Curse of the Arctic Star

Nancy Drew Diaries #1

by Carolyn Keene

Nancy and her friends must navigate a cruise ship crisis in the first book of the Nancy Drew Diaries, a fresh approach to a classic series.

Nancy, Bess, and George are cruising dangerous waters on a tour of Alaska. Becca Wright, an old friend of Nancy’s, is the Assistant Cruise Director of the Arctic Star , a posh new ship. But Becca needs Nancy’s help when strange things keep happening aboard the opulent ocean The swimming pool becomes a floating grave; a famous passenger is threatened; and even the seemingly innocent mini-golf course becomes a perilous playground. With the majestic and mysterious Alaskan scenery as a backdrop, Nancy and company have to find out who’s trying to sabotage the maiden voyage and why.

Genres: Mystery, Middle Grade, Audiobook, Young Adult, Childrens, Fiction, Mystery Thriller

188 pages, Paperback

First published February 5, 2013

About the author

Carolyn Keene is a writer pen name that was used by many different people- both men and women- over the years. The company that was the creator of the Nancy Drew series, the Stratemeyer Syndicate, hired a variety of writers. For Nancy Drew, the writers used the pseudonym Carolyn Keene to assure anonymity of the creator.

Edna and Harriet Stratemeyer inherited the company from their father Edward Stratemeyer. Edna contributed 10 plot outlines before passing the reins to her sister Harriet. It was Mildred Benson (aka: Mildred A. Wirt), who breathed such a feisty spirit into Nancy's character. Mildred wrote 23 of the original 30 Nancy Drew Mystery Stories®, including the first three. It was her characterization that helped make Nancy an instant hit. The Stratemeyer Syndicate's devotion to the series over the years under the reins of Harriet Stratemeyer Adams helped to keep the series alive and on store shelves for each succeeding generation of girls and boys. In 1959, Harriet, along with several writers, began a 25-year project to revise the earlier Carolyn Keene novels. The Nancy Drew books were condensed, racial stereotypes were removed, and the language was updated. In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.

Other writers of Nancy Drew volumes include Harriet herself, she wrote most of the series after Mildred quit writing for the Syndicate and in 1959 began a revision of the first 34 texts. The role of the writer of "Carolyn Keene" passed temporarily to Walter Karig who wrote three novels during the Great Depression. Also contributing to Nancy Drew's prolific existence were Leslie McFarlane, James Duncan Lawrence, Nancy Axelrod, Priscilla Doll, Charles Strong, Alma Sasse, Wilhelmina Rankin, George Waller Jr., and Margaret Scherf.

Reviews

[Bookishrealm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not the target age for this book; however, I'm not sure if they even knew who they were supposed to writing this book for. This definitely wasn't my favorite Nancy Drew book. 2.5 Stars

Nancy Drew is one of those classic series that most people have heard of (this doesn't mean that they've read it) and I ended up reading a book last year and thought I could dive into more this year. Nancy Drew is definitely not without its issues, but this new version of the series is supposed to be modern. It brings back Nancy and her friends as they attempt to solve a mystery aboard a cruise ship. Personally, I found the premise to be interesting: a possible mystery while everyone is trying to relax and have fun on a cruise. This premise could have gone in a number of interesting ways; however, it failed so greatly in the execution. The clues associated with the case were quite random and introduced too many characters at once. By the time readers get to the conclusion or the big reveal it comes across as underwhelming because Nancy never really followed a solid lead to the culprits. It was completely random, happening by chance that she was able to figure out who did it. I was able to figure out the mystery at the beginning of the book, but I'm also an adult reading a book that's not necessarily aimed at me for my enjoyment. If Nancy and her friends could have followed some serious leads and conducted the investigation in a way that made sense, the reveal would have been better.

There was also some blurring of the target audience. It was weird that I couldn't figure out if this was supposed to be aimed at a children, middle grade, or YA audience depending upon what section of the book I was reading. This causes issues in the fluidity of the work making some parts work well and others not work so well. It made the book feel disjointed. Overall, I'm not sure whether I'll make the decision to finish the books or not. They are really easy reads and there are only 22 books in the series, but I'm afraid the books won't get better or won't introduce characters that are more likeable than some of Nancy's friends. If you're looking for a nostalgia you might enjoy this series, but it honestly isn't groundbreaking in terms of middle grade literature.

