What do you think?
Rate this book
Nancy Drew Diaries #5
Sabotage at Willow Woods
Nancy and her friends hit the campaign trail in search of a political trickster in this fifth book of the Nancy Drew Diaries, a fresh approach to a classic series.
Who knew a new sports field could cause so much drama? That’s what Nancy, Bess, and George are investigating. Ever since George’s cousin Carrie Kim announced her candidacy for city council, along with her platform of building a new football field and a state-of-the-art sports complex, someone has been trying to sabotage the campaign!
Nancy has to go undercover as a member of the Green Club when she suspects they may be behind all of the mischief. When Carrie starts getting threatening notes and even some more sinister warnings, Nancy knows she needs to crack the case before someone gets hurt!
Who knew a new sports field could cause so much drama? That’s what Nancy, Bess, and George are investigating. Ever since George’s cousin Carrie Kim announced her candidacy for city council, along with her platform of building a new football field and a state-of-the-art sports complex, someone has been trying to sabotage the campaign!
Nancy has to go undercover as a member of the Green Club when she suspects they may be behind all of the mischief. When Carrie starts getting threatening notes and even some more sinister warnings, Nancy knows she needs to crack the case before someone gets hurt!
176 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 7, 2014
133 people are currently reading
611 people want to read
About the author
Carolyn Keene
948 books3,854 followersCarolyn 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
September 25, 2014
What do the title and cover art have to do with the actual story?
Nothing, that's what. You can't convince me otherwise.
Also, this is a mediocre children's book in a mediocre children's series that, in all honesty, isn't even as good as the series it's, at this point, meant to both emulate and replace (aka Girl Detective).
I could go into why, but that would be boring. Let's just say that one of the main problems could have been nipped in the bud if Nancy had actually communicated with the 'victim' while on the case, seeing as how it's so easily and neatly taken care of at the end.
I think the reason I keep reading these is that I have this hope that Nancy Drew isn't dead. Her character did not wither to dust with older, better books than the likes of these, and the games by Her Interactive are not the only other place I can interact with her without rolling my eyes. I don't care if Nancy Drew is for kids; she doesn't have to be poorly written and so inept that the majority of the book is filled with, well, filler instead of her making any sort of headway in a case. (I don't know about you, but in my mind, extensive red herrings don't count as making progress.)
Anyway, I already have the next book, so whether I think it's a good idea or not, I'll see if things improve. Huh. I feel as though I've said that before...
Nothing, that's what. You can't convince me otherwise.
Also, this is a mediocre children's book in a mediocre children's series that, in all honesty, isn't even as good as the series it's, at this point, meant to both emulate and replace (aka Girl Detective).
I could go into why, but that would be boring. Let's just say that one of the main problems could have been nipped in the bud if Nancy had actually communicated with the 'victim' while on the case, seeing as how it's so easily and neatly taken care of at the end.
I think the reason I keep reading these is that I have this hope that Nancy Drew isn't dead. Her character did not wither to dust with older, better books than the likes of these, and the games by Her Interactive are not the only other place I can interact with her without rolling my eyes. I don't care if Nancy Drew is for kids; she doesn't have to be poorly written and so inept that the majority of the book is filled with, well, filler instead of her making any sort of headway in a case. (I don't know about you, but in my mind, extensive red herrings don't count as making progress.)
Anyway, I already have the next book, so whether I think it's a good idea or not, I'll see if things improve. Huh. I feel as though I've said that before...
February 27, 2018
Finally finished this. I've been so busy!!! It's time to get back to reading!!!!
March 1, 2018
I liked it, but at the end, Nancy is never right. And then you always know who the culprit is.
