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Nancy Drew: Girl Detective Graphic Novels #16

by Stefan Petrucha, Sarah Kinney, Sho Murase (Illustrator)

After Stealing a million in investment cash, a desperate robber commandeers a hot air balloon at the local exposition, only to be lost in a raging storm. The balloon was tracked to a high mountain area before going down. When Police Chief McGinnis refuses to take Nancy on the recovery effort, she and the girls stowaway with the investment bankers, also climbing the mountain, in an effort to recover their funds. Unfortunately, once the balloon is found, they learn that they've hung out with the wrong group – the bankers were in on it with the robbers!

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

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 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

[Aiza Idris (biblio_mom) · Rating 4 out of 5]

My very first Nancy Drew since 17 years ago and this brought a lot of memories to me! Im so glad i pick it up again!

I've learned new things in this book, which is the physics behind a hot air balloon. hahaha. in this book, Nancy and her friends are having fun on a hot air balloon when unexpected happened after they landed. The Adventure begins.

Its a good book to be read in one sitting.

[Nam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually learned a bit about hot air balloons. Didn't realize that was why they needed to be so big!

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

[Avery Talks · Rating 4 out of 5]

pink hair looks good on nancy...

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very quick read, with ads for Nancy Drew in novel and video game forms as well!

[Krista · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite Nancy getting on my good side with words like "Physics is fun" and "Time to Innovate!" I just do not care for graphic novels. I kept thinking how the Nancy Drew books I grew up with were so much more vivid. Having said that, I do see the appeal in this graphic novel for upper elementary kids who aren't big fans of reading. The graphics are in color and a little edgy, the characters are modern and fun, the friendships in the story are fun, and the mystery is engaging. In my classroom I would use this book as an independent read for students who are not into reading yet, hoping it will get them to take up more reading. Material wise I would peg this story at fifth grade, but it could be interesting for slightly older and younger readers as well.

This story begins with Nancy hanging upside down from a hot air balloon as a man who just stole a million dollars is making his get away. She throws her phone into the basket because it has a gps tracking device on it. They neatly find the balloon, wrap up the case, and Nancy prevails.

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nancy and her friends are out in a boat on a lake. The lake disappears into a sinkhole and the boat ends up stranded in mud. This allows them, though, to see a boat that had been sunk and this leads into the mystery. They find a treasure on the boat. Mr. Drew checks on the boats owners to determine who the treasure belongs to now since the owners actually died in the sinking.

An old woman claims that the she is the relative that is supposed to get the treasure. The woman is very nasty, though, and Nancy does some checking up on her, almost being knifed in the process. It's possible the woman might have killed her husband.

However, not everyone who is there appear to be in the story, and it all leads to Nancy being caught and tied up while the crook tries to make the typical getaway. Mr. Drew, though, plays an important role in stopping him and saving Nancy.

A different type of story for the series.

[Shonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nancy and her friends are attending the River Heights Annual Balloon Expo. The girls were given a free balloon ride from Bess and George’s Uncle Bob. After the ride, Uncle Bob is trying to keep the empty balloon on the ground when he loses control. Not knowing her foot is caught in the rope, Nancy is lifted off the ground when the balloon starts to rise. As they attempt to level the balloon and keep Nancy from flying away, a man is seen running. They think he has come to assist them. Actually, he’s trying to steal the balloon and take Nancy with him! Turns out, he’s a criminal on the run from the police. How can Nancy solve this mystery and keep herself on the ground?

[Raja99 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a highly entertaining book; the action is fun and vivid. On the downside, the mystery is very thin (almost nonexistent). I thought Nancy's hair-raising escape was plausible, but your mileage may definitely vary ;-).

(Finished 2009-09-18 0:29 EDT)

[Alyssa]

This is like a 5-10 minute read