[Gabby · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
I am an avid Nancy Drew fan--in fact, I'm probably a little obsessed. I was really hoping that this would be another Nancy Drew series that I could sink my teeth into. I was kind of disappointed. First, I couldn't tell what age they were. It's written for a younger audience so it sounds like they are in middle school/early high school--but Bess has a boyfriend in college... It was confusing. I also felt like she didn't really solve a mystery--where were the clues????--but just suddenly (and I mean suddenly) had a hunch that turned out to be correct. I'm not sure that I'm going to continue with this series...

[A · Rating 1 out of 5]

This new series makes the Girl Detective books seem like Pulitzer Prize winners. Usually, I am forgiving with the portrayal of modern Nancy Drew and friends, but the characters in this new book are utterly awful. Nancy is dumb, as much as I hate to use the word, and also far too forgetful for someone who is supposed to be a decent sleuth; George is outright rude, more negative than amusing, and just annoying, which pains me to say since she is my favorite ND character; Bess is completely flat and boring.

The plot development is also terrible, jumping from unexpected event to Nancy thinking about something to being interrupted by another unexpected event with no real connection between them. I can only think of one instance where she does any actual snooping, which merely consists of following someone for a page. The ending is laughable, and the suspicion of at least one character is so painfully obvious while Nancy either has no clue about their weird behavior or keeps forgetting about it.

Since I'm so fond of ND books, and since I enjoy reading about her in a current day setting, I'll continue for the sake of having more ND - and also because this book clearly leads into the next one, much to my annoyance.

[ʙʀᴏᴏᴋʟʏɴ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, I disagree with y'all haters. I like this.

[Lindsey (Books for Christian Girls) · Rating 3 out of 5]

{Reading while trying to get over jet lag. ;) }
A decent spin-off series based on the classic Nancy Drew books. It was a cute little throw back to my days of reading the original Nancy Drew books, even if a little over the top of Bess and George's personalities. Since I'm over the target age, I figured out who did it quickly and was a bit shocked over the ending being so quick. Overall, a recent read, but not as good as the original Nancy Drew books.

Questionable Content would be seeing a bloody body (which is a dummy with fake blood, but thought real at first) and a few 'oh my gosh's.

[Nikolett Ungor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so glad I picked up this book because now I have a full series to enjoy for a while.

Growing up on Scooby Doo, watching mystery marathons and in general enjoying secrets and discovering puzzles, leads I think this book brought back a piece of my childhood.

Intended for YA, younger audience who enjoy slightly thrilling slightly cozy mysteries. Nancy is captivating, with her kind and respectful personality and brilliant mind.

The writing style is appropriate for the audience, I would say from 12+ years and the book or the audio book would elalso be a wonderful present for a kid to help them learnt to love the magic of stories and reading.

I listened to the audio book, very much enjoying the splendid narration, the voice actor did an amazing job bringing some life to the pages.

I am looking forward to listening to and reading the next parts of the series! I hope Nancy can figure out the rest of the mystery 👀

[William Land · Rating 1 out of 5]

After reading the first two books in the Nancy Drew Diaries (NDD) series, I am not impressed and do not like the new series. Like the Nancy from the Nancy Drew Girl Detective (NDGD) series, this new Nancy Drew is not my Nancy!

I wasn't very optimistic about NDD, but would have been joyfully surprised if it had been well executed. As I had anticipated, it was not. I wasn’t surprised because NDD came from the same publishers who produced the ill-fated NDGD series. With books in hand for the first time, I looked at the back cover of the first one. I discovered the new series is again written in the first person. To me, this writing style doesn’t work Nancy Drew books or for similar children’s mystery series.

I also didn’t like the cover art for either book. Nancy Drew (her age not given in the stories) looks to be about 12 years old. I assume she must be around age 18 because Bess’s new boyfriend in the NDD series is a first year university student and approximately two years older than Nancy, Bess, and George.

What is missing from NDGD and NDD, is Nancy Drew herself! To me, a heroine must be strong, confident, capable, clever, competent, smart, aware, and possess other similar positive qualities. The heroine of these Nancy Drew series is too scatter-brained about all aspects of life except those which are focused on solving a mystery! I can't believe Nancy Drew is competent about solving mysteries if she can't remember to fill her car with gas, wears slippers outside because she forgot about changing to her shoes, doesn’t remember to charge her cell phone, is not Internet savvy, and doesn’t know how people can be aware of her sleuthing success through Internet searches.

