The Clue Crew is headed to the mall! They are ready to shop till they drop for new school supplies. First the Pencil Box for glittery notebooks. But right away it looks like the girls have a back-to-school mystery on their hands. Money is missing from the Pencil Box's cash register, and all fingers point to the clerk, Rodger. Rodger is Nancy's neighbor, and she doesn't believe he's a thief. But she'll need to examine the facts first. Good thing she bought a new notebook!
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 In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.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.
Robin borrows $8.75 from the Pencil Box's cash register to buy gum. Since the cash register is high tech, it shows that there is money missing. Mr. Gustavson is the owner of the Pencil Box and realizes that the money is missing while the clue crew is shopping there. I thought that Robin would've given the money back earlier. Because she kept interrupting, she didn't know why the clue crew was at the mall early. If she hadn't have interrupted, she would've known to pay the money back earlier and the clue crew would've solved the case earlier.
This book was good. The mystery was well-written and would likely be interesting for younger audiences. However, I did not love the last chapter (after the mystery was solved). There were some additional details that I felt did not need to be there. Other than that, I was great!
Things to be aware of in “Mall Madness”
Additional Notes: - A character is lightly reprimanded and teased for her clumsiness.
They threw a bit of math in here along with the mystery, which was actually kind of clever. Bess has also picked up a new hobby, building and fixing machines, which is a nice addition to her character, while George is a computer fan. Nancy keeps knocking things over; I kind of sympathize since I went through that stage around her age here. Generally, it's a cute book.
Another cute one. There is money missing from a register in the mall and the girls try to find out why. The missing money is all in quarters and theres an arcade as well as a gum ball machine so there are many suspects. I think its fun to read about as a millennial, but do kids go to malls any more?!
We are working our way through the Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew series, although it's been at a turtle's pace. Still, we're more than halfway through. So when we finish, I think we'll be more than ready for the original series.
This story was interesting, but a bit slow. There were some humorous parts, but I didn't like that everyone was chewing so much sugary gum (silly Mom comment, I know). I liked that there was math involved, though. On to the next tale...