Nancy Drew #19: Cliffhanger

Nancy Drew: Girl Detective Graphic Novels #19

by Stefan Petrucha

Nancy Drew is in a tight spot! It all starts when Nancy trails a masked jewel thief in the woodlands around River Heights. After running into a group of hikers, Nancy asks if they've seen anyone, only to find that one of the hikers is also the thief! When Nancy breaks off from the group to make a phone call, she is pushed from behind and ends up dangling from a tree root, afraid to call for help lest the crook find her. This time, its up to Bess and George to help their dear friend Nancy Drew.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Mystery, Childrens, Comic Book, Young Adult, Comics

96 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 27, 2009

About the author

Stefan Petrucha (born January 27, 1959) is an American writer for adults and young adults. He has written graphic novels in the The X-Files and Nancy Drew series, as well as science fiction and horror.
Born in the Bronx, he has spent time in the big city and the suburbs, and now lives in western Massachusetts with his wife, fellow writer Sarah Kinney, and their daughters. At times he has been a tech writer, an educational writer, a public relations writer and an editor for trade journals, but his preference is for fiction in all its forms.

Reviews

[Arhaan Shaikh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty Cool and amazing to know that Nancy Drew can solve a mystery while hanging from a cliff!

[Tori Bang · Rating 3 out of 5]

This graphic novel is a part of a large series called Nancy Drew: Girl Detective by Stefan Petrucha. It is based off of the original Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene. This specific book features the story of Nancy Drew, a young female detective and her search through a place called Blackie's Canyon for a plant called Tillybin, which was thought to cure Alzheimer's disease. The problem is that the following day, the land was planned to be destroyed to create windmills for renewable energy. Nancy and her team must find evidence of the plant's growth so that they can stop the construction from being started. The team was about to cross a bridge to reach a field that they were sure would flourish with the Tillybin plant when someone cut the rope bridge that cross over the deep ravine. As the rest of the group decided to push on and find another ay around, Nancy decided to test a theory. She thought that if she moved towards the bridge to investigate, that the person to blame would approach her. She could not have been more wrong. In a blink of an eye, Nancy was pushed from behind down into the ravine, forced to cling to the edge for dear life. While dangling she is able to make inferences about who may be the culprit. What happens next? You'll have to read to find out!

This book is a very adventurous graphic novel. Unlike my first conception of graphic novels, it is not a super hero book. However it does have the panels and gutter that a typical graphic novel would have. The author was creative when formatting each page by using different sized and shaped panels, lots of text bubbles, a uniform style, and eye-catching illustrations. I would say that this is a slightly "super hero" styled graphic novel because Nancy plays the role of the hero throughout the entire series. It also touches on greater social issues like renewable energy and Alzheimer's disease which is part of the non-fiction category. I gave the book three stars because I felt that the story was pretty drawn out. I am not the hugest fan of graphic novels so it was hard for me to get through. However, if I were a fan and was truly interested in the style, the story may have earned more stars.

[Shonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nancy Drew and friends are accompanying Dr. Elise Carver on a hiking trip to find a rare plant that could help cure Alzheimer’s. During their excursion, a roped drawbridge was tampered with causing them to detour from their planned route. Nancy thinks she knows who sabotaged the bridge and sets out to prove it. Unfortunately for her, the suspect follows her and pushes her over a cliff. Nancy is barely hanging on. Can Bess and George save her before a “certain someone” comes back to finish her off?

[Mckinley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't know they had started making these into a comic series. But upon reflection it makes sense.

Emse brought some home and I read them. Ok. But I like the books better. She liked the action agent part a bit more than the Nancy Drew sort of silly mysteries. Overall she likes the combo Drew-Hardy comics best.

[James Crawford · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story is basically one of corporate greed. A rare plant that might produce a valuable medicinal is being hunted for by Nancy and others in an area. A guy representing the group that is going to start building on the land is also there and Nancy spends most of the story hanging by her fingertips from a cliff.

It's really a rather boring and predictable story.