It is more realistic if the heroine has some flaws. Nancy Drew, from the 1930s, was brash, caustic, and impatient. Judy Bolton has a temper, Connie Blair refuses to commit to any of her numerous male admirers, and Penny Parker is mischievous. Nancy Drew, as written by Harriet Adams, was generally unflawed and this is one of the reasons for criticism of the Nancy Drew Mysteries Stories (NDMS). As a reader, I accept the Nancy from the NDMS series as being “perfect” because she was Nancy Drew! Both original and revised text Nancy is strong, determined, confident, capable, educated, smart, and with many more positive attributes.

Nancy Drew in NDD is dull! I couldn't relate to anything about her and I didn't either like or dislike her. This Nancy Drew is uninspiring! This Nancy Drew is boring! This Nancy Drew is not confident, capable, smart, or clever in NDD!

After I read the two NDD books, I realized Nancy is equally vapid in the NDGD series. That is probably why I didn't like the Nancy from that series. The two NDD books read very much like the first 3.5 NDGD books I read (I had started the fourth book, but put it aside because I disliked it and became bored). I also read NDGD entry, “Stop the Clock,” because it harkened back to the first book in the original NDMS series. Again, I was less than entertained by this NDGD story.

I detest George, particularly in the first NDD book. She was hateful. She is self-centered, rude, mean, and a slob much of the time. George generally behaves at about the same age level as the young boy, Tobias, who is aboard the cruise ship with his parents. He was eight years old. Tobias, like George, was self-centered, rude, mean, and instead of being a slob, was very spoilt.

George, the reader is told, always hated Bess’s boyfriends. With good reason in the first two NDD books, I think. Bess’s latest beau is the criminal. But why dislike the others?

In the second book, George seemed more like the character from the original series. George didn’t interact with other people than Bess, George, and Alan very much so she didn’t appear as rude to me. Tobias, too, had a personality change. He became quite likeable and helped Nancy solve the mystery. The abrupt personality changes of both characters made me wonder of there were different authors for each book.

I found it glaring that Nancy described River Heights as a sleepy town where nothing exciting happened. It made me think she should go back and read some of the NDMS books! It was also glaring to me that the read is told her dad is “on a case.” I know from reading previous Nancy Drew series that her father is a lawyer. A new reader to the series would not know this. One could assume that her father is a social worker, a nurse, or a psychiatrist, and not necessary a member of the law profession.

At the same time when Nancy described River Heights, she mentioned Ned. He wasn’t identified with any description at that time. Is he her brother, a cousin, a boyfriend, a classmate, a neighbour, a mailman, a dog catcher, or someone else?

And does Nancy Drew in NDD have a mother? Apparently not one that is either alive or dead because she was not even mentioned in two stories.

I actually liked Bess in the NDD series. She was the only character, other than the blogger Wendy Webster, who actually had a positive personality. Bess was very attractive, well-dressed, well-spoken, and lady-like. She didn’t seem to have a weight problem. If anyone in that series will have a weight problem, it will be George who ate four helpings of scrambled eggs one breakfast and a jelly doughnut before that meal!

For a modern series, I was surprised one of the characters was a young 20-something woman named Wendy! Wendy is such an old-fashioned, unpopular name! In my lifetime (I’m 53!), I have met seven or eight women named Wendy. At this point (2013), the youngest of these women would be middle forties; the oldest around late sixties. In my opinion, Wendy is not a young woman’s name.

And an elderly woman in the NDD books was named Coral! That didn’t bother me; she must have been born to hippie parents during the 1960s.

I wondered at the mentality of the three girls, Nancy, Bess and George. They are supposed to be close friends, but I couldn’t believe this. Bess and George, particularly, were always sniping at each other about something trivial and Nancy was almost as bad, particularly making comments about George’s appetite and a joke about George attending a spa treatment on the cruise ship. There was a lot of eye rolling and ignoring each other among the girls. Is how true friends behave with each other? Like 12-year old girls? (Maybe this behaviour is somehow is related to the cover art?).

This trio didn’t seem like friends to me. I know there was some teasing and sniping in all the Nancy Drew series, but the girls always had each other’s back, particularly in the NDMS and Nancy Drew Files (NDF) series.

The mysteries, danger, and investigations weren’t particularly exciting or memorable. The plot was as dull as Nancy herself!