June 13, 2016
I'm a pretty big Nancy Drew fan. Aside from Harry Potter, as a kid, Nancy Drew books provided a lot of solace for me. So I'm pretty familiar with the original Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, but only in the last few years have I ventured into the new revamped ones. I've read a few of the Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew books (they are perfect age-read for my daughter right now) and I think I've read 2-3 Nancy Drew Files books as well. They are all pretty enjoyable. This one had some parts to it that really were reminiscent of the original stories, but there were some things I didn't care for. So yes, now is where I will compare the new things I didn't like (don't like it? It's my review, so I don't care! :P)
1. Nancy is now a red-head? There is a scene where she mentions Hannah helping her maintain her wild red hair into an up do for a fundraiser. Nancy has always been a strawberry blonde in my head, not a wild red head. Didn't like.
2. Speaking of Hannah, in one scene Nancy didn't feel like explaining what she was up to so she tried to sneak out of the house without Hannah knowing. That doesn't seem like old Nancy at all, who always loved heart to hearts with the lovable housekeeper.
3. Nancy is willing to egg a teachers house to keep her cover when he is trying to infiltrate the Eco-Friendly green club and that just seemed very out of character for...well, for her character. Nancy has been in some tough situations before but I don't think in any of the original books that they ever put her in a situation where she was going to break the law. Had she been caught, I don't think "I was sleuthing" would be an adequate excuse. I sort of liked that goody two-shoes image of hers.
4. Nancy seems a little ticked off by her dad. She mentions nagging him to quit smoking and one other small instance I can't remember. I don't like how in the Nancy Drew Diaries that she seems so distant and not as close to Hannah and Carson. Their close-knit relationship was always one of the things I loved most about them.
5. This series makes Nancy seem a lot more boy crazy and too focused on her appearance. I don't remember her and Ned ever referring to themselves as boyfriend/girlfriend and acknowledging their relationship. In this book they did a few times, and Nancy also seems to be a lot more insecure and conscious of her looks. I remember making a face when she looked in the rear-view mirror and said something like "I look cute enough", and I literally thought to myself "Blech".
Of course it will always be weird to me to read Nancy Drew books where they reference Tablets, Facebook, and pop-culture references. Maybe I'm just a classics lovers. I understand the need to update the characters for the newer generations. Overall it was a decent read. I sat down to start it shortly before we left for dinner on Friday night and I finished up Sunday morning (no time to read Saturday). If I had the time, I could've finished it in one sitting, an hour or so. I'll probably read the rest simply because I always said I wanted to read every Nancy Drew book (spin off, classic, etc.) that they make, just because it was such a big part of my childhood. I just know now not to expect them to be as good as the original stories.
1. Nancy is now a red-head? There is a scene where she mentions Hannah helping her maintain her wild red hair into an up do for a fundraiser. Nancy has always been a strawberry blonde in my head, not a wild red head. Didn't like.
2. Speaking of Hannah, in one scene Nancy didn't feel like explaining what she was up to so she tried to sneak out of the house without Hannah knowing. That doesn't seem like old Nancy at all, who always loved heart to hearts with the lovable housekeeper.
3. Nancy is willing to egg a teachers house to keep her cover when he is trying to infiltrate the Eco-Friendly green club and that just seemed very out of character for...well, for her character. Nancy has been in some tough situations before but I don't think in any of the original books that they ever put her in a situation where she was going to break the law. Had she been caught, I don't think "I was sleuthing" would be an adequate excuse. I sort of liked that goody two-shoes image of hers.
4. Nancy seems a little ticked off by her dad. She mentions nagging him to quit smoking and one other small instance I can't remember. I don't like how in the Nancy Drew Diaries that she seems so distant and not as close to Hannah and Carson. Their close-knit relationship was always one of the things I loved most about them.
5. This series makes Nancy seem a lot more boy crazy and too focused on her appearance. I don't remember her and Ned ever referring to themselves as boyfriend/girlfriend and acknowledging their relationship. In this book they did a few times, and Nancy also seems to be a lot more insecure and conscious of her looks. I remember making a face when she looked in the rear-view mirror and said something like "I look cute enough", and I literally thought to myself "Blech".
