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Nesbet, Anne

Daring Darleen, Queen of the Screen

357 pp. | Candlewick | April, 2020 | Trade ISBN 978-1-5362-0619-7 $18.99
(2) 4-6 "Sometimes the real danger is not what you thought it would be at all." So begins the story of Darleen, young (fictional) star of silent movie serials. It is 1914, and Darleen keeps her family's small film company afloat with her weekly celluloid adventure serial, The Dangers of Darleen. Short on money and hungry for publicity, her uncles set up a staged kidnapping to drum up excitement for Darleen's onscreen adventures. What could go wrong? Life and film-serial drama become hopelessly entwined as Darleen finds herself tied up in the back of a car with real kidnappers and an orphaned heiress who has been abducted for her fortune. The deliciously outlandish plot includes lookalike heroines, wicked villains, cliffhangers, and an eventual happy ending. Nesbet re-creates the pace and melodrama of early films in her prose: "Oh, do be cautious! I'm afraid they're dangerous, desperate men." The strong character development and rich historical setting elevate the novel beyond period froth. When the tale begins, Darleen is used to being pushed around by directors (her uncles) and just pretends to be brave for the audience. By the end, Darleen discovers that she really is brave and that she can take control of her future. The author's note places the novel in the context of film history and sends curious readers to watch the early serials that inspired this story.
Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2020

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