I wondered about the competence of the parents of the three girls. The girls are anywhere between the ages of 12 and 20, and, yet, they are permitted to go on an all-expense paid cruise and train vacation, accompanied by Bess’s boyfriend of less than two weeks? Alan is anywhere between the ages of 19 and 22 (he is a first year university student) and the girls go off with this man nobody knew! For goodness sake, he may be a criminal! Give your heads a shake, dear parents! He is! (Actually I believe the girls are age 18 – if they were younger they would be in high school; older girls would be in college or university. They just act like 12 year olds!)

NDD books are longer than NDGD books in page count. But are they actually longer in word count? NDD uses a large font and chapter heading that cover half a page! The font is almost picture book size! There aren’t any internal illustrations, though, and after the horrible cover art, I am grateful!

The books are geared to 8-12 year old readers. I can’t imagine a 10 or 11-year-old wanting to read them. My young cousin (who is now 13-years-old) may have read the NDD very briefly last year or the year before, but would not have kept to them. At age 11 and 12, SarahAnn read some of the NDMS and immensely enjoyed them. She liked the NDMS, I suspect she would have been bored by NDD. I definitely was. Maybe I am too old for Nancy Drew?

I do not expect to purchase any other NDD books and am so glad I didn’t buy the hardcover books. I’ll keep the two I already bought (although I’d rather have my money back!) to add to my collection. When people as about the NDD and NDGD books, I’ll be glad to tell them they are among the worst Nancy Drew books ever published and don’t buy them, especially for children. I’ll suggest they buy the youngsters NDMS books instead! I think it’s very telling that the classic NDMS are still in print today and the paperback series go out-of-print very soon after they are published.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bringing the famous teenage detective to a new generation of readers, The Nancy Drew Diaries is a modern adaptation of the original mystery series, still written under the pen name Carolyn Keene. In this initial book, teenage sleuth Nancy Drew—accompanied by cousins Bess and George and Bess’s boyfriend Alan—boards the Arctic Star cruise ship for its maiden voyage to Alaska. They have been secretly invited by Nancy’s friend and the assistant cruise director, Becca Wright, who has reason to believe that someone may be interested in damaging the reputation of Superstar Cruises. From the moment the foursome boards the vessel, disconcerting incidents occur. Identifying the saboteur proves especially difficult as the suspect list grows, and it seems that perhaps the Arctic Star is cursed after all. Will the teens be able to crack the case, or is the ship’s maiden voyage going to be its last?

Although this book is on the whole a fair modification, it is not without flaws. First of all, the series title is a misnomer because except for being bookended by very brief diary entries, the story is not epistolary. First-person narration distinguishes this from the original series and precludes the benefit of the background and external information which characterized the initial Nancy Drew mysteries, thus detracting somewhat from the deciphering of the mystery. Mediocre plot execution is perhaps the chief defect, particularly when compared to the Nancy of old. Potential clues haphazardly scattered throughout and an overly abundant cast of possible culprits further occludes the story, making it quite unfeasible for readers to solve the case themselves. The story’s resolution was largely unsatisfactory because it was presented suddenly instead of being methodically approached throughout, although this was also due in part to serving as a lead-in for the second book in the series. Lastly, the characters themselves did not convey their original integrity. Nancy, while still acting as the premier detective, is somewhat aloof and impatient, and George Fayne the tomboy is much more distracted and even uncouth in her translation to the modern era. Bess Marvin perhaps enjoys the best alteration because she is more mature and suave than her uncertain and hesitant predecessor. Overall, however, despite several noticeable weaknesses, the contemporary lingo and technology are relatable to twenty-first century audiences, and Nancy Drew fans young and old are likely to enjoy this new series.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The daughter got this for Christmas (or maybe Easter). It does what it says on the package. It is devious to leave a smaller mystery unsolved at the end of the story to make sure you read the next book, but other than that no complaints about the story. I knocked it down a star because the characterizations were pretty thin for most of the book.

[Priya · Rating 4 out of 5]

First book of a new Nancy Drew series in a modern setting with everything else pretty much the same, including the author who we know by now is actually a group of people writing with that name!

My love for mysteries was definitely kindled by Nancy when I first started reading the original books. I keep revisiting those occasionally so it's fun to read this series!