Of course it will always be weird to me to read Nancy Drew books where they reference Tablets, Facebook, and pop-culture references. Maybe I'm just a classics lovers. I understand the need to update the characters for the newer generations. Overall it was a decent read. I sat down to start it shortly before we left for dinner on Friday night and I finished up Sunday morning (no time to read Saturday). If I had the time, I could've finished it in one sitting, an hour or so. I'll probably read the rest simply because I always said I wanted to read every Nancy Drew book (spin off, classic, etc.) that they make, just because it was such a big part of my childhood. I just know now not to expect them to be as good as the original stories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 12, 2018
Not bad, not great. Nothing happens at Willow Woods, btw. It's only mentioned once at the end, I think.
Nancy apparently has her own personal fingerprinting and forensic kits, but she tries dusting a piece of paper for prints which any vague CSI-watcher knows doesn't work so well. Also, after dusting it for prints she suddenly realises it smells for cigarette smoke which is BS. Cigarette smoke is the first thing you smell if its nearby. It reeks.
Also, also, who can compare handwriting from a note and vandalism on the side of the building? Nancy, apparently.
And why is Ned from the 1950's? Corsage... no. And why do he and Nancy only ever kiss cheeks or foreheads. Get it on, already, and maybe Ned would be more interesting.
Nancy apparently has her own personal fingerprinting and forensic kits, but she tries dusting a piece of paper for prints which any vague CSI-watcher knows doesn't work so well. Also, after dusting it for prints she suddenly realises it smells for cigarette smoke which is BS. Cigarette smoke is the first thing you smell if its nearby. It reeks.
Also, also, who can compare handwriting from a note and vandalism on the side of the building? Nancy, apparently.
And why is Ned from the 1950's? Corsage... no. And why do he and Nancy only ever kiss cheeks or foreheads. Get it on, already, and maybe Ned would be more interesting.
September 20, 2018
This book did keep me guessing for about half of it. Again I am big into mystery books and an adult and this is aimed at kids.
I love the quick reads. But the big surprise of who did it and her reasons will surprise some kids.
Nancy is trying to uncover who would be sabotaging Carrie Kim's campaign? But remember nothing is as it seems. Nancy keeps following the clues but ending up in dead ends. But she is trying to figure out what each clue has to do with each other?
I love the quick reads. But the big surprise of who did it and her reasons will surprise some kids.
Nancy is trying to uncover who would be sabotaging Carrie Kim's campaign? But remember nothing is as it seems. Nancy keeps following the clues but ending up in dead ends. But she is trying to figure out what each clue has to do with each other?
December 21, 2016
In this book Nancy finds a disturbing note to one of her friends. Next, one of her friends find a pacakage with a dead scurried in it. Last, someone tried to sabatoage Nanxy's friends named Carrie Kim by ruining her campaign. At the end of the book Nancy finds out who is behind all of it and the person gets arrested.
Read
July 11, 2019Something magic happened when I played this while driving around with the kids—they stopped fighting and listened. I think we’re going to try it again, maybe with a more vintage Nancy Drew story (this one had cell phones and Facebook--one of the more recent books in the franchise).
August 27, 2017
This book was really good, I liked the thriller, action, drama and mystery in it.. I love that there is a series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 2, 2018
Nancy was being a total jerk this time, also she wasn't really sleuthing that well and even I knew exactly who did it...:/
August 16, 2021
Great story!
January 2, 2024
Carrie Kim, George's cousin, a Doylestown athlete and well-known tennis player, is running for Doylestown's City Council. Kim's platform includes supporting a new athletic complex and football field, which will destroy half of the town's hundred-year-old forest. Since Kim made her announcement, the Green Club has been actively protesting against her proposal, sabotaging Kim's efforts to win the council seat. George immediately asks Nancy to work on the case of sabotage, and of course, she accepts the case.
