Vicki Barr #10, The Search for the Missing Twin

Vicki Barr doesn't really deserve her lackluster rep--the early books are great, and Behind the White Veil is one of the best girls' series books ever. However, it's unusual for a collector to only collect Vicki Barr, and her sister series, Cherry Ames, is much more popular.

That said, this title isn't the greatest. It takes place after the shift from stewardess to pilot, which fits the changing times it was written in, but is much less interesting. I LIKE to read about Vicki knowing every passenger's name and counting the silver and everyone smoking. The secrets of landing in snow are also interesting, but they're not at all charming.

In this book, Vicki is commissioned to look for (surprise!) a missing twin sister (Jennifer) of a family friend (Mary Verga), who disappeared in a shipwreck 15 years before. After tracing the dress Jennifer was wearing to a nurse to name and occupation (Jean Lane, adopted daughter of H. A. Lane the oil man), Vicki is eventually able to reunite the family. Seriously, the plot is that simple. There are NO subplots. You see now why I thought this book was rather boring, no?

• Fashion is minimal again. "White sports clothes" and "pretty pink dress."
• The twins are 17. The plot would be much more plausible if they were of age, and custody weren't an issue. Vicki convinces the Lanes that the Vergas won't interfere, because they're "very understanding" and "not wealthy." Very understanding, indeed.
• Romance is surprisingly minimal. Cherry and Vicki both have a central romantic figure in the first volumes, then typically have one romantic interest per book thereafter (often never to be seen again). Good old Dean and Bill are the only menfolk featured, and not at all in a romantic context.
• This book is rather unusual in that it takes place over several months. It begins in December and ends the following August or so (the end of summer), often skipping a few months in a sentence or so.
• Mrs. Verga and Mary spend a total of a year and a half in hospitals after the wreck, strictly for emotional distress and some broken bones. Can you imagine that happening now? Naturally, Mrs. Verga has amnesia for a couple of months after the accident.
  

Not the greatest, but could be worse. I think it would have been better with a subplot, preferably with some romance involved. I am really pleased with the physical book, I have to say. I got it for $7.99 with free shipping on eBay, and it is IMMACULATE. At first I thought the dj was a repro, but it's just that nice.