A super fun adventure for young detectives. The silent movie set setting is really unique for this age group.

I LOVED this book. It's been a while since I've read a middle grade historical fiction book I thoroughly enjoyed, and this one is packed with history that doesn't bog the story down. Set in the silent-film era (1914), Darleen balances her family's film business and her dad's desire to keep her safe on the ground, yet she gets mixed up into all kinds of dangerous business... I love the characters and the escapades they found themselves in. I loved learning about the film industry in New Jersey/New York in this time period and the neat tricks they'd do to fool the camera. I loved the mystery too. An overall stellar book, one I'll definitely be adding to my class library!

Tremendously Entertaining

This book really does have it all. We're in the early 1900's, in the midst of small studios making silent films, which is novel, and allows for all sorts of interesting and colorful hijinks. We have a twisty plot that's still easy enough for a young reader to follow. And we have not one, but two, bright, resourceful, and spunky heroines who complement each other and develop into the sort of team that moves this book smoothly into buddy action/comedy territory.

But here's the best part. This could have been dry and a little too eager to show off the author's research, historical chops, and movie trivia knowledge. But no. We just hop into a "Perils of Pauline" sort of world, and get to enjoy it from the inside, from the movie maker's point of view, without that seeming at all unnatural or forced.

And even better still, the whole project is suffused with a gentle good humor that buoys the narrative and allows us to wholeheartedly root for our two heroines. The real, rich, proper kidnappee, Victorine Berryman joins the book late and starts out as a shy and timid presence, but she soon develops he sterner side. From the outset, Daring Darleen has captured us with her style, wit, and spunk. A lot of the humor here comes from Darleen's dry and deadpan view of the world - think of it as "cheerfully jaded" - and that fits in very well with accidentally being kidnapped along with Victorine Berryman. Along the same lines, Darleen's moviemaking is a family affair, (everyone at Matchless Studios is a relative of some sort), and every member of her extended family is given a unique personality and yet treated with great affection.

So, there's humor and action, and strong girl buddy stuff, and a gentle hand, and a nice helping of historical accuracy. What a great find.

(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

A historical adventure set in the world of silent filmmaking. Recommended to readers who enjoy silent films and the history of filmmaking as well as readers who enjoy classic adventure stories. Could be an interesting choice for a book vs. movie club if followed by viewing some of the silent films that inspired the story.

<i>Daring Darleen</i> pulled me in immediately and I know my students will love it as well. Within the first two paragraphs, Darleen is dangling off of a cliff edge while being threatened by the villain. And so the book progresses with dastardly deeds and feats of daring-do.

Twelve-year-old Darleen Darling is an early 20th century girl whose extended family makes silent films. Because the film makers need someone to act in their movies, Darleen has gone from being Darling Darleen in her youth to Daring Darleen as she edges toward her teen years.

The parallels of Daring Darleen's movie plot lines and Darleen Darling the every day girl who happens to be an actress move the story forward. As I read, the story rolled in my mind like its own black and white film.

I found the author's note particularly interesting as well. I would pair <i>Daring Darleen, Queen of the Screen</i> with <i>Strongheart: Wonder Dog of the Silver Screen</i> by Candice Fleming. Both books deal with the age of silent films and involve a mystery.

Darleen has grown up in the movie industry, first appearing as a baby and now at age twelve as “Daring Darleen” in a series of silent films. It is 1914 and the trend is to have the worlds of film and real life converge, so Darleen’s uncles make a plan for her to be kidnapped from outside a movie theater while being filmed by them. Everything seems to be going to plan until Darleen is snatched by the wrong kidnappers and discovers that she has been taken along with Victorine, a girl just her age who is an heiress. The two must figure out how to escape, using Darleen’s natural penchant for heights and daring moves that her dead mother also had. Still, she had promised her father to keep her feet on the ground, but that’s hard to do as her adventures continue almost like being in a real screenplay.

There is so much to love here! Nesbet creates the daring and inventions of early film-making in this middle-grade novel. The chapters are meant to be episodes, some offering a great cliffhanger until the next installment. The series of adventures makes for a page-turner of a book with two girls at its center who form a grand friendship along the way and adore one another for being just who they are.

