How Nancy Drew Saved My Life

By: Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Narrated by: Elenna Stauffer

Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

Broken, smashed, and stomped in the mud.

That's how Charlotte Bell's heart ended up the last time she let her emotions heat up on a nanny assignment. So taking a new position in frigid Iceland, working for Ambassador Edgar Rawlings, might be just what Charlotte needs in order to heal up and chill out. This time, she's determined to be intrepid and courageous. She's even read all 56 original Nancy Drew books in preparation. Unfortunately, she's neglected to find out anything about Iceland or to look into the background of her oddly compelling employer. When Charlotte stumbles onto the trail of a mystery that only she can solve, she'll need every shred of Nancy's wisdom to keep her life and her heart safe!

©2006 Lauren Baratz-Logsted (P)2006 Audible, Inc.

Bad Literature

This book was cheesy! When you listen to a book and you think . . . I could write this book . . you know you're in trouble. I stuck through to the very end so that I could judge the book fairly. There wasn't a single "quotable" in the whole book. It was cheap and predictable.

can I give it zero stars?

This is quite simply, the worst book I have ever listened to -- I presumed, given the title, that it would be charming and clever and engaging. In short, it wasn't. The characters were without any believable basis, the plot was ridiculous, and the situations were implausible.
Don't waste your time. There's plenty of "single gal figures it out" fiction out there that's well-conceived, well-written, and well-read. Skip this one.

False advertising

Don't waste your money on this book. The author was tyring to get those of us who grew up on clean, wholesome, Nancy Drew to think we were getting more of the same. Instead we're getting a potty-mouthed protagonist who confuses sex with her bosses as love. Do NOT waste your time, $$, or credits on this book.

Enjoyable Read

If you're looking for a cutesy, Nancy Drew novel, this is not the book for you. It's clever and witty, with laugh out loud moments. The protagonist is messed up (which we can tell by the summary), she gets her life in order in the end, possibly leaving room for a sequel. If you're looking for a flowery romance with a stereotypical ending, you may disappointed. Although, that's what I was expecting, and nevertheless enjoyed the ending. I enjoyed the Nancy Drew references and comparisons, and the main characters clutzy cuteness. I will definitely listen to this story again at some point.

Worst book ever

I have never read anything so insipid in my life. I kept listening just to see how bad it could get and boy...did it ever. Just awful.

I couldn't even finish this book.

Ugh, this book bored my pants off. I was SO bored I could barely finish it! The main character spends WAY too much time feeling sorry for herself, and asking "What would Nancy Drew do?" The author should have spent more time making the characters more interesting. For example, she should have gotten to know the annoying grandmother, or whoever she was. Also, isn't it sooo cliched that she meets a mysterious horseback-riding stranger, and it turns out to be her boss? I was disgusted. Spend your Romance or Mystery credits on something else, because this book is neither.

Saved my day!

I downloaded this book and listened to it today. What a fun day I had! The narrator is good throughout, unless you have trouble with a "perky, resiliant" narrator trying to sound like a handsome male lead. Aside from this quirk, which could also be seen more optimistically as "chic talk," I suppose, this is a fun story, that moves along quickly, doesn't get lost, and actually ends up some place. I read many of the Nancy Drew mysteries when I was a kid (though certainly not all 56 of them), so the references to the stories pulled fondly at old heart strings. I'm sure that's why I was drawn to the book. If you haven't read Nancy Drew, you can probably substitute anything you read seriously as a child that seems silly now, and come up with the general atmosphere of Charlote's world. It is a kind of a coming of age story, then, where childhood viewpoints no longer work, but are called upon nonetheless.