[Serenity · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. It was more like 4 and a half stars. I just couldn’t decide which. 5 or 4 stars. I love mystery’s and this was a good one.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was in a Nancy Drew mood after reading the crime noir comic and seeing the new movie. Imagine my surprise when there was a whole slew of Nancy Drew audiobooks on Hoopla. They were all under six hours, which is my preferred limit because I don't commute as far anymore. I just finished a Hardy Boys mystery and Nancy Drew is the clear winner. Perhaps it's because I'm a lady and I gravitate towards my own gender or I know virtually nothing about those boys, but ND was dynamite. I don't know why she's used as a joke in television shows because she is rad as hell.



I enjoyed nearly every aspect of this book except for Nancy Drew's friend, George, who was a rancid bitch. I thought it was just an acting choice in the movie but it unfortunately carried into the book series. She complained non-stop and contributed absolutely nothing to the plot or the case. Nancy's other friend, Bess, was a doll and I would gladly be her friend.



I loved how the story was set on a cruise ship and Nancy had to scour different parts of the boat to solve the mystery. It was a fun backdrop and I would like to read more hospitality-themed mysteries. My only complaint was the author used the word "dubiously" seven times. I know because I counted them. There are other synonyms for that word like: suspicious, uncertain, unsure, cautious, or even skeptical. Use a thesaurus, lady! Otherwise, a lovely swan dive into the world of Nancy Drew and I can't wait to see what else this sleuthing princess can dig up!

[(Katie) Paperbacks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Curse of the Arctic Star by Carolyn Keene. This was my first newer Nancy Drew book that I have read in awhile, and it was good...but I found it to be a tad predictable. I guessed who it was pretty quickly. And the way that Nancy was written in the book, I felt she was a tad snarky. But I will continue the series and see how it goes. 3⭐⭐⭐

[Holli · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesome! I hope this new series has many many more issues to come.

It's addicting!

[✧Bella✧]

Anyone else prefer these to the original Nancy Drew books?

NOTE: I never read past book 10

[Evangeline Munster · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

My first proper Nancy Drew reading experience! Very enjoyable and I'm excited to read the next book.

[Sarie Berry]

DNF 89 pages in. I’m not enjoying this at all. It’s very scattered and not really interesting in any way. I think I’ll try the old books and see how those are in comparison.

[Addie Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Nancy Drew as a kid. It was the series that turned me into a reader. I’ve been in a slump. So I thought I’d go back to the tried and true Carolyn Keene. Nancy is as nosy as ever and George and Bess are still phenomenal side-kicks. But who the heck is Alan?!

[Niki Symkoviak]

Throwback to in fourth grade when i would come home eat graham crackers and read Nancy Drew EVERY SINGLE DAY. That was when I peaked tbh.

[cauldronofevil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had such a good time with
Enola Holmes that I couldn’t wait to grab this one that has been on my to-read list for a while.

I keep looking for a set of Nancy Drew books that would be as enjoyable to me now as they were back then. I realize that’s pretty unlikely. I’m sure if I read The Secret of the Old Clock it would probably not engage me as well as it once did.

But since they do seem to make a Nancy Drew series for every age of a woman’s life, I’d think one of them I might like!

"Dear Diary"
I didn’t actually believe that a luxurious cruise ship could have any real mysteries onboard. Boy was I wrong!

"Chapter One: Bon Voyage" starts with Nancy checking onto her cruise ship. Bess Marvin is with her and impressed by the big boat. George Fayne is also with her. George won’t let anyone touch her smartphone and laptop.

"You’re not going to have a lot of time to look for cute kitten videos on YouTube, you know."

Well I guess we’ve roughly established time and place.

Alan is also there. He’s Bess’s new boyfriend.

Becca Wright was out of college for a couple of years and landed the job of assistant cruise director for the maiden voyage of the Arctic Star, the flagship of Superstar Cruises. Some suspicious things were going on and Becca asked Nancy to look into it.

Becca had arranged for Nancy and her three friends to be ‘contest winners’ that allowed the cruise in a luxury suite they all shared. They didn’t tell Alan the truth.

They need to talk to Becca. She only said weird things were happening, including the VIP passenger (Brock Walker) canceling his trip because of threats to his family. Becca says the CEO doesn’t want any police involvement because of the bad publicity it would cause. In fact, they are staying in Brock’s suite.

Finally catching up to Becca she arranges a meeting in her office. Just then there is a scream on deck.

"Help! There’s a bloody body in the pool!"

