The Girl Who Wasn’t There is the 4th book in the Nancy Drew Girl Detective Papercutz Graphic Novel series, based on the series by Carolyn Keene. It was published by arrangement with Aladdin Paperbacks, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division. This Papercutz Graphic Novel was first published in 2005. Written by Stefan Petrucha, artistry by Sho Murase, with CG elements by Rachel ITO. Bryan Senka credited as the letterer, and additional colorists were Carlos Jose Guzman Sho Murase. Jim Salicrup is the Editor-In-Chief.
Back of the Book Summary:
Nancy Drew girl detective in India?
With George and Bess, too?
Leave it to Nancy Drew, while getting technical support to fix her computer, to befriend a girl. But when Nancy gets a call for help from her new friend, Kalpana, one night, Ans it’s not for tech support! As soon as the line goes dead, Nancy is determined to solve this new mystery — even if it means traveling to India. And risking the wrath of Sahedev the crime lord, who wants to sacrifice Nancy to Kali. Will Nancy Drew find her friend — or will Nancy become the girl who wasn’t there?
“Nancy Drew is still the hippest girl in town!’ — USA Today
“Nancy Drew is cooler than ever having recently conquered the ultra hip medium of the graphic novel.’ –The New York Times Magazine
Review:
The Girl Who Wasn’t There is written in first person by Nancy. Being a graphic novel, the cell-shaded illustrations are what primarily builds the story.
The illustrations feature cinematic-camera-style angles and close ups to help tell the story and emphasize the emotions in the scene.
When Nancy befriends the tech support girl over the phone, it is implied that they have a relationship that has lasted several phone calls. The writers do not let you in on their discussions until Nancy points pit clues or leads later when trying to find Kalpana in India. At the call center where Kalpana worked, no one had heard of her, which seemed odd, and was not explained later if Nancy was at the correct call center or if Kalpana went by a different name.
The cover illustration depicts Nancy with the girl, Kalpana, facing off some scary creatures. Unfortunately this scene doesn’t occur in the story. Aside from a few monkeys, the only creepy encounters are with regular criminal men.
Of course, when Nancy wants to go to India to investigate her missing friend, her dad, Carson Drew happens to also have a work meeting and is traveling to the same city. Amazingly, Bess and George get to join them. The girls do get themselves into dangerous situations, but it does make for an exciting villain revelation and finale.
Some fun detective moments include sneaking into a home, reading a diary, hiding in a shipping box, and attempted lock picking, and evidence hidden in a secret compartment.
While the cannon was changed in a few areas regarding Bess, other areas gave credit to the Nancy Drew canon.
Overall, it was an interesting read which was really fast.
Nancy Drew Canon Observations:
Ned is briefly mentioned when Nancy draws a ND+NN heart as a sign on the wall to her friends.
Nancy’s hair is colored as strawberry-blonde and is long and straight with bangs.
Bess is has short blonde hair and green eyes. She specializes in car mechanics.
George Fayne is tech savvy, great at using the internet, and loves electronics.
Extra Notes:
Length: 84 pages in the main story (more with the title page, series lists, the next book’s teaser chapter and ads).
A short few pages at the end are dedicated to a sneak peak of the next book.
There is an ad for Nancy Drew: Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon in the back of my copy.
Price listed on the back was $7.95 US / $10.95 CA
