V is for Victorine

In this sequel to Daring Darleen: Star of the Screen, we find our two intrepid heroines dealing with several problems, two of which financially based. Victorine, who is living with Darleen's family, who run Matchless Photoplay, the company that produced the films starring Darleen. Only Darleen's father knows “Bella Mae Goodwin's" story, but the family have taken her in without question. Everyone at Matchless has to band together to make the Fort Lee, New Jersey studio work, but with costs up, the family is considering a move to California, where many of the studios are taking advantage of the warmer Hollywood climate. This works well because there is a search for Victorine Berryman. There is a reward offered, and Vee (as Darleen calls her) finds out that this is because the family lawyer has died and his son has deemed her grandmother's will, which dictates that money be left in a safety deposit box every month, is not sustainable. With her money cut off, moving to California to make her fortune sounds like a good idea. There are plenty of connections out West, and the girls are planning on staying with the Gish family, but the train trip out is problematic. They end up going with their uncle, who gets arrested when he is accused of stealing someone else's valise. Indeed, their uncles "treasure" (which turns out to be 3D film and glasses) is mixed up with a case containing Egyptian artifacts that were stolen from a museum. Alone in California, they emulate the plucky heroines they play on screen, and get jobs at a film studio. The studio is pleased to have Darleen, who is a bit of a star, and Vee steps in as her "responsible relative" to insure that Darleen gets good treatment. Vee is also delving into writing, reading a book about it by Louella Parsons, and this leads to some opportunities at the end of the book. There are plenty of adventures to have with film dignitaries of 1915 as they try to figure out what has happened to their uncle, to get the artifacts back to their rightful place, and to carve out a new place for Matchless Photoplay.

What worked:
Vee’s logical, honest character is wonderfully balanced by Darleen’s creative, theatrical talents to make them a charming pair. The two teenage girls are the closest of friends and can easily be imagined as sisters. Vee has a great deal of trouble lying, even lies of omission, so it’s amusing to watch how she phrases sentences in order to maintain her moral standards. The author often shares the mental struggles waged inside her head. Darleen must watch her own words lest she let Vee’s true identity slip to strangers. The whole country is enamored by a series of movies that speculate on the adventures of Vee’s life since she disappeared from her wealthy, public life due to unscrupulous characters.
The world of early film-making is explored as the girls experience the complicated issues surrounding the industry. The setting is in early-1900’s America when all of the movies were silent but still extremely popular. The book’s closing pages of this historical fiction confirm some of the characters were actual people or were based on real people. Much of the technology shared in the narrative is historically accurate too. The later parts of the book address the societal impact of movies as Vee begins to realize they can affect viewers’ knowledge and feelings toward the world. Films can give people distorted or misleading perceptions of the world so don’t filmmakers have a responsibility to be accurate in what they create? Vee struggles with this problem and her frustrations and emotions aren’t readily accepted by those involved in movie production.
The author includes two main mysteries in the plot that involve a secret that her father is sure will make the family money and items found inside another train passenger’s briefcase become a major conflict. The father’s secret is intriguing because he won’t share any information with the girls so readers are left to wonder what it might be. It supposedly has the potential to change how movies are made. The stranger’s briefcase becomes the bigger story when the girls discover three small cylinders with etchings in them. Rumors of train thieves insert ideas into readers’ minds to create nefarious scenarios. Vee and Darleen aren’t sure what to do with what they find and the problem follows them all the way to Hollywood. The truth behind the cylinders drives the plot although most of the characters find a rich woman’s plans for them a bit odd.
What didn’t work as well:
There are glimpses into what’s happened in the first book but I still feel like I want to know more. Some unscrupulous “relatives” tried to take custody of Vee and her inheritance after her grandmother passed away. This issue remerges so some additional information will help readers fully appreciate what’s going on. A quick solution is to read the first book Daring Darleen, Queen of the Screen.
The final verdict:
This book is a pleasant read as readers follow the adventures of Vee and Darleen on their way to Hollywood. The mysterious cylinders become more prominent as the narrative moves along and the plot touches on the moral issues of film-making. Overall, I recommend you give this book a shot.