It turns out the body was fake. A mannequin with fake blood. Of course, the ship operators don’t want to delay the cruise by involving the police - no one was hurt after all.

I’m at page 38 and I’m certainly not blown away yet. I know that’s an unfair comparison to Enola Holmes . It’s moderately enjoyable though so I’ll still with it. Until another book bumps it.

Nancy Drew finds that her large suitcase seems to have been misplaced. It is not delivered to her room.

"Chill, Nance," George said.

A scream outside the suit brings everyone running. But it’s just the bratty kid Tobias that scared a maid.

Nancy goes to meet with Becca and finds out more unusual things happening around the ship. She got an email that said she should back out of this cruise. Some supplies went miss and three cooks quit.

Nancy notes that this doesn’t really seem like its targeting Becca. It could be targeting almost anyone else.

At that point Tatjana comes into the room and tells Becca it is time for her to greet the guests for dinner.

Just in time for dinner, Nancy’s luggage has been found and put in her room. When she opens it, she finds a threatening note.

Was I trapped on a ship with someone who was out to get me?

Going to the formal first dinner, they find themselves seated with Alice, Babs and Coral, elderly ladies with lots of cruise experience. Later they are joined by Vincent and Lacey, who they had seen board. They are nervous at having seen the body earlier.

At another table bratty Tobias is again causing chaos. They see the Hawaiian Shirt guy as well. They also see a famous stand-up comedian - Merk the Jerk.

Next morning the girls gather early so that Alan won’t overhear.

The sneak into the ‘employees only’ portion of the ship, hoping they can overhear something important. They spot Hawaiian Shirt guy in the kitchen and ask him if he works here. He says, no, he just came to thank them for their hard work and then scoots off.

Nancy tries to question an employee, but he just tells her he has to work. They run into a ‘backstage’ tour of the kitchen group (that includes Tobias) and finally get kicked out. The rest of the group wants to enjoy the cruise more.

"Actually, I was thinking that playing miniature golf was a waste of time when I could be investigating."

This Nancy is a bit of an obsessive actually. Probably similar to the original, but it just seems a little extreme here! Not that I should talk but its interesting that’s it’s not really presented as ‘charming’ so much as bull-headed!

A camera crew is filming the passengers for promotional purposes and when they come into the miniature golf course the director must get film of Nancy and her strawberry blonde hair. While posing a moose antler falls right where she is standing.

It’s actually George that discovers that the moose has been tampered with. A sentence I’ve waited my whole life to write.

Nancy approaches a cameraman and asks to see his footage. Unfortunately it shows nothing.

In the nurse’s office, Nancy is approached by Wendy the travel blogger for an interview. She is booted out of the office. Nancy notices she always shows up after bad stuff happens.

At lunch George notes that Merk the Jerk might have a motive since he’s now the biggest entertainer since Brock canceled. Nancy concedes that, but also thinks that Wendy the blogger has just as much reason to want these incidents to become notorious enough. Alan comes back and then all discussion of the case must stop.

Then the ship’s Captain Peterson comes to the table. He asks which employees were around at the moose incident? Just then there is a scream.

"There’s a tarantula in the cream puffs!"

Turns out it was Tobias’s pet tarantula. Tobias admits he snuck her onboard but says he didn’t put the spider in the pastries. His parents drag him off.

Sending Alan away for a minute Nancy, George and Bess discuss the case. Maybe it was all Tobias sabotaging the trip after all!

A volleyball game distracts Alan and allows them to talk about the case some more. Nancy decides to interview Lacey. She was the first person to see the mannequin in the pool.

"I’m really beginning to think this whole crew is cursed. "

Nancy tries to talk to Becca again, but there’s another emergency. The thermostat controls are going crazy in the cabins - some are sweltering, some are freezing.

Blown off by Becca, Nancy wanders and comes across George at the internet cafe. She asks her to look at Wendy’s blog.

"You mean Wendy the weirdo? Sure."

Turns out Wendy’s not a bad writer. She only writes about the mannequin and the tarantula incidents. Nothing suspicious.

When the cruise is scheduled to stop at Ketchikan, Nancy considers staying on the ship to investigate while everyone is off. Then she finds out Alan signed them all up for all day excursions with Scott the purser.

"You girls have been so busy running off getting facials and stuff that I was afraid we’d get shut out."

