November 2010 Book Club Discussion -Trapped at Sea

[hardygirl847]

I just finished Trapped at Sea, Digest #75. Overall, I liked it. The title was a little misleading to me. I realize that they are a boat several times but the title made me believe it was going to be more traumatic or something.

SPOILER ALERT!

Poor Chet was ALWAYS hungry!! Poor guy is so typecasted. lol I did like the twist with the bad guys and the added danger of the bombs. The bombs ended up taking a back seat to the rest of the story, but luckily they were not set off. Hurray for Frank and Joe!

What did you all think?

[MacGyver]

All I can really say at this point is that I enjoyed Trapped at Sea pretty well, but it's been quite a while since I've read it. I've been out of it on the reading club titles for a bit...but I do have a copy of this book and as soon as I get a chance to page through it, I'll try to add some more comments.

[hardygirl847]

Shame on you Mac! lol I enjoyed it too. I just had to throw some criticism in there though too.

[MacGyver]

Shame on you Mac! lol

Yeah, there must be. That's what I was hanging my head in.

[hardygirl847]

Well, hey...at least you've responded!

[MacGyver]

Like I said- I have read the book before, but it's been quite a while. However, I did start reading it again the other day and completed at least the first chapter. One thing I like about this book off the bat is that Laura Hardy, Fenton Hardy, and Aunt Gertrude all show up in the book, even if only for a quick appearance. And Chet is along for the ride throughout the book. That's cool- it seems like in almost every single one of the original 58 books, he was a constant sidekick for the Hardys. I miss those kinds of stories where their friends show up more throughout the books. It would be nice if the graphic novels and/or the Undercover Brothers series allowed more of the gang to show up on a more regular basis- and maybe even devote books to them every now and then. (i.e. Chet shows up with a mystery for the Hardy Boys and is a main character throughout- like in The Haunted Fort. Phil has had this scenario with Blown Away and A Game Called Chaos. What about Tony, Biff, Iola, Callie, maybe even Jerry or newer friends like Jamal Hawkins? Have Brian and Belinda been given that kind of status in the UB books?)

[MacGyver]

I also love Chet's line when he and Joe and Frank are first meeting Cy Ortiz. He says he'll have to give Frank and Joe a different last name because they're so well known. Chet pipes up and says he needs one too because he's just as well known because he's been with them on almost every case! Ortiz deadpans- "Never heard of you".
Joe sees Chet's wounded look and quickly says that he's been mentioned in the news and needs a different last name too.
   I just thought that whole scene was hilarious! I was literally LOL on that.

[hardygirl847]

Mac, just a quick reply for now. It's almost 2am and I need sleep. lol

I enjoyed the family and Chet involvement as well. There are some stories that definitely lack that. However, I don't mind a good Frank and Joe only story though either. I like them all to myself.

That was a FUNNY scene...especially if you imagine Chet's request and reaction as well as the Hardys. I could see it happening on screen for sure.

[hardygirl847]

Sorry for the double post but I forgot something. Mac, I am not a huge Belinda fan. I'm honestly not sure how much they pop up or if  they are replacements.  I will say that they are mentioned more than the usual friends. Callie and Iola are barely there if at all. So she might be a total replacement for Callie....but not sure to the extent you were asking...I haven't read enough UBs to know for sure.

[MacGyver]

Yeah- me neither. Though I have all the UB books released so far, I've yet to actually, say, read them.  But I will eventually read at least the first one in the series.

[MacGyver]

I finally finished rereading Trapped at Sea the other day and I do think it was a good read. I like that Chet had a high level of involvement throughout the book (which is very much in keeping with the original 58 books) and Chet even helped out the Hardys by taking out criminals physically and in one case at least, finding a clue that both Frank and Joe had missed. Chet Morton was a pretty big help to the Hardy Boys in this book. No mention of his latest hobby (but I think that kinda died out with the original 58 books) but it was a good mystery with some undercover work. And I can understand the title for the book because all three guys definitely got trapped at sea at least for a while, and then they were just kind of trapped in general while spying on the bad guys and trying to find a way to capture them and get back home. That was a pretty neat part about them being stuck on Atlantic Island for a while and having to deal with the whole country that was pretty much corrupt. And wow- I had forgotten the level of worldwide stakes that this book deals with! That was pretty intense. And that was also a nice twist at the end so that one of the main villians wound up being someone you wouldn't have expected right off the bat. (Which compensated well for the fact that one of the main bad guys was revealed right off the bat when it seemed like Frank and Joe had wrapped up at least one main part of the case at the start of the book.)
And Frank mentioned that both he and Joe had their pilot's licenses in this book, so it was good to see another piece of continuity maintained from the Originals. So overall- quite simply, it was a good book.

[hardygirl847]

Mac,

Is Wanted actually the first UB? I looked at the front again and it says SuperMystery I think. That made me question whether or not it is really the first UB. I dunno...Either way, I REALLY liked that one. Well, I could take out Belinda...but other than that, good stuff!!

Trapped at Sea was good. You make very good points. Chet is one of those characters that I love to read but don't have to include all the time. Does that seem mean? lol Anyways, I liked that he got a lot of "face time" and was very helpful. I get a little annoyed that they make him hungry ALL the time. Poor guy is going to be so typecasted. lol However, in the books that he's not in as much or at all, I don't really miss him. He's DEFINITELY a great addition to their "chums" BUT at the same time...Frank and Joe can carry a book without him. I guess that's why they call it The Hardy Boys...and not The Hardy Boys and the Chubby-Always-Hungry-Guy Chet. hehe

[MacGyver]

"Extreme Danger" is the first UB book. "Wanted" is the first Hardy Boys UB Super Mystery book though.
And I didn't mean that Chet has to be included in every book- but I did appreciate his appearance here. It was funny how he was always hungry for whichever meal they were missing- but honestly, he was being practical and realistic whereas Frank and Joe are a bit annoyed and thinking he should be able to fast like them and not even think about natural concerns like food when there's a mystery to be solved! I kinda wonder if this was meant to be a bit of poking fun at that stereotype.
Anyway, after having gone so long without reading such a book where Chet makes a prominent appearance (because he certainly shows up way more than any of the Hardys' other chums)- it was really nice to have Chet on hand. No, he doesn't have to be there for it to be a good book, but it's fun when he is.

[hardygirl847]

Very much agreed Mac. He's a good character. I hope they were poking fun because it gets old after awhile. Frank and Joe's annoyance at their chubby (of course he has to be chubby  ) friend needs a snack...It's been done...and done some more.

But that's not Chet's fault or Frank and Joe's. It's society and the writers'. lol

Chet is still one of the main chums that can stand on his own two feet in a major case. It wouldn't work as well with say...Tony or Biff. I love those guys but they wouldn't have the same affect, IMO.