Nancy and her friends, George and Bess, are undercover at the local high school to deduce potential suspects, with the Green Club being her main target. Nancy goes as far as to mislead a student, Barney, to ascertain clues for the case. Some of the acts of sabotage are nonsensical for an environmental club, one that readers will be sure to spot. But that makes the case even more complex for Nancy. And Nancy has to wrestle with participating in acts of sabotage that could get her into a lot of trouble. This is one of the few books from the Nancy Drew series that resulted in Nancy being wrong about the culprit, and I enjoyed that about this book. Unlike the classic series, Nancy is more believable as a character when she is shown with imperfections. And an imperfect Nancy is a better role model for today's youth.
Nancy and her friends, George and Bess, are undercover at the local high school to deduce potential suspects, with the Green Club being her main target. Nancy goes as far as to mislead a student, Barney, to ascertain clues for the case. Some of the acts of sabotage are nonsensical for an environmental club, one that readers will be sure to spot. But that makes the case even more complex for Nancy. And Nancy has to wrestle with participating in acts of sabotage that could get her into a lot of trouble. This is one of the few books from the Nancy Drew series that resulted in Nancy being wrong about the culprit, and I enjoyed that about this book. Unlike the classic series, Nancy is more believable as a character when she is shown with imperfections. And an imperfect Nancy is a better role model for today's youth.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 25, 2020
Nancy must figure out who is trying to destroy Carrie Kim’s campaign for a city council. Can Nancy figure out who it is before it is too late or will Carrie’s campaign be ended just when it was getting started.
January 4, 2021
Had to give it a two star, because even my younger kids complained about the writing. Listening to the audio book was hard because the narrator sounded congested all of the time.
December 2, 2021
I wasn't sure if I would enjoy an updated of the classic Nancy Drew, but I am! Keep them coming!
September 12, 2020
For this and other book reviews, check out www.bargain-sleuth.com
Every week I review Nancy Drew books, either the originals or the current Diaries series. This time we are up to volume 5 in the Diaries series, Sabotage at Willow Woods.
I just have to say right off the bat that the “Carolyn Keene” of this book obviously did not have the Nancy Drew Bible in front of her/him when writing the book, because there are quite a few continuity errors. Like the fact that Nancy is still in high school in Sabotage at Willow Woods. If Nancy is underage, what was she doing in the first volume of the series, Curse of the Arctic Star, taking a cruise with her friends and friend’s boyfriend unchaperoned? Nancy’s age is never mentioned, but when the Diaries series kicked off that way, I assumed the publishers were sticking with eighteen years old, which is the age Nancy has been since the late 1950’s, early 1960’s (she was 16 originally.)
Also, I get that some modernization of the characters is necessary, but the descriptions of Bess and George are just wrong. George was always tall, athletic, tomboyish. In the Diaries, she’s also a techie. But in Sabotage at Willow Woods, George is petite and hates sports. Um, what? No more judo or tennis or swimming? And not only that, but when describing Bess, the usual are applied, fashionable, good with boys, you know, typical Bess stuff (but at least the new books don’t fat shame Bess like the original series). But then Nancy makes a comment that besides all the superficial stuff, Bess is a great mechanic. ?!!? I get that they’ve got to give Bess some sort of practical skills in the 21st century besides matching her lip gloss to her sweater, but mechanic? Defies logic.
Then there’s the description of Carrie Kim, George’s cousin, who is running for city council. But she’s not Bess’s cousin because Carrie is related to George through her mother. What? Another continuity error. The Sign of the Twisted Candles established that George and Bess were related through their mothers, the Boontons. So, right away, I was not a fan of this book. Hopefully it would improve.
Alas, I was surprised to find in Sabotage at Willow Woods, Nancy makes a lot of poor decisions. A lot. And in this book, she’s not good at going undercover at all and gets found out rather early on. It is like the author did not read any prior Nancy Drew books and just winged it.
