Young Adult Books : Nancy Drew Gets Thorough Makeover

The Nancy Drew Files, Case 1, Secrets Can Kill and Case 2, Deadly Intent by Carolyn Keene (Archway/Simon & Schuster: $2.50 each).

Who protects national security, brings murderers to justice, foils videotape blackmail plots, locates missing rock stars, knocks out thugs with one well-placed karate blow, and still finds time for romance? If you’ve guessed James Bond, guess again.

It’s dynamic super-sleuth Nancy Drew, upbeat, upscale and now, considerably updated.

Fifty-six years have passed since the then-blond, 16-year-old girl detective first saw the light of day, initially as a creation of Edward Stratemeyer, who also wrote the Hardy Boys and Bobbsey Twins series. After the first few Drew stories, Stratemeyer’s daughter Harriet took over, writing under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene.

Since then, the ever-popular books have changed as the generations of readers have changed. Nancy’s “roadster” became a convertible, she has friends, not “chums,” and no more “dainty frocks” drape her slim figure.

The quaint terms may be remembered with nostalgia, but another alteration over the years was a crucial one: the elimination of negative racial and ethnic references reflecting stereotypes common in the ‘30s and ‘40s.

Fast-Paced New Plots

Now, Archway Paperbacks, a division of Simon & Schuster, which acquired publishing rights from the Stratemeyer syndicate in 1984, has given Nancy Drew her most thorough makeover yet.

Ten Archway writers involve the young heroine in fast-paced new plots inspired by current headlines, using a “bible” of facts from the original stories to help maintain continuity.

As with previous Nancy Drew books, the new, slickly packaged pocket-book series is aimed at girls aged 12 to 15.

“Secrets Can Kill,” introduces us to Nancy Drew at 18. She’s now a strawberry blond who has a brown belt in karate, drives a Mustang GT convertible, shops at malls, wears designer jeans and has a “special relationship” with college student Ned Nickerson. Her father, distinguished lawyer Carson Drew, has taken up jogging.

Always the highly independent young woman of “amazing judgment” and resource, Nancy Drew remains indefatigable in her pursuit of evil-doers. Neither murder nor blackmail dampen her enthusiasm when she goes undercover at a high school, posing as a student to nab a thief.

Willing Satellites

Nancy’s two girlfriends, bubbly Bess Marvin and athletic George Fayne, are her willing satellites. Her father is a strong, but mostly absent figure: When a murder attempt destroys Nancy’s car, a few chapters later we learn that Mr. Drew, rather than whisking his daughter off to safer climes, has presented her with a new car.

This is a slightly more introspective Nancy, however. Though still a super-achiever, sensitive to others, incredibly talented and generous to a fault, she is human enough to be distracted from her detective mission by Daryl, a “gorgeous” high school student. She feels a little confused and guilty about the temporary attraction and worries (with some justification) about its effect on her relationship with Ned, whom she loves.

In “Deadly Intent” Nancy plunges into the world of rock music, rescuing a star in trouble and preventing a record piracy scheme that could cripple the industry.

Here, the authors take a chance. The main villain is James Li, a big-time bad-guy from New York’s Chinatown. True, his minions are Caucasian and to counterbalance the image of Li’s “demonic laugh” and “cold dark eyes,” the story concludes with a Chinatown Neighborhood Association lauding Nancy and her friends for getting rid of Li. Still, after the years-long clean-up of racial stereotypes, it’s a risky device in a genre that possesses few subtleties.

Despite up-to-date trappings, the world of Nancy Drew is still a black-and-white fantasy, peopled by the very good, the very bad and the misguided. It is an insular world, where grateful police are at a quick-witted teen-ager’s disposal, incredible coincidences are the norm and almost nothing happens without having a direct effect on the mystery at hand.

The skillfully crafted new series, however, has an extra dash of what has kept generations of young readers coming back for more: a zestful, unflagging energy and a refreshingly independent young heroine with a strong sense of her own worth.