Nancy Drew on Campus

Nancy Drew on Campus
Author Carolyn Keene
Country United States
Language English
Genre Young adult novel
Publisher Simon Pulse
Media type Print (Paperback)

Nancy Drew on Campus is a series of twenty-five books published as a young adult spin-off from the long-running Nancy Drew mystery series.[1] The series was published between 1995 and 1998 by Simon & Schuster's Young Adult imprint Simon Pulse and followed Nancy and her friends as they attended college and dealt with issues such as date rape and drug usage.[2][3]

Nancy Drew on Campus utilized reader interaction, most notably in the first two books where they were asked to call a 1-800 number to decide whether Nancy and her boyfriend Ned were to break up or stay together.[4]

The series was cancelled in 1997, when Simon & Schuster decided to cancel all Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys spin-offs.

Synopsis

The series followed Nancy and her friends George and Bess as they attend the fictional Wilder University.[5] Nancy is attending in order to receive a degree in journalism, much to the chagrin of her long time boyfriend Ned Nickerson, who wants her to attend Emerson College with him instead.[6] Despite initial attempts to make their relationship work,[7] the two break up in the second book On Her Own after Nancy decides that Ned is too controlling.[8]

List of books in the series

  1. New Lives, New Loves
  2. On Her Own
  3. Don't Look Back
  4. Tell Me the Truth
  5. Secret Rules
  6. It's Your Move
  7. False Friends
  8. Getting Closer
  9. Broken Promises
  10. Party Weekend
  11. In the Name of Love
  12. Just the Two of Us
  13. Campus Exposures
  14. Hard to Get
  15. Loving and Losing
  16. Going Home
  17. New Beginnings
  18. Keeping Secrets
  19. Love On-Line
  20. Jealous Feelings
  21. Love and Betrayal
  22. In and Out of Love
  23. Otherwise Engaged
  24. In the Spotlight
  25. Snowbound

Reception

Reception to the series was mixed, with some critics viewing the inclusion of adult themes such as date rape "unsuccessful".[2] In her book Sisters, Schoolgirls, and Sleuths, Carolyn Carpan commented that the series was "more soap opera romance than mystery" and that Nancy "comes across as dumb, missing easy clues she wouldn't have missed in previous series".[9] The series was also criticized for focusing more on romance than on grades or studying, with one critic stating that the series resembled collegiate academic studying in the 1950s, where "women were more interested in pursuing ... the "MRS" degree."[10]

References

  1. ↑ "A NEW IMAGE FOR NANCY DREW". Chicago Tribune. May 26, 1995. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Mitchell, Claudia (2007). Girl Culture: Studying girl culture : a readers' guide. Greenwood. p. 450. ISBN 0313339090.
  3. ↑ "NANCY DREW IS UPDATED - AND DATED". Akron Beacon Journal. September 21, 1995. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  4. ↑ "Will Ned fit in college life of Nancy Drew?". USA Today. Aug 11, 1995. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  5. ↑ "It's a new Nancy Drew teen sleuth enters '90s". Dallas Morning News. September 13, 1995. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  6. ↑ "BOOK REVIEW NANCY INVESTIGATES COLLEGE LIFE". Star Telegram. August 22, 1995. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  7. ↑ Drew, Bernard (1997). The 100 Most Popular Young Adult Authors. Libraries Unlimited. p. 185. ISBN 1563086158.
  8. ↑ Inness, Sherrie A. (1997). Nancy Drew and Company. Popular Press. p. 157. ISBN 0879727365.
  9. ↑ Carpan, Carolyn (2009). Sisters, Schoolgirls, and Sleuths. Scarecrow Press. pp. 135–136. ISBN 0810863952.
  10. ↑ Johnson, Naomi (2008). Consuming Desires: A Feminist Analysis of Bestselling Teen Romance Novels. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. p. 18. ISBN 9780549324775.