George’s cousin Carrie is a former tennis star who, if elected, wants a new football field and sports complex for the Boylestown High School, a rival of Nancy’s own River Heights High. Somehow, even though the field conditions are terrible at Boylestown, and the football team has to use the Y because the school lacks indoor facilities, they’ve won the state championship twice in 12 years. But Carrie thinks the school needs a new sports complex and football field. That plan would cut down about half of Willow Woods, and some people are not happy about it. Carrie receives a threatening note, and Nancy is asked to investigate who could have done it.
Nancy goes undercover as a member of the Green Club, an environmental group at Boylestown High. There’s a boy, Barney, who really takes a shine to Nancy and for some reason, Nancy never explains to him that she has a boyfriend. She figures he might be more forthcoming with information if she leads him on, which is so not like the Nancy Drew I grew up with.
Like I said earlier, Nancy makes some pretty poor decisions and while she does some sleuthing, much of the information she gleans is dropped into her lap without effort. She focuses in on the wrong people as suspects and does not look at some more obvious ones, which turns out to haunt her in the end. She doesn’t so much as solve the mystery, as the suspect reveals themselves.
Spoiler alert: Carrie Kim wins the council seat, and the story flashes forward three months, it’s summer, and the sports complex and new football field, built over the old one instead of taking out a portion of Willow Woods (and at a higher cost), are done. In three months! As an adult, I found this to be the most ridiculous thing in the book. Even if Carrie would have been elected, finding the money to build the sports complex would have taken time, probably with a referendum and added private donations. Plus, she scrapped her original plans and re-did them to utilize the current field, meaning more plans need to be drawn up by architects and mechanical engineers. This project would have taken at least a year, maybe a year and a half, after all the fundraising and tax money allotted to it, and that’s being conservative. But in Nancy Drew’s world, it takes one summer. Unbelievable.
Every week I review Nancy Drew books, either the originals or the current Diaries series. This time we are up to volume 5 in the Diaries series, Sabotage at Willow Woods.
I just have to say right off the bat that the “Carolyn Keene” of this book obviously did not have the Nancy Drew Bible in front of her/him when writing the book, because there are quite a few continuity errors. Like the fact that Nancy is still in high school in Sabotage at Willow Woods. If Nancy is underage, what was she doing in the first volume of the series, Curse of the Arctic Star, taking a cruise with her friends and friend’s boyfriend unchaperoned? Nancy’s age is never mentioned, but when the Diaries series kicked off that way, I assumed the publishers were sticking with eighteen years old, which is the age Nancy has been since the late 1950’s, early 1960’s (she was 16 originally.)
Also, I get that some modernization of the characters is necessary, but the descriptions of Bess and George are just wrong. George was always tall, athletic, tomboyish. In the Diaries, she’s also a techie. But in Sabotage at Willow Woods, George is petite and hates sports. Um, what? No more judo or tennis or swimming? And not only that, but when describing Bess, the usual are applied, fashionable, good with boys, you know, typical Bess stuff (but at least the new books don’t fat shame Bess like the original series). But then Nancy makes a comment that besides all the superficial stuff, Bess is a great mechanic. ?!!? I get that they’ve got to give Bess some sort of practical skills in the 21st century besides matching her lip gloss to her sweater, but mechanic? Defies logic.
Then there’s the description of Carrie Kim, George’s cousin, who is running for city council. But she’s not Bess’s cousin because Carrie is related to George through her mother. What? Another continuity error. The Sign of the Twisted Candles established that George and Bess were related through their mothers, the Boontons. So, right away, I was not a fan of this book. Hopefully it would improve.
Alas, I was surprised to find in Sabotage at Willow Woods, Nancy makes a lot of poor decisions. A lot. And in this book, she’s not good at going undercover at all and gets found out rather early on. It is like the author did not read any prior Nancy Drew books and just winged it.
George’s cousin Carrie is a former tennis star who, if elected, wants a new football field and sports complex for the Boylestown High School, a rival of Nancy’s own River Heights High. Somehow, even though the field conditions are terrible at Boylestown, and the football team has to use the Y because the school lacks indoor facilities, they’ve won the state championship twice in 12 years. But Carrie thinks the school needs a new sports complex and football field. That plan would cut down about half of Willow Woods, and some people are not happy about it. Carrie receives a threatening note, and Nancy is asked to investigate who could have done it.
