(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Our story begins in a dusty little town in California, a bustling place called Hollywood…
Isobel Ransom is anxious. Her father is away treating wounded soldiers in France, leaving Izzy to be the responsible one at home. But it’s hard to be responsible when your little sister is chasing a fast talking, movie-obsessed boy all over Hollywood! Ranger is directing his very own moving picture… and wants Izzy and Sylvie to be his stars.
Izzy is sure Mother wouldn’t approve, but scouting locations, scrounging film, and “borrowing” a camera turn out to be the perfect distractions from Izzy’s worries. There’s just one problem: their movie has no ending. And it has to be perfect – the kind of ending where the hero saves the day and returns home to his family. Safe and sound.
It just has to.

Lots of different thought about this one. Let's begin with the positives:

* Loved the setting. Hollywood in the early 20th century was a bit of a masterstroke for this story.
* The characters of Isobel (Izzy) and Sylvie were brilliant. I just loved the two of them so much!
* The prose was sparkling. So very easy to read, in terms of language and style.

However, a few things dragged this down for me:

* Not sure about the target audience. At times, it felt middle-grade, but then the affairs of Chaplin were more aimed at older kids. Also, the name dropping of the stars and producers of the time would probably be wasted on younger kids.
* The pacing was hard. Slow to begin (which isn't really great in a book aimed at middle-grade children), it never really does pick up any momentum.
*The last chapter and epilogue were a bit much. I think trying very hard to get that "I cried at the end" response...I think it could have been handled a little differently and gotten the same response.

All in all, though, a good, fun historical fiction novel for younger readers.


Paul
ARH

Overall likeable. I don't know if it fully lives up to its promise, though. Its somewhat predictable in the plot and the characters don't have a lot of depth. What it has in spades, though, is charm. The early days of Hollywood are magnificent. This book shows us the difficult mechanics of making and showing those early movies, the true genius and innovation that made those films possible. But historical fiction can be iffy with a middle grade audience, especially when the characters fall into types rather than feeling like real people.