Darleen is a heroine through and through from her day job in front of the camera but even more so in real life as she skillfully figures out puzzles, finds ways to escape, and does it all with real courage. In many ways, Victorine is her opposite. She wants to tell the truth at all costs, knows all sorts of facts and loves books and travel. The two together form an unstoppable force. It is also great to see Nesbet pay homage to Alice Guy Blache by having her as a secondary character in the novel.

A grand adventure of a novel that will have readers enthralled. Appropriate for ages 9-12.

I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley.

<i>Daring Darleen</i> is the kind of middle grade historical fiction novel I adored as a kid, and still love as an adult. It takes an oft-ignored time and place in history--early 1910s New York City and New Jersey, about the pre-Hollywood film hotspot of Fort Lee--and brings it to life with a vivid young heroine. The author absolutely did her research. The places feel real, and the details about the early silent era are spot-on. Women and girls played a huge role then--more so than they do even now--and this book demonstrates that without ever being preachy. I loved the surprise presence of a very-real early film powerhouse of a role model, too.

Darleen is a child star. Her theater family moved to doing photoplays early on, and Darleen has grown up on film. At age 12, she's the star of her own action serials, and does all of the stunts that her hare-brained family dreams up. However, she's not so sure when they resolve to drum up publicity by faking her kidnapping at one of her serial premieres. Even more bizarre, her fake kidnapping becomes real when she gets involved with the genuine kidnapping of an heiress her own age. The two become fast friends as they foil the kidnapping--for now--and discover a wider conspiracy that involves Darleen's own studio.

The book is a fast read thanks to loads of action plus twists and turns. Darleen is a great character. I was annoyed, though, that the vast majority of the adult characters are outright obnoxious, Darleen's family in particular. It becomes grating quite quickly when no adults listen to her, ever. The villains in the book are also lack all nuance, and even more, stand out because of the physical differences, such as having pointed ears and one-eye.

Even so, I highly recommend the book to young lovers of historical fiction. Here's hoping it provokes interest in silent movies!

Darleen Darling is a renowned film star and centerpiece of her uncles' film company--a perilous position to be in because her uncles care more about their films' success and high drama than they do about Darleen's safety as they direct her to perform one dangerous stunt after another. Darleen's life gets even more crazy when, in a comedy of errors, she is kidnapped for real at precisely the same time her uncles arranged for her to be "kidnapped" as a publicity stunt, and she teams up with a young orphaned heiress on the run from her despicable guardians.

I thought this one was pretty slow, even boring, in spite of all Darleen's hijinks and near-death experiences. Darleen doesn't have much personality, and something about the tone (that farcical style where most adults are stupid similar to Lois Lowry's The Willoughbys or Lemony Snicket) made the whole book feel silly, and I found I really didn't care about the characters or the outcome to the story. That said, Darleen's precocious friend Victorian does have a few funny lines, and the ending is very satisfying and highlight's the heroines' wit and courage. It was also interesting to read about the early days of the movie industry, even if the book lacked a strong sense of time and place overall. Not bad, but could have been better.

What if Shirley Temple rebranded as a girl who went on adventures? That’s Darling-no-Daring Darleen, and she’s a charmer. This book would be great for fans of mysteries and historical fiction, thanks to extensive research notes in the back.

ARC Copy...well it got action, adventure, lots of historical fact and feel surrounding the budding silent film industry during the 1910's all tied together and carried by the friendship of two females both from different worlds but like any film heroine from that era, they are going down fighting!

Perfectly adequate, if at sometimes dry, historical adventure. The author did a good job of setting the scene and establishing an early 1900s vibe to the book, but sometimes went overboard on extraneous details. If this were 75-100 pages shorter it would reduce the risk of reader boredom

A cute, fun adventure with the feel of a classic.

There's much to love about DARING DARLEEN. Following a young silent film star, Anne Nesbet has crafted a breathlessly paced novel complete with kidnappings, balloon shenanigans, lost heiresses, and oodles of bravery. I loved how well-researched the film aspect was; it's always great when readers can learn about history in a way that doesn't impede the fun!