Nancy goes undercover as a member of the Green Club, an environmental group at Boylestown High. There’s a boy, Barney, who really takes a shine to Nancy and for some reason, Nancy never explains to him that she has a boyfriend. She figures he might be more forthcoming with information if she leads him on, which is so not like the Nancy Drew I grew up with.
Like I said earlier, Nancy makes some pretty poor decisions and while she does some sleuthing, much of the information she gleans is dropped into her lap without effort. She focuses in on the wrong people as suspects and does not look at some more obvious ones, which turns out to haunt her in the end. She doesn’t so much as solve the mystery, as the suspect reveals themselves.
Spoiler alert: Carrie Kim wins the council seat, and the story flashes forward three months, it’s summer, and the sports complex and new football field, built over the old one instead of taking out a portion of Willow Woods (and at a higher cost), are done. In three months! As an adult, I found this to be the most ridiculous thing in the book. Even if Carrie would have been elected, finding the money to build the sports complex would have taken time, probably with a referendum and added private donations. Plus, she scrapped her original plans and re-did them to utilize the current field, meaning more plans need to be drawn up by architects and mechanical engineers. This project would have taken at least a year, maybe a year and a half, after all the fundraising and tax money allotted to it, and that’s being conservative. But in Nancy Drew’s world, it takes one summer. Unbelievable.
April 13, 2021
uhh maybe 2.5, this one wasn't so bad
September 17, 2022
This fourth book in the Nancy Drew Diaries series was another entertaining story that garnered four stars from me. Funny, I wasn't very impressed when I listened to the first two books in this series. Book they were entertaining enough, and I rated them 3 stars each. But I was disappointed when book 1 ended in a partial cliffhanger, and the second book wasn't as good as the first. The subsequent books, however, have been much better.
In this story, George's cousin on her mother's side is running for a political position when she begins getting threatening notes. Someone seems intent on destroying her campaign, and the three girls get to work, trying to unmask the culprit. The story was enjoyable, and I was mildly surprised at the fiend's identity. This is another good story for readers 8-11 or adults who enjoy children's books. Enjoy!
In this story, George's cousin on her mother's side is running for a political position when she begins getting threatening notes. Someone seems intent on destroying her campaign, and the three girls get to work, trying to unmask the culprit. The story was enjoyable, and I was mildly surprised at the fiend's identity. This is another good story for readers 8-11 or adults who enjoy children's books. Enjoy!
April 10, 2021
I love the way Nancy Drew can still stay relevant with hardhitting issues like arts vs. sports fundraising inequality. I was surprised at how topical the major conflict was and its seamless integration into a timeless series such as Nancy Drew. We luckily only got 2 "dubious" utterances and the author has eased up on highlighting this adjective in her mystery series. This was a great addition to the series and the criminal kept me guessing. I didn't deduce who they were until right before the reveal. My only beef was the Green Club wanted to egg somebody's house because they're weren't recycling. It seemed really silly and rather hypocritical for a environmentally conscious group to waste animal products. Weird offshoot aside, this was a quick and fun mystery that lifted my serious. I'm getting really tired of first-person narratives and it made me aware that I've already read 16 books in the first perspective. Yuck. This series is a great comfort to me and I hope not to reach the end any time soon. I'll always be team arts and I think team sports has more than enough support they could possibly need, thank you. In the words of Goofy Movie: no more pep rallies to skip. Bleh!
February 21, 2018
So I had to dress as a children’s book character for Halloween at work. I chose Nancy Drew because I knew I could wear clothes I already had in my closet and call it a “costume”.
Anyway. I had the book on hand to copy her outfit, and I remember how much I liked Nancy Drew when I was younger, so I thought I’d give it a read.
