Module 13: Nancy Drew: The Demon of River Heights

Book Cover:

Book Summary:  The book begins with Nancy Drew and her friends starring in an amature movie about The Demon of River Heights filmed by some college friends.  Later, when the guys don’t show up Nancy gets suspicious of a real monster.  They girls go searching and come across multiple obstacles along the way including a grizzly bear, a grumpy police chief, and no gas in the car when trying to get out of the woods fast.  They split up to follow some leads and find the monster is not real but the real crime is monstrous.

APA Reference:

Petrucha, S. (2005). Nancy Drew: The demon of river heights. (Vol. 1). New York, NY:                 Aladdin Paperpacks.

Impressions: I’ve never read a graphic novel before but was curious about this one as I loved Nancy Drew books as a child.  I actually had a difficult time following the text bubbles throughout the first chapter.  It did get easier but I would much rather read a traditional book for this kind of entertainment.  The story was creative and the illustrations were what I expected from a graphic novel.  I think graphic novels are just not my genre but it was fun to read a light mystery…even through pictures and text bubbles.  I don’t see myself reading anymore of the series.

Professional Review: "In The Demon, Nancy, the classic American teenage heroine, manages to solve cases that baffle local police. This time she becomes involved in a student film about a local monster legend, which may turn out to be real, and a suspicious stranger arrives in town. For the most part, the artwork is crisp enough, but several pages appear to be substandard reproductions of original art."

Orellana , C. (2005, May 15). Demon of river heights, by Stefan Petrucha. Retrieved from                http://booklistonline.com/The-Demon-of-River-Heights-Stefan-                                            Petrucha/pid=239753?pid=239753

Library Use: I think it would be interesting to have readers or students in the library to have the chance to compare and contrast traditional Nancy Drew books versus Petrucha’s graphic novel versions.  The students could note if the stories are similar and the main character Nancy Drew is consistent in the two types of books.  The differences will be easier to see but maybe some guidelines could help in noting other major differences between the classics and the newer graphic versions.