Vicki Barr & The Adventure Girls | Vintage Book Reviews

By this point, I don’t believe that it is a secret that I love planes. But one thing you might not know is my love for vintage young adult series. It may have started with Nancy Drew and Ruth Fielding, but I have since found numerous vintage series books written for young women that I just cannot get enough of. One of those is the Adventure Girls (only three books in this series, sadly) by Claire Blank, and the Vicki Barr flight stewardess series by Helen Wells. Both series include women and planes; a phenomenal combination in my opinion. 
I first discovered the Adventure Girls in the used book store at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. Two Valentine Days ago my fiancé took me there for a surprise run with a plane simulator and I came home with this old copy as a souvenir. I devoured it in a very short amount of time. It is actually the second book in the series of three and the only one that really involves planes, but I absolutely loved reading every minute of it. This adventurous series follows the lives of several young women who have developed a group amongst themselves that they call the “adventure girls.”I loved this idea in a time where women were not truly encouraged to go after adventurous pursuits. Together they go on many adventures from the Wild West to parachuting and going away to college.

It is a thicker book than the typical Nancy Drew novel, but filled with captivating twists in every chapter. And just like the old mystery series on the 1940s and 50s, you can expect each chapter to end with a cliffhanger that does not always lead to a serious outcome in the beginning of the following chapter. Besides having some mystery, this book also included a little bit of romance and as an adult woman, I actually thought it was a cute romantic story that did not come across as too “teen angst.” In fact, by the end of the novel I was rooting for the main character, Gale and the pilot she was falling for. There are a lot of characters to keep track of and sometimes the change in perspective was a little confusing to follow, but I truly enjoyed this book. I only wish there were more! The Vicki Barr flight stewardess series is a new one for me. I could not believe that I had never heard of it before. This particular book was a souvenir I picked up in a used bookstore called Books on Bay during my visit to Savannah, Georgia at the end of last Spring. After reading the first line, I knew it was a book that I would enjoy. But somehow, this book was left unread until just recently. I decided to take it along with me on a flight to Florida to visit my grandmother. (A quirky trait of mine has always been to match my reading material to my travel plans, time of year, mood, and activities.) It got a lot of attention from other passengers on the plane and the airline attendants. Normally, I try not to take vintage books out of my home (especially books from before 1950) but I felt compelled to bring it with me. The first couple chapters were slow, but wow did it pick up! 

This is a book for any young person who loves airplanes and vintage mysteries. If you are a fan of Nancy Drew then you might find that you love this series just as much or even more. In the first book follow young Vicki Barr as she applies for school to be a flight stewardess, makes new friends, takes her first flight, gets her wings, meets two potential romantic interests, and solves a mystery in the air! 

In the first half of the book the mystery element is almost completely missing, but I was surprised how much action was packed into the second half of the book. Even more exciting, the book bluntly responds to sexist situations in a surprisingly modern way. Vicki Barr is not just for women of the past, she is someone I would still look up to if I met her today. Eventually I believe that she also learns how to fly planes herself, but I have not made it past the first book yet so I do not know for sure. I am definitely going to be looking for the second book in the series. I do believe that I have found my latest book obsession! Lets just hope that I don’t get through all 16 too quickly. If, like me, you love planes and a good vintage mystery, try reading the Vicki Barr or Adventure Girls series for yourself. If you love vintage books, I would love to hear about your favorites in the comment section below.