Publisher's Weekly Review
Fancy Nancy pirouettes into middle-grade territory with the launch of a mystery series that has her emulating another famous Nancy-Nancy Drew. The stylish sleuth assumes the role with elan, dressed for the job in a pink trench coat and sunglasses, carrying a rhinestone-studded magnifying glass. Initially frustrated by the lack of cases to crack ("I wish we lived someplace like River Heights," she complains. "In River Heights, criminals are lurking around every corner"), Nancy springs into action when her teacher's prized blue marble goes missing. Nancy shows both her trademark flair for translating ("Ooh la la! Nancy felt all tingly just saying the word 'motive.' It meant the reason for doing something bad") and her penchant for humorous exaggeration. As in Nancy's earlier picture books and I Can Read titles, her affectionate interactions with her younger sister, JoJo, and their parents ground the story. O'Connor and Glasser are as in synch as ever, and readers who have grown up with Fancy Nancy will be thrilled to follow her new career path. Ages 7-10. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Fancy Nancy is back, this time in a chapter book. Nancy Clancy loves fancy words here as much as she does in her popular picture-book series. Her interests are changing, though, as she grows up. An avid Nancy Drew fan, she and best friend Bree have a new Sleuth Headquarters and are excited to solve their first case. When their teacher's special blue marble disappears, everyone in the class becomes a suspect. Their targets of suspicion change from moment to moment, leading the new detectives on a number of wild goose chases. When the real criminal is uncovered, the girls are forced to examine their assumptions. Fans of the Fancy Nancy series will enjoy reading about an old friend in a new, more grown-up setting. Fully fleshed-out secondary characters, especially Nancy's parents and Mr. Dudeny, Nancy's teacher, create a nice backdrop for this new series aimed at transitioning readers. It's hard to write mysteries for a chapter-book audience, but O'Connor creates a plot with subtle clues and red herrings that allow readers to puzzle out the mystery along with Nancy. Nancy's love of colorful language makes it fun to discover new vocabulary (motive, accessory, obstinate) while solving a dandy mystery. Glasser's frequent black-and-white illustrations will help connect this new series with the earlier one. Nancy is one sassy gumshoe. Her fans will enjoy growing up with her. (Mystery. 7-10)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
In this second title in the Nancy Clancy chapter-book series (Nancy Clancy, Super Sleuth, 2012), Nancy and her friend Bree trade in their trench coats for cupid's arrow. When Nancy discovers which is a fancy way of saying learns that her guitar teacher, Andy, is single and her babysitter, Annie, is too . . . well, it's time for Operation Eternal Love. Nancy and Bree begin to leave little presents (including a week-old rose and a granola bar) for Annie on her doorstep, and each one is signed Your Secret Admirer, using a silver glitter pen. As the piece de resistance (that's piece de ray-zis-taaance), Nancy and Bree stage a meet up for the potential lovebirds at the Sweet Shoppe and it's all scheduled to go down at twilight, or 4:45 p.m. This one is light on the detective side of things, but its pink cover and romance theme will make lots of little girls swoon. As Nancy is fond of saying, Ooh la la. --Kelley, Ann Copyright 2010 Booklist