I forgot that Nancy’s friend George is a girl with such a boy name. It threw me off a bit. Maybe they talk about it in the first volume of the series, but by here we’re in book 4 and there’s no mention of why she goes by George instead of Georgia - and I don’t think it even mentions that George isn’t her real name. But I digress.
The mystery was fun and VERY reminiscent of early Veronica Mars episodes. Especially that episode where Veronica goes uncover at a rival school to find out who kidnapped the school mascot. In fact, Veronica and Nancy are really a LOT alike. Why haven’t I noticed that before? Nancy’s jut a little more wholesome and a lot less jaded than Veronica. But she’s just as savvy and I wouldn’t want to tangle with either one of them.
This was definitely a fun read that was a quick trip down memory lane even though this was an all-new mystery.
fun fact: did you know that Carolyn Keene is a collective pseudonym? I had always assumed she was a real person!
Anyway. I had the book on hand to copy her outfit, and I remember how much I liked Nancy Drew when I was younger, so I thought I’d give it a read.
I forgot that Nancy’s friend George is a girl with such a boy name. It threw me off a bit. Maybe they talk about it in the first volume of the series, but by here we’re in book 4 and there’s no mention of why she goes by George instead of Georgia - and I don’t think it even mentions that George isn’t her real name. But I digress.
The mystery was fun and VERY reminiscent of early Veronica Mars episodes. Especially that episode where Veronica goes uncover at a rival school to find out who kidnapped the school mascot. In fact, Veronica and Nancy are really a LOT alike. Why haven’t I noticed that before? Nancy’s jut a little more wholesome and a lot less jaded than Veronica. But she’s just as savvy and I wouldn’t want to tangle with either one of them.
This was definitely a fun read that was a quick trip down memory lane even though this was an all-new mystery.
fun fact: did you know that Carolyn Keene is a collective pseudonym? I had always assumed she was a real person!
January 18, 2016
George's cousin is running for City Council of a town and Nancy and the others go to visit her. There's a major division of feeling in the town about her. She wants to build a new stadium for the athletes at the high school (and this is partially due to her going to the same high school and being an athlete herself.)
The other group is a strong eco-oriented group that strongly protests the building of the stadium. They say that the athletes get everything but people ignore the non-athletes such as those in chess, debate, etc. They also say that the construction will result in a lot of trees being cut down .
The feelings get stronger and before long George's cousin is getting threatening messages. There's some violence (but nothing really very bad). Nancy makes a number of false assumptions, rather unusual for her.
So the problem is to catch the person who is behind all the troubles and try to come up with a solution to the construction problem that will satisfy both sides. A rather up-to-date and good story.
The other group is a strong eco-oriented group that strongly protests the building of the stadium. They say that the athletes get everything but people ignore the non-athletes such as those in chess, debate, etc. They also say that the construction will result in a lot of trees being cut down .
The feelings get stronger and before long George's cousin is getting threatening messages. There's some violence (but nothing really very bad). Nancy makes a number of false assumptions, rather unusual for her.
So the problem is to catch the person who is behind all the troubles and try to come up with a solution to the construction problem that will satisfy both sides. A rather up-to-date and good story.
April 14, 2015
I haven't read a Nancy Drew book since I was in elementary school and I am not sure they have improved with age. This is the fifth book in the Nancy Drew Diaries series. Nancy is in high school and has two best friends, George and Bess. George's cousin Carrie Kim is running for city council on a platform of a new sports complex for the neighboring high school. Someone doesn't want her to build the complex though and starts sending her threatening notes. Nancy goes undercover at the high school to find out who is doing it.
First of all the title and cover of this book has nothing to do with the story. Nancy never goes into the woods and even though Willow Woods would be destroyed for the new sports complex there is no sabotage. The story was pretty tedious and I ended up skimming most of the book. It is overly simple and not well written. Fans of Nancy Drew might appreciate this new series, but true mystery fans are going to look elsewhere.