Nancy reluctantly goes on the excursions. When she sees Tobias and his family she calls them over. At least she can do some investigation!

Tobias still wont admit bringing putting the Tarantula in the pastry bar.

Scott had arranged for them all to see a lumberjack show but when it starts Scott slips out. Nancy follows. She seems him meet with a very scary guy and hand over a package. She keeps following Scott to the Totem Heritage Center.

Nancy finds him handing a big wad of cash to a large man who takes it and runs away. Scott plays it off like it’s a poker debt. Please don’t tell the captain about it!

When Nancy gets back to the lumberjack show she makes excuses for why she has been gone. Then they all decide to skip the next tourist attraction and get something to eat. While souvenir shopping Nancy falls into a creek.

Alan pulls her out of the frozen water. An hour later on the lido deck drinking hot tea she sends Alan to get post cards and arranges a meeting with Becca.

Becca tells her that another incident happened on board while they were ashore. A chandelier fell down in an empty theater. Nancy runs down her list of suspects. One of them Becca eliminates because he got off the ship before the chandelier came down. What about Wendy the blogger?
"Hipster chick. Talks a lot."

When she mentions another suspect suddenly Becca has to talk to the captain and runs off.

They eat lunch with the honeymooners. Sudden something George and Bess says gives Nancy an ideas.

"No, but I think I just figured out who is, thanks to you two."

Well, it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. I mean, it’s no Agatha Christie by any means, but the fact that it was modernized did help.

At 188 pages it wasn’t particularly painful to read either.

The crime was not clever so much and they did give you enough clues to solve it yourself if you were inclined to.

They were even clever enough to leave some ‘loose ends’ that are to be found in the next book in the series!

I won’t rush out to get the sequel and I’m not recommending it, but it’s not a death march and while Nancy comes out a little obsessive I’m sure she’s no more twisted than most people today. It was fine.

I’m not sure how she gets the reputation to have a cruise paid for her and her friends. I don’t think she even has a web site!

3***

[Xyra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let's say this is a 3.5. I liked it a lot, but it left me wanting.

I am a HUGE fan of the original Nancy Drew mysteries - you know the ones in yellow hard cover, #1-56 starting with The Secret of the Old Clock - and have dabbled with newer incarnations in the past, but was not impressed. This one was pretty darn good...until the end. I'll get to that.

The funny thing is that the last of the newer incarnations I read also was located on a boat - a riverboat and I remember a chandelier crashing in that one too. Hmmm. That one shocked me with the cell phones, faxes, etc. but I'm over that now.

What is still not quite right are the characters themselves. Perhaps I don't know them as well as I should (honestly, I read more Hardy Boys than Nancy Drew); I just don't remember George being negative toward Bess. The worst though is Nancy. The Nancy I know had EVERYTHING tied up at the end and went through a lot more to get it done.

Let's talk about the book first. I love the cover art, color, and fonts. Grabbed my attention right away when just passing by the shelf. [Note: I do not tend to buy books at grocery stores, but this one practically jumped off the shelf and into the cart.] The chapter headers are beautiful.

This new line of the Nancy Drew books is called "Nancy Drew Diaries" following the latest trend (The Vampire Diaries, The Princess Diaries, The Carrie Diaries, etc.). I had forgotten about the new designation until I saw the first page. Intriguing format and great introduction; however, the rest of the story did not read as a diary entry. It would be more interesting to have each chapter open with a new journal entry by Nancy listing her finds and theories of the day before (like the kids did in the Ghost Writer TV show or as seen in Bridget Jones Diary). Seriously, this is Nancy Drew super sleuth. She takes notes, observes everything in detail makes mental connections, and follows leads boldly - her diary should be chock full of information! So essentially, after reading the first entry I completely forgot it was a diary until the very disappointing entry on page 189.

The story itself worked along nicely. Not very intense. It moved along and was enjoyable despite Nancy's lack of any real sleuthing. The plot is a bit questionable too. What assistant cruise director has the authority to give a 4 room suite to 4 teens/college students at no cost. Was this Brock's suite and since he backed out it was available? However, as this is a story and a basically a fantasy - I like the idea; I'd jump at a free suite with my friends.

My major disappointment came at the end of the book...the mystery was NOT completely solved. Nancy didn't insist on seeing the scene at the onboard jewelry store she didn't ask many questions and she just let it go. Huh?

