Nancy Drew sparked an interest in mysteries for me, and I am grateful for that. Who wouldn’t want to be Nancy Drew? It wasn’t until I studied children’s literature in college that I began to understand what a cultural impact Nancy Drew had just by being a strong, independent, intelligent female character. She was independent – heck she even had her own car! She had a handsome boyfriend. Nancy Drew was a game changer not just for me but for an entire generation of young girls. I still relish that moment in mysteries and thrillers today! I also discovered and fell in love with the “ah-ha!” moment. What could the secret be? How would Nancy find out? How would she solve the mystery? I loved the feeling of intrigue that picking up a Nancy Drew book provided and I loved uncovering clues with her. My first of many Nancy Drew books was none other than The Secret of the Old Clock. The idea of a mystery was something new and exciting. I had never read a story in which I had to figure out who was who and what was really going on.

There was usually a “good guy,” a “bad guy,” a lesson to be learned, and it was pretty clear who was who. Up to that point, books had been pretty straightforward stories for me. I think I was around ten or eleven when I started reading Nancy Drew books. She loved them! So of course she decided to share these books with me when I was growing up. I learned about mysteries from my mom, who introduced me to a young woman named… For this Friday Firsts post, I’d like to talk about my first mystery book.

Nancy drew game list 2017