The Curse of the Black Cat (Nancy Drew) [Paperback]

Carolyn Keene (Author)

Book Description

Series: Nancy Drew | Publication Date: January 1, 2001

Exclusive Waverly Academy looks like a medieval castle, but the horrors there are up-to-date. With minor incidents and cruel pranks running rampant, and each incident accompanied by a curse note from the Black Cat, soon everyone is spooked -- even the teachers. At the headmistress's request, Nancy and George go undercover as teaching interns, but it isn't long before Nancy herself gets one of the menacing notes. Who is the mysterious Black Cat -- an unhappy student? Or is a more sinister force at work?

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743406613
• ISBN-13: 978-0743406611
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #835,231 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon are the pseudonyms under which many ghostwriters penned the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series, respectively. Both series were created by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate book packaging firm, in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Stratemeyer's daughter, Harriet, and syndicate writer Mildred Wirt Benson were the two people primarily responsible for bringing the iconic character of Nancy Drew to life in the minds and hearts of millions of readers around the world.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly, the videogame had a better plot!, September 28, 2011

By 

Sean J. Hagins (Lancaster, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Curse of the Black Cat (Nancy Drew) (Paperback)

Before i start this review, i want to explain that i saw the videogame first, so that may have swayed my judgement of this book.

The plot of the book is ok-with threatening letters and pranks (and sometimes more serious doings) happening to students and teachers at a girls boarding school. The only thing is, the videogame actually has a better structured plot! When the headmistress calls Nancy (and George in the book, not the game) to operate undercover and try to flush out the person responsible for the misdeeds, in the book she poses these 18-year olds as student teachers. At that age, they can pretend to be students-wouldn't that make more sense, because the students are more likely to confide (or let something slip) in front of a fellow student as one of their peers than a teacher? Also, the plot has been changed quite a bit for the game. But the thing is, videogames based on books are usually less cohesive than books-not more so (granted, i am referring to shoot-em-up games like Star Wars-Shadows of the Empire, which is a completely different genre. Since the book came out first, i would probably say it was an enjoyable read when released, but to me, a book, or movie loses all credibilty when a knock-off copy (whether a game, a remake of a movie, etc) exceeds it. Usually, remakes aren't as good in my opinion.

I'm sorry if this review dwelt on the game more than the book. The thing is-i played it with a friend, and that was the only reason i got the book. Which left me VERY disappointed

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW!, January 29, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Curse of the Black Cat (Nancy Drew) (Paperback)

WOW, what an awesome book. This mystery was full of atmosphere and great scenes (very scary). The overall plot is very strong and felt like a very traditional Nancy Drew story. The writing was above par, and I would recommend this kids and adults. This felt like a very traditional story in an updated format. More like this, please!