Nancy times Two, Sort Of! (The Dana Girls Mystery Stories in General)

Member Name: shroud

Product:	The Dana Girls Mystery Stories in General
Date:	27/03/08 (74 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: more wholesome young adult mysteries from the Startemayer Syndicate

Disadvantages: out of print, 2nd hand only

Ah, Carolyn Keene! The pseudonym used by the Stratemeyer syndicate for their hit series Nancy Drew, and as you can see, for the Dana Girls. Eager to grab fans of Nancy Drew, and to gain new readers, the Syndicate came up with a new set of characters , in a different type of setting, to solve mysteries according to the Stratemeyer formula. This time we had sisters, a la the Hardy Boys, but with a twist. These girls went to boarding school, and had a bully to contend with, as well as being orphans.

Louise and Jean Dana are teenaged sisters from the town of Oakhurst, and whose Uncle Ned is their guardian. He is a merchant seaman, so pays for them to go to the prestigious Starhurst Academy nearby. Mrs Crandall is the headmistress of the school, and is stern, but fair, and disapproves gently of the girl's shenanigans with mysteries, as she has enough to do running a girl's school than deal with two girls chasing after mysteries and getting mixed up in crimes! Letty Briggs is the spoiled brat queen bee at the school whose rising star was eclipsed by the popularity of the two sisters, and she and her clique pull mean stunts to try to show the girls up in typical mean teen fashion. During school holidays, though Uncle Ned is usually away at sea, but the girls do return to their home and stay with their Aunt Harriet, their elderly spinster aunt who is Ned's sister. Aunt Cora is a warm hearted woman, who not only has her hands full with the girls, but with the maid, Cora Apel. Poor Cora is a bungler and if not for Aunt Harriet's patience and affection, would long ago been sent away unemployable! Uncle Ned manages to send the girls to the Starhurst and to keep up the comfortable house because he is no mere merchant seaman, but master of his own ship. This completes the required formula:

attractive , wholesome leads with a nose for puzzles
one lead is blonde (Jean), the other brunette (Louise)
Loving , financially successful parents/guardians
comfortable house in a nice neighbourhood in an apple pie American setting
character for light comic relief
adversary they show up
mysteries!

Written initially in the mid 1930's, the books were revised to become updated and remained in print off and on until 1979. Aimed squarely at fans of the popular Nancy Drew series, book covers often have the phrase, "By the author of Nancy Drew" to grab the eye of fans. Not as successful a series as Nancy, they were nonetheless a good read for the Nancy Drew fan , as the formula was (of course!) similar, and the type of mysteries the same. The stories were not static, taking place only at school or at home in Oakhurst, either, with stern Mrs Crandall all too ready to give excused absences for the girls to go haring off to solve a mystery away from school. Out of sight, out of mind, and that is the way she liked it, though she was nonetheless pleased with the glow the successful sleuthing of her start pupils gave her school. Modern girls will find much to empathise here with, with mean girl Letty Briggs. Letty is a nasty piece of work, though too posh to do any real harm. Nonetheless her pranks are not very nice, and always land her in trouble. The way the Danas handle Letty is to prank her back in a non cruel way on occasion, but usually just set it up so her pranks misfire and she reaps what she sows. With the hot topic of bullying going on at the moment, this serves a still timely reminder of how to handle a bully without being a victim or bully yourself, as well as a release valve for frustrations dealing with such persons, as you get to laugh at what happens to her.

So, its more wholesome entertainment from the Stratemeyer Syndicate, and while not currently in print, easy obtained in good condition from eBay and Amazon's Marketplace. Amazon.com's Marketplace offers more copies and titles, and is worth a look, as the dollar is still weak against the pound and shipping is not dear via Amazon, but do look on the UK site first, as shipping is even cheaper there. Aimed at ages 12-18, this is sure to please, and those with reluctant readers or those with reading problems will be happy to note that like Nancy Drew, the vocabulary is simple, at an age 9-12 level, the chapters short, and the books under 200 pages. With 47 titles in the aeries, there is plenty to enjoy, and the books can be read out of order without getting overly confused, as they are stand alone mysteries. Current prices for these are from 1 pence up to £11, depending on title and condition.

Summary: Dana Girls is entertaining for fans of the Nancy Drew type of books.