the new sincerity

we saw a special preview of nancy drew yesterday -- it comes out in theatres everywhere friday -- and caught emma roberts red-handed being super-sweet as the fearless girl sleuth. nancy and her dashing dad (played by tate donovan) make a temporary move from river heights to hollywood, california, where they rent a house that once belonged to a beautiful movie star who died mysteriously in 1981. nancy is a little out of place at her new school, but it's obvious that her "old-fashioned" look is way classier than anything her trendy classmates wear. her outfits and manners are both impeccable, plus ned is way better than we pictured him from the books. and the soundtrack, with songs by matthew sweet, liz phair, and the donnas, is cool, too. our favorite song is joanna's 'pretty much amazing.' very apropos.

say hello to your friends

less than a month away: the official release of the new graphic novel based on baby-sitters club book #1, kristy's great idea. you can pre-order on amazon, but rumour has it some bookstores in the u.s. and canada are already selling copies. raina telgemeier's drawings get an a-plus for adorability -- we hear the book's worth it for claudia's outfits alone.