Rehak investigates the origins of the beloved teen detective.
Critic Reviews
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Outstanding
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Chicago Tribune Maud Lavin
In the end [Rehak] solves the mystery of where Nancy Drew came from and how she grew. Nancy would be so proud. [11 Sep 2005]
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Outstanding
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Booklist Allison Block
Packed with revealing anecdotes, Rehak's meticulously researched account of the publishing phenomenon that survived the Depression and WWII (and was even feted by feminists in the 1960s) will delight fans of the beloved gumshoe whose gumption guaranteed that every reprobate got his due. [Aug 2005, p.1983]
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Favorable
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Kirkus Reviews
A breezy social history. [1 Jul 2005, p.724]
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Favorable
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Salon Emily Biuso
Melanie Rehak investigates the origins of the world-famous girl sleuth and discovers two remarkable, revolutionary women.
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Favorable
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The New York Times Kate Aurthur
Rehak does a terrific job of bringing to life the writers and editors who constituted Carolyn Keene, the pseudonymous author of the [Nancy Drew] series.
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Favorable
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Wall Street Journal Meghan Cox Gurdon
Absorbing and delightful.
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Favorable
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Atlantic Monthly Sandra Tsing Loh
A proper sleuth for grown-up girls, Rehak--in prose steely, lovely, and precise--explores why Nancy Drew has remained so popular since her arrival, in 1930, and answers the question Who was the mysterious Carolyn Keene?
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Favorable
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Christian Science Monitor Marjorie Kehe
For longtime Nancy fans who pick up Rehak's book, just one warning: You will not have read more than a chapter or two before you are filled with longing to return to the world of Riverside Heights. Don't begin this book unless you remember where you stashed your own copy of "The Secret of the Old Clock."
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Favorable
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The Nation Brenda Wineapple
Rehak may be too stalwart a Nancy fan to trace the implications of her own argument: that Nancy Drew is Huck Finn in white-gloved drag. Never sad or wrinkled or fatally misunderstood, she "solves" our anxieties about womanhood by dodging them.
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Mixed
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Los Angeles Times Jan Burke
The pleasures of "Girl Sleuth" come from what most of the book is devoted to--the stories of the forceful personalities behind the series and how their lives were affected by historical events. Historical context is presented awkwardly at times, almost like commercial breaks. [2 Oct 2005]
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Mixed
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Publishers Weekly
Compelling, but not particularly well executed. [20 Jun 2005, p.68]
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