Title: The Tower Treasure - The Hardy Boys #1Author: Leslie McFarlane (Canadian, 1902-1977)
Pen Name: Franklin W. Dixon
Originally published: 1927
Page count: 180
Dates read: 6/17/2020-6/21/2020
2020 book goal progress: 18 out of 20
Reading category: TBR Shelf
Read my other book reviews for my 2020 goal HERE.
Description on back of book:
For action, mystery, and cliff-hanging suspense, read The Hardy Boys Mystery Series - featuring the thrilling adventures of America's favorite detective duo, Frank and Joe Hardy. Millions of young readers have teamed up with the Hardy Boys, helping them in their quest to bring criminals to justice.
First sentence:
"Frank and Joe Hardy clutched the grips of their motorcycles and stared in horror at the oncoming car."
CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 5.1 - ⭐⭐⭐
Characters - 4
Atmosphere - 6
Writing Style - 5
Plot - 6
Intrigue - 5
Logic - 5
Enjoyment - 5
What is a CAWPILE Rating?
Review:
If I had read this as a child, I probably would have enjoyed it. Since I'm much older, it was super simplistic and bland. I kept having to remind myself that Frank and Joe are actually 17 and 18. I kept reading them as 10-year-old kids - probably because that's about where the reading level is - and then kept on being jarred when they hopped on their motorcycles and drove around.
The book hasn't aged well to me due to its sexism - including unnecessary fainting. The girls that the boys hang out with all seem clueless, flighty, and scared. They don't get involved in the mystery even though they're hanging out too and there's opportunity for them to be included.
One of the things I found most interesting was comparing pricing in the book to today. For example: an adult offers to show a high school student where his stolen car is for a fee of $25. Four teenage friends (seemingly without jobs) scrounge together the money, which today would amount to about $365. Overall, the book is alright. I would suggest it for children, but there are far better mystery books for adults to be reading.
The book hasn't aged well to me due to its sexism - including unnecessary fainting. The girls that the boys hang out with all seem clueless, flighty, and scared. They don't get involved in the mystery even though they're hanging out too and there's opportunity for them to be included.
One of the things I found most interesting was comparing pricing in the book to today. For example: an adult offers to show a high school student where his stolen car is for a fee of $25. Four teenage friends (seemingly without jobs) scrounge together the money, which today would amount to about $365. Overall, the book is alright. I would suggest it for children, but there are far better mystery books for adults to be reading.
Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Leslie McFarlane have the last words:
"Don't be disappointed. I can tell you that one bit of success makes up for a hundred false trials."
"Don't be disappointed. I can tell you that one bit of success makes up for a hundred false trials."
Growing up I never read any of these books...I preferred books with female protagonists. But I did watch the TV series with Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson. :D
ReplyDeleteI never read them as a kid either, but my husband did - which is why I read this in the first place. I didn't even know there was a TV series!
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