drew Sleuth: 75 Years of Mystery Revealed." Look for it. Meanwhile, enjoy this charming book.

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