Captain Stone's Revenge (Nancy Drew Diaries #24) by Carolyn Keene

Title: Captain Stone's Revenge

Series: Nancy Drew Diaries

Author: Carolyn Keene (Pen name)

Release Date: January 10, 2023

Publisher: Aladdin

Purchase: Amazon

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Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis:

Nancy’s sailing trip to Vermont turns into a hunt for a ghostly saboteur’s lost treasure in the twenty-fourth book in the Nancy Drew Diaries, a fresh approach to a classic series.

When a family friend, Grace, opens a sailing club on Lake Champlain at the former site of the Gemstone Islands Resort, Nancy, Bess, and George are invited to enjoy a few days of boating before the club’s official grand opening. But when they arrive, they learn there have been some strange things happening on the property, from missing items to holes dug all over the yard. Is someone trying to sabotage the club, and could it have anything to do with the fire that destroyed the old resort twenty years ago?

As Nancy tries to pry information from the tight-lipped locals, all clues lead back to Captain Richard Stone, the enigmatic Revolutionary War–era pirate whose tavern once stood on the same site as the resort and sailing club. Legend has it that Captain Stone’s ghost still haunts the property, guarding the treasure he buried there. But it isn’t a ghost that punches a hole in Nancy’s sailboat, leaving her and the girls to sink in the middle of the lake when an unexpected summer storm rolls in.

Unraveling the mystery of Captain Stone’s treasure will be the key to finding out who’s been sabotaging Grace’s club. But first, Nancy and her friends will have to make it back to shore in one piece…

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My Review:

I was very excited when I found this latest Nancy Drew book at the bookstore. 🥺 With the synopsis sounding intriguing and the cover catching, it had been on my TBR ever since I heard about its release.

Synopsis correction: When a family friend, Megan, opens a sailing club on Lake Champlain at the former site of the Gemstone Islands Resort, Nancy, Bess, and George are invited to enjoy a few days of boating before the club’s official grand opening.

In this latest installment of the Nancy Drew Diaries series, Nancy, Bess, and George are invited by Nancy's family friend, Megan Cho, to visit the new sailing club and eco-resort that she's preparing to open in Vermont. But of course, someone doesn't seem to want the resort to open as someone sabotages the resort...

As usual, Nancy doesn't believe that all this doing is by a "ghost", which I loved; the smart and intelligent Nancy that I've always known. I also liked the humor in it.

I do admit that it was kinda slow and dragging in the beginning as it almost made me fall asleep. I'm glad it didn't stay like that for the rest of the book, though. Things started getting intense as I wondered why the locals were shying away from the subject of the fire that burned down the old resort a long time ago and how the sabotage of Megan's sailing club was connected to the treasure hunting... 👀

There was also one intense scene when Nancy, Bess, and George were stranded in the lake during the storm without any help...

The mystery was very fishy. Every time I thought I knew the culprit, it turns out they were not the one; the author sure knew how to keep a reader reading. And the culprit was not one you'd expect...

The ending of Captain Stone's Revenge was full of surprises.

Would recommend to Nancy Drew or any mystery fans out there.

While The Clock Ticked (The Hardy Boys #11) by Franklin W. Dixon

Title: While The Clock Ticked

Series: The Hardy Boys

Author: Franklin W. Dixon (Pen name)

Release Date: Revised ed. edition (January 1, 1962)

Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap

Purchase: Available through the Canadian Amazon. Or you can keep your eyes out on it in your local secondhand bookstore or used Amazon. It's also available as a kindle format.

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Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis:

A banker who has been receiving threatening notes enlists the help of the Hardy boys. Before long, the young sleuths find themselves entangled in the investigation of a notorious band of thieves.

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My Review:

As someone who's always been used to the updated versions of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew (such as the Undercover Brothers and Girl Detective), I've never been into the old school Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, though I've read and enjoyed quite a few of them. But with the cover of this particular Hardy Boys book looking so intriguing and catching, I've always wanted to get my hands on it.

While The Clock Ticked contained action, intense scenes, and humor. Every chapter ended on a cliffhanger, and Chet's huge appetite near the beginning cracked me up. 😆

In this installment of the Hardy Boys series, a banker reluctantly accepts the Hardys' help in investigating the threatening notes that keep appearing in the secret room of his mansion. As usual, loved the Hardys' determination to do the right thing. Despite the room being locked, how do the threatening notes get there? How has someone been able to enter it? Strange! 👀 Also, who hates Mr. Dalrymple enough to threaten him with death?

