The Secret of Shadow Ranch (Nancy Drew, No. 5) [Hardcover]

Carolyn Keene (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

This cool paperback blank journal features one of the most memorable cover images from the classic Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series.

TM & 2006 Simon & Schuster, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From AudioFile

With her wits and her ever present girlfriends, the resourceful Nancy Drew foils a gang of bank robbers and kidnappers. Laura Linney brings the young sleuth and her gal pals to life throughout their adventure. Using a drawl to personify the cowboys they meet while on vacation out West, Linney provides a seamless narration. With just the right dramatic flair, the self-deprecating Nancy Drew keenly solves the mystery of a romantic legend involving an outlaw and a ranch-owner's daughter. Whether facing a phantom horse, a rock slide, or a raging river, Nancy keeps her cool and prevails. D.L.M. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap; New edition edition (September 1, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044809505X
• ISBN-13: 978-0448095059
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #32,893 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( K ) > Keene, Carolyn
  • #98 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Girls & Women > Fiction

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Two books, one title, August 23, 2010

By 

Ellen Fisher (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nancy Drew 05: The Secret of Shadow Ranch (Nancy Drew Mystery) (Kindle Edition)

I have a large collection of the original "blue" Nancy Drew books, and every so often I go back and read them, despite the fact that I'm well into my forties. Lately I've been amusing myself by reading the old books, then downloading the newer Kindle editions and comparing them. For the most part, the original editions (now published by Applewood, sadly not available on Kindle) are far better. Not only do they have the charm of roadsters and frocks and chums, but they're simply better written. They flow well, and don't have that cut-down, spliced-together feel of the newer editions. Also, the original Nancy has a certain devil-may-care, reckless attitude the newer Nancy is missing.

THE SECRET OF SHADOW RANCH is the one exception I've discovered so far to this rule. As a few reviewers have mentioned, the original edition is hardly a mystery at all. Nancy doesn't spend her time sleuthing; she and her "chums" learn to ride, then repeatedly go up into the mountains, getting lost and facing down bobcats, mountain lions, and rushing rivers. All of which may be exciting, but has little to do with the Nancy Drew most of us know. The book does introduce Bess and George, but otherwise, it's not really worth your time. The mystery is very slight, and is solved at the end through Carson Drew's efforts, not Nancy's. This is the one older edition that's better left on the shelf.

The newer edition, on the other hand, starts with excitement and mystery, and never really lets up. There's a "phantom" horse (of course Nancy figures out what it really is!), bad guys, good guys, a treasure concealed where only our redoubtable heroine can find it... It's a surprisingly good read, and doesn't have that choppy feel (perhaps because it was written from scratch, rather than cut down from the original). Overall, the newer edition is an enjoyable book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars THe Secret Of Shadow Ranch, October 28, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Secret of Shadow Ranch (Nancy Drew, No. 5) (Hardcover)

The Sceret Of Shadow Ranch is great mystery. It's about Nancy and her friends thinking they wher going for a vacation on Beth and Georges uncels ranch ranch in Arizona for the summer. A hidden treasure and a phantom horse became another mystery for the three friends to solve. I mostly liked the ranch setting . i would love to spend a weekend at a ranch like that. i didn't however like how mean the bad guys wher to each other. I think it is sad when other people make others feel worthless. Nancy, was my favortie chartecter because she was mysterious also when she was solving mysterys she keept going no matter how hard they were to solve. My favorite part is on page 152;"You're a downrite marvel, that's what you are young laddy," Ms,Thurmond said that about Nancy Drew. i like when the charecter,Nancy, how she helps notice how smart she really is. it is a really good story. The only question i have about this book is that;i wish they would have said what the debt was, like why they had to sell the ranch? I would recommend this book greatly because it really makes you think.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best in the series!, March 18, 2001

By 

kathryn kimbrell (Jasper, AL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secret of Shadow Ranch (Nancy Drew, No. 5) (Hardcover)

For all the teenage girls out there who are looking for a good read, but think Nancy Drew is just a little too old, you are TOTALLY wrong.I started reading Nancy Drew when I was seven, and I still love them (I'm 13 now.)This book, especially is really exciting, it takes place on a ranch and the adventure is continuos.You will find yourself on the edge of your seat whispering, "Hurry, Nancy, he'll find you!"the overall plot of the story if fantastic, and, like all of Keene's books, it's really worth reading! I would suggest this book to everyone, no matter theyre age or sex.