Nope. The second part of the mystery is the cliffhanger taking you to book 2 of the new series...Strangers on a Train. Did I like it enough to continue? Yes, I will try to read the next one.

[Sadie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a girl named Nancy Drew and she goes on a cruse with her friends. At first her friend Becca gets a treating email. Next, when she was playing mini golf and fake deer almost fell and hit her. Last, she finds a dead body in the pool with blood. Nancy and her friends try to figure out who is causing all of this and at the end they do. I would recommend this book to a fifth or sixth grader who likes mysteries because Nancy Drew was one of the the first females to solves mysteries.

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just fun - don't go in for any big mystery but if you are a Nancy Drew fan, like me, then you'll enjoy this new little series!

[Claire Patera · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is about a young girl named Nancy Drew. She is invited to go on a cruise ship with a few of her friends because there are a lot of mysteries happening on this cruise ship and they cannot figure out who is doing all of this. Chandeliers are falling on people, Spiders are entering the buffet trays, and mannequins are being thrown into the pool with red food dye for them to make it look like a dead person. A lot is happening and the cruise director is getting threatening emails. Nancy needs to find out who is causing all of this commotion before something else happens to someone on this ship. Will something happen to Nancy or any of her friends? Will Nancy be able to enjoy her time on this trip? This book is full of mystery and thrillers. Who is this mysterious person causing all of these huge events?


I personally really liked this book. I am not usually into suspense but it was really interesting. Every chapter left you on a cliff hanger where I would not want to put it down. I would recommend this book. It would be a great book to read in a classroom together. There are so many lessons that you could incorporate into this book. It is made for teen age groups but I feel like everyone could find this book interesting.
Warning: No sensitive topics

[BabyLunLun · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed Nancy Drew Girl Detective but that series have so little books and I almost finished all of them.

Then I found out that this Nancy Drew Diaries series is supposed to fix all the problems with Girl Detective ( There is nothing wrong with Girl Detective so I don't get it ) . So I decided to check the series out . I thought it was for way below middle grade because of the cover art ( Girl Detective did have a more mature looking cover )

Turn out it was ok. Nancy and the gang went on a cruise to find out who's been sabotaging the cruise. And it kinda left on a cliffhanger which is rare as in there might be 2 group of culprits operating on the cruise. Ok read but Girl detective kinda hold a special place in my heart

[Anastasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Curse of the Arctic Star by Carolyn Keene is the first book in the Nancy Drew Diaries series. Amateur detective Nancy Drew is asked to look into mishaps and threats made on the new luxury cruise ship Arctic Star by a friend, assistant cruise director Becca, and she is joined by her friends Bess and George on it's inaugural voyage. Not sure what I feel about this spin off series giving a modern twist to the classic. I was a big fan of the original series growing up and felt the changes to the characters made them less likeable. I realise my tastes have changed and this is targetted at a much younger audience but I felt the original was much better. Still an interesting mystery but can't help comparing and feeling disappointed. May have to reread the original series which I have kept and loved.

[caroline dalton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read so many of the og nancy drew books growing up and absolutely loved them so I decided to try out the newer books! this one gets a solid 3 stars from me ⭐️ it was a fun read, though a bit slow at times and the cruise setting kinda bored me. the audiobook narrator was great though and that really improved the reading experience for me. i will say the cliffhanger ending totally caught me off guard, which i actually loved! 👏

nancy and her friends could be pretty snotty and annoying sometimes ngl, but overall i enjoyed it and plan to keep going with the series!

[Josie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Saw this in the castle library and thought it was a good opportunity to try reading one of the more modern day versions that's catered to a younger audience without having to buy it. I know I'm not the target audience but I don't think I will be reading more in the Nancy Drew Diaries series. It was fine enough, but Nancy felt very out of character and I figured out who the culprit was as soon as they were introduced. I don't want to judge a whole series off the first book, but I hope they re-find the pulp adventure and classic sleuthing that makes Nancy Drew a timeless classic.

[Amy the book-bat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, Nancy Drew has come a long way. Now she has smartphones and laptops. Not sure how I feel about this. One one hand it is good because it opens up the beloved series to a new generation, but on the other hand, it kind of takes away some of the nostalgia.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Nancy Drew and this is a great addition to the oeuvre. Fun cast of characters, the right amount of threat and mystery, and a delightful setting.

I'm obviously not the main audience for this so will leave it at this short review.