Nancy Drew, nice to meet you.
The 74-year-old girl sleuth has, at last, agreed to a wholesalemakeover, courtesy of Simon & Schuster. She's been through it before,back in 1959, so she knows the drill.
Her hair, first short and curly, then styled a red flip, is nowstrawberry blonde; she's all about the Internet and, like most youngwomen, won't be caught without a cell phone somewhere on her person.She's big into charity, volunteering at an animal shelter and headingthe River Heights Biking for Bucks . Even her convertible Mustang(which itself was once a blue roadster) has morphed into a fuel-efficient hybrid.
She's still whip smart - maybe even smarter than in years past -evidenced by the fact that she's writing her own books now. In thefirst person.
After 175 sequentially numbered books by `Carolyn Keene' (who wasreally lots of contracted authors), Nancy is starting over with No.1, evidence of her wholesale rehaul.
`The kids who read Nancy Drew also listen to Britney Spears,' saidEllen Krieger, Simon & Schuster vice president. `That's one reason wewanted to make Nancy cooler and more contemporary.'
Don't expect our favorite girl detective to solve crimes whilelistening to an Eminem CD: Her old-fashioned core values are intact,making her stories a safe place for the `tween' set, those readersages 8 to 12.
Nancy made her debut in the 1930 The Secret of the Old Clock,driving down a country road thinking to herself, `It was sweet of Dadto give me this car for my birthday. And it's fun to help him withhis work.'
Compare that with this, the opening to Without a Trace, thefirst in her new series:
`My name is Nancy Drew. My friends tell me I'm always looking fortrouble, but that's not really true. It just seems to have a way offinding me.' Simon & Schuster commissioned Bonnie Bryant, author ofthe popular Saddle Club series, to give Nancy's world a back story,fleshing out characters and settings as a blueprint for the variouswriters (to be known as Carolyn Keene, of course) to follow. RiverHeights has history, culture and stuff going on.
What about Bess, George and the ever-faithful and supportiveboyfriend, Ned Nickerson?
All present and accounted for, though the new books will focusless on Bess' weight problem and obsession with clothes. And tomboyGeorge is, for want of a better description, a computer nerd. Ned'sstill swoon-worthy, still in college, and their relationship stillchaste, though Nancy is now a relatively old 19 and a bonafide high-school graduate. Her dad, Carson Drew, is still single (Nancy's momdied long ago), and Hanna Gruen still keeps the house, but Nancyhelps out a lot more this time around.
The first three books in the series came out earlier this month,paperbacks all. The first went for 99 cents, those that follow uppedthe ante to $4.99. In keeping with Nancy's move to the modern world,a line of Nancy Drew clothing and accessories was launched late lastyear. And while women of a certain age will remember Pamela SueMartin as the intrepid detective on television, women of a certainother age will recall movies starring Bonita Granville as Nancy. Newsthat a brand-new feature film is in the works shouldn't come as asurprise, then. What will be shocking, however, is if Hollywood willanswer our two burning questions: How many piercings, and where areher tattoos?
Check out Nancy's fan Web site at www.nancydrewsleuth.com.
Contact Laura Dempsey at 225-2403 or by e-mail atldempsey@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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