Nevertheless, DARING DARLEEN came off a little ... dry, I suppose. It almost overplayed the whole classic feel. Nothing felt particularly new or fresh; the villains were cartoonishly villainous, the heroes were blindingly heroic, and the "rescuing a rich orphan from scheming family members" came across as tired and cliched. Darleen and Victorine's friendship was sweet enough to give me a tooth ache, and although I think there's plenty of room for sweet, genuine friendships between girls in MG, their constant fawning over how delightfully brave/talented/refined/clever etc. the other was became a bit tiresome. As much as I loved the historical aspects, I wish DARLING DARLEEN had subverted expectations even slightly, or offered something new for contemporary young readers who are likely aware of plot conventions. Because the characters didn't feel fully real to me, and the ending was 100% expected, I struggled to engage.

It's certainly a solid entry to the genre of MG historical adventures, and I could see it working in a classroom setting where film/the early 19th century/ storytelling tropes might be discussed.. 3/5.

It’s 1914, and silent serials are all the rage at movie houses. Fort Lee, New Jersey, is the filmaking hotspot, and 12-year-old Darleen is the star of Matchstick Studios’s adventure serial, Daring Darleen. The studio, run by Darleen’s father, uncles, and aunt, churn out serials where Darleen faces bad guy after bad guy while searching for her dear papa, but the dangers she faces onscreen are nothing compared to the turn her real life takes when a publicity stunt goes haywire and Darleen finds herself kidnapped – FOR REAL – alongside a young heiress. Darleen and Victorine, a “poor little rich girl”, quickly bond and work on a way to escape their captors and keep Victorine safe from her money-hungry relations.

Daring Darleen is a great piece of historical fiction, with a rich background of the early filmmaking industry and Fort Lee’s place in it (an author’s note touches on the industry and real characters who cameo in the story). Darleen is a smart, spunky young heroine and Victorine is her protege; the two have a remarkable chemistry that comes together on the page and makes them a formidable duo. Victorine blossoms as Darleen’s daring rubs off on her, and Darleen is always working to keep one step ahead of everyone else. Two strong female heroines, a good supporting cast of characters, and a well-paced, plotted story make Daring Darleen a book to have on your shelves. Will Daring Darleen have more adventures? Like the silent serials of old, we just have to wait and see!

Daring Darleen: Queen of the Screen has starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus.

E ARC provided by Netgalley



Darleen comes from a long line of entertainers; her father and his siblings are all part of Matchless Studios, a silent film concern trying to stay in business in 1914. Darleen has gone from being "darling" as a child film star to being "daring" in her tween years, and is the star of a serial in which she is a princess trying to find her father. In order to drum up more interest, and perhaps make more money, her aunt comes up with a great idea: film Darleen being kidnapped at the opening of a new theater, so fans can read about the "real life" episode in the paper. On the night of the event, Darleen is ready, but ends up in the wrong car... with the subject of an actual kidnapping. Victorine Berryman is the orphan heiress of a railroad fortune. Her only relatives, the Brownstones, are cruel to her, so once she and Darleen escape, she is loathe to turn herself in. Both kidnappings seem to be tied together through one particularly unpleasant actor, and the girls try to figure out the mystery. Along the way, they get involved in lots of escapades, including going up in a hot air balloon. They also meet Madame Blanche, the owner of rival Solax studios, who helps the girls figure out the problem with Victorine's inheritance, and encourages them to continue their work in film.

Strengths: The early 1900s are ripe for all manner of interesting historical fiction, and there's very little that I've come across. The early days of motion pictures is a great place to start! The alliance of the two girls from different backgrounds is charming, and I enjoyed Victorine's plight as the "poor little rich girl". The fact that Darleen dangles over cliffs and has adventures makes it even better.

Weaknesses: This could have been about 100 pages shorter if some of the plot elements had been simplified, and would have made for a more exiting story.

What I really think: I will purchase this because I love the era and the topic, but I'm not sure how well it will circulate. Readers who picked up Tubb's Selling Hope (2011), Cheaney's I Don't Know How the Story Ends,(2015)or Fleming'ss Strongheart: Wonder Dog of the Silver Screen (2018) will find this another fascinating foray into early films.