It's very likely of the Hardy boys to take the time to search around for a secret trap door in the secret room - definitely the Hardys I've always known! Also, I've really enjoyed exploring the Purdy mansion - sure sounded spooky. 👀

Besides investigating Mr. Dalrymple's case, the Hardys also get involved chasing harbor thieves. More than anything, I really admired the Hardys' teamwork with the policemen in bringing the criminals to justice; really love their relationship with them. Also, really loved how the Hardys would risk anything for each other.

While I really loved and enjoyed While The Clock Ticked, I only had a few minor issues with it. Some parts were confusing for me, such as, descriptions of some particular scenes. Sometimes I had to keep reading them over and over to be able to understand what's exactly going on, and sometimes even going back to previous pages.

Finally, the ending - loved how perfect it was! 🥺😌❤❤

Overall, would recommend to Hardy Boys or any mystery fan out there.

Black Sheep by Na'ima B. Robert

Title: Black Sheep

Author: Na'ima B. Robert

Release Date: March 25, 2014

Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children's Books

Purchase: Since this book is out of print, you can keep your eyes out on it in your local secondhand bookstore, used Amazon, or Better World Books. Or, check if your local public library has it.

Add it on Goodreads

Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis:

Dwayne, 16, meets high-flying, uni-bound Misha, and sparks fly. To Misha it feels like true love, but her mum is adamant that Dwayne is bad news and forbids her to see him. When Misha decides to follow her heart, the web of secrets and lies begins to tighten, for Dwayne is not quite who he says he is. And as he struggles to turn his life around while hiding his darker side from Misha, his ties with Trigger, Jukkie and the rest of his boys draw him deeper and deeper into gang violence, more serious and bloody than any he has ever seen. One night, Dwayne's two lives collide, with devastating consequences.

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My Review:

Finally picked this up after it's been sitting unread on my shelf for ages. This was my third book by Na'ima B. Robert. How could I have not read this earlier! It was SUCH a beautiful novel with deep messages that I'm unable to explain! 😭 I've got a lot to say about this book that I don't know where the heck to start! 😅

Na'ima B. Robert's Black Sheep follow a badman named Dwayne and a smart, uni-bound girl named Misha, who fall head over heels for each other. Despite never having been crazy for romance, I do admit that I found their young love cute and sweet. It gave me a little of the Romeo and Juliet vibe, especially with the fact that they grew up in different backgrounds. While Dwayne grew up in the bad side of town, Misha was raised by her strict mother, who expected more from her. I was really intrigued when Misha, despite her mother forbidding her to see Dwayne, follows her heart anyway and sneaks behind her back to see him. I couldn't wait to find out what her mother would do once she found out! 👀

With all the gang stuff involved, I can't help but feel how similar Black Sheep was to S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders. And I can't help but say it again: SO SIMILAR to The Outsiders! Jukkie, one of Dwayne's friends, reminded me of Two-Bit for his love of knives, and I saw Trigger, the head of the RDS gang, as the darker version of Dally. Also, the Larkside boys, the RDS' rival gang, were the socs.

I really enjoyed watching Dwayne grow throughout the novel - loved how real and likeable he was! In the beginning, I didn't care for him, but the next thing I knew, I found myself rooting for him as he struggles to do the right thing and turn his life around.

I was especially really impressed with how Na'ima managed to spread the message of Islam without being preachy, giving da'wah for her readers indirectly. I also loved how she raised awareness of how the media portray Muslims. I saw that she also seemed to raise awareness of how society views gangsters; for instance, how Dwayne was accused of cheating on a test when, in truth, he actually really did pass it, and how Misha's mom judged him right away only based on his looks! I felt sorry and mad for him. I also felt bad about how his mom gave up on him. Na'ima shows us that there is hope for gangsters too, they just need someone to guide them. I was close to tearing up when ***Spoiler*** Dwayne took his shahadah. ***Spoiler***

It may not have been much, but I loved the little bit of bromance that was added, such as, Dwayne referring to Tony as 'the big brother I never had', and Tony loving and caring for Dwayne like his own little brother. I would have loved to see more. 🥺

Finally, the ending was emotional.🥺 One of the deep messages that Black Sheep gives us is that there is a reason why God - Allah - sends some people down our path. I loved how REALISTIC it was!

While I loved everything about this book, there were only a few very minor things that annoyed me, such as, the use of slang that took me a bit of time to get used to and the description, "kissed his teeth", that Na'ima kept using many times. Also, is it just me or were there things that seemed untied? For instance, ***Spoiler***Misha never found out that it was Dwayne's little brother that robbed her grandmother - I would have loved to see her reaction, honestly.***Spoiler***

Overall, again, this was a very beautiful novel, and would recommend for everyone.

If you loved The Outsiders, please pick this one up!