First of all the title and cover of this book has nothing to do with the story. Nancy never goes into the woods and even though Willow Woods would be destroyed for the new sports complex there is no sabotage. The story was pretty tedious and I ended up skimming most of the book. It is overly simple and not well written. Fans of Nancy Drew might appreciate this new series, but true mystery fans are going to look elsewhere.
January 29, 2016
Nancy’s best friends’ cousin, Carrie Kim, is campaigning for the city council of Boyles Town. She plans to build a new sports center on a place called Willow Woods. But not everyone likes sports, and the green club of Boyles Town high are upset. At first everything was fine, until Carrie got a threatening note “(stop what you’re doing or you’ll be sorry)”. Nancy goes undercover to Boyles town high. She joins the Green club and tries to find the culprit. In the end, she finds out that Carrie Kim’s advisor, Julia, who was Carrie’s High school friend, was out for revenge. Carrie Kim got a job, which she should have! Julia is sabotaging Carrie’s plan to become part of the city council, and she nearly succeeds. Soon, Nancy sorts things out, Carrie becomes part of the city council, and tries to please everyone. She decided that it would be better to build the football field over the old one, rather than on Willow Woods. And everyone is happy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 29, 2021
God, this one was so bad; right back to books one and two which were not good. I also want to say that, as an Asian woman, I am fairly disappointed that George’s cousin Carrie had an Asian surname and it wasn’t address even once. I’m not saying they needed to say if she was Asian, but some descriptions of her would have been nice. I grew up reading and watching pop culture and, even now at 40+, am still thrilled if I read, see, or hear about someone like me. That can be Asian, immigrant, or plus sized; inclusion matters.
March 17, 2015
Well, huge improvement from The Magician's Secret. Writing was much better and more consistent with Nancy's character. I guess I just didn't care much for the subject matter. I think it lacked the "spookiness" factor. What is Nancy Drew without the creepiness? I want to feel a litle bit afraid. I want to wonder just what is around the corner and how much trouble Nancy is going to get into while I sit safe in my fav reading chair.
Overall a pretty solid read.
Overall a pretty solid read.
August 11, 2016
When Nancy and her friends arrived in Nantucket, Nancy couldn't believe she was going to have a great week. Nancy soon had a mystery to solve. Someone stole a figurehead and wanted to scare Jenna. At the end, Nancy found Marni and got the figurehead back. Jenna got a full-time job at the museum, and Nancy and her friends felt happy for her.
I chose this rating because I loved this awesome and cool Nancy Drew book. I recommend this book to other children - teenagers and kids.
I chose this rating because I loved this awesome and cool Nancy Drew book. I recommend this book to other children - teenagers and kids.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 31, 2016
This book was yet another great mystery to read during the summer. I always enjoy the great mysteries that Carolyn Keene writes. They always get me in that intrigued mood.
In this Nancy Drew mystery Nancy and her friends try to figure the mystery of the sabotage of the election debate in the main town that the girls live in.
I would always give these books that give suspense to the reader, to the mystery lovers out there.
In this Nancy Drew mystery Nancy and her friends try to figure the mystery of the sabotage of the election debate in the main town that the girls live in.
I would always give these books that give suspense to the reader, to the mystery lovers out there.
August 3, 2014
I liked it although I am not into Politics! I have been in the mood to read mystery and this definitely put me in the good mood! I also like that this book had ups and downs and it wasn't all just mystery. If you know what I mean!! Overall I think Carolyn Keene did a wonderful job on this Nancy Drew diaries book!!
January 11, 2018
Sabotage at Willow Woods by Carolyn Keene is the fourth of the Nancy Drew Diaries. Nancy and her friends get caught up in campaign sabotage in a neighboring town. George's cousin is running for city council but it seems that someone is out to ruin the campaign.
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2018/comm...
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2018/comm...
March 14, 2014
This is a book that leaves you at the edge of your seat, what will happen next? Your going to have this book and the next one to find out!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews