Silver Wings for Vicki

Vicki Barr Flight Stewardess #1

by Helen Wells

Silver Wings for Vicki is the first in a sixteen book series featuring young air-hostess sleuth Vicki Barr. Set in the days when flying was glamorous, the story follows Vicki as a trainee and her early days as a stewardess. It’s old school romance in the skies with wide-eyed ‘career girls’ falling for dashing young pilots – and, of course, there’s a crime to solve!

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Young Adult, Childrens, Historical Fiction

118 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1947

About the author

Original name: Helen Weinstock. Social worker turned full-time young adult writer, born in Illinois but moved with family to New York City when she was seven. In 1934 Wells graduated from New York University [where she'd been the first female editor of the literary quarterly], with a major in philosophy and a minor in sociology and psychology.

During World War II, she served as a volunteer with the State Department's Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, escorting Latin American visitors in the United States.

Author of Cherry Ames, Nurse books, a series for young teens.

She was also the author of the Vicki Barr books, about a young mystery-solving flight attendant. And, as Francine Lewis, she penned the short-lived Polly French series (1950s), aimed at a younger readership.

After writing the first eight books of the Cherry Ames series and the first three Vicki Barr books, Wells decided to abandon both series to write for television and radio, and Julie Tatham took over (however, both the ninth Cherry Ames book and the fourth Vicki Barr book were published under Wells's name). Tatham later returned the Vicki Barr books to Wells in 1953 and the Cherry Ames books in 1955.

Reviews

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in the Vicki Barr Flight Stewardess series and there is a lot going on. It begins with Vicki having just finished two years of college and not being terribly excited at the prospects of going back. She knows her father, Professor Barr, would prefer that she finish her education--but she sees an ad in the newspaper with the headline

To Girls Who Would Like to Travel
To Meet People -- To Adventure

and she just knows that she's one of those girls. What she wouldn't give to go flying around the world in one of those big silver birds.

So, even though she knows she's a little young and doesn't have quite all the experience asked for, she decides to go to the interviews and give it a try anyway. Her father, knowing how much it means to her, is willing to let her go for her dreams.

To her amazement (but not to the reader's--because after all we've been told that this is the "Flight Stewardess" series), she convinces Miss Ruth Benson, the interviewer, to give her a chance. Before she and her family know it, she's on her way to New York City for an intense training session where only girls who score 95-97% (there are no perfect scores) make the grade and earn their silver wings. Vicki is a personable young woman and quickly makes friends. Of course, she and her five closest friends pass the class. They set up house in a shared apartment with a housekeeper-cum-house mother who makes sure they get fed properly, get plenty of sleep, and she sends any male callers home at a reasonable hour. The girls settle down into their flight routines, getting used to managing flights on their own and then Vicki falls headlong into a mystery involving suspicious travelers and ostrich-leather bags. She helps the authorities capture the bad guys and winds up a heroine on the front page of all the papers.

Vicki is another strong, independent character that I would have loved had I discovered her when I was reading Nancy Drew. She is a career woman who wants to be a flight stewardess--not because it's glamorous, but because she loves the idea of flying and helping the people who travel. She is intelligent and notices when passengers are behaving oddly and this leads to many of her adventures. The mysteries aren't terribly intricate, but they are good fun, especially for young readers. Silver Wings was an excellent beginning for the series.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.

[Kim Fay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This rating comes from my 14-year-old self sitting in my bedroom on a Sunday afternoon --- a bedroom plastered with posters of "exotic" cities ... Paris, Tokyo, Berlin and San Francisco :) Published in 1947, this is the story of a young woman who goes to the big city and becomes a stewardess; another reviewer here describes it best: "a blast from the past." I LOVED career girl books when I was growing up, and I loved mysteries, so Vicki Barr was a double pleasure for me. Of course it's dated now. Five girls sharing an apartment with a kind of house mother who makes sure they get enough sleep and that the boys go home at a reasonable hour: the memory of this world scarcely exists anymore. But for all that, it's fun to read about a time when air travel was new and exciting; I loved all the little details about guidelines for being a stewardess, dinner service and distributing passenger weight to keep the plane balanced. As Vicki goes through her training, becomes a stewardess and naturally becomes unwittingly involved in various romances and a major crime (can't tell you more without spoiling the story), she becomes self-sufficient and discovers who she wants to be in her Pollyanna world. I also always liked books like this because the women (of course called girls) supported each other. Spats and confrontations only made their friendships deeper.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful read, effervescent without being "fluff" and a fascinating glimpse into the early "golden era" of air travel. I hate flying--but I loved this book! Vicki's enthusiasm for flying, her passion and determination to become a "flight stewardess" and the process of becoming one are a joy and an education for today's reader. Yes, some of the requirements of the late '40s seem a little dated and requiring all the stewardesses to be pretty and unmarried would never "fly" in this day and age. Yet early stewardesses also had a tremendous amount of responsibility and training. After a tough initial interview, candidates had to pass a training course with 95% to be hired on as a stewardess. On the job, Vicki had to memorize all the passengers' names and important details such as if if was their first flight, if they had a family emergency, etc. in addition to serving elaborate meals, handling issues about weight distribution, and being a veritable encyclopedia for passengers' questions about aeronautics, destinations and current events. More so than now, stewardesses were the ambassadors of their airlines and viewed almost like celebrities. I kept wanting to call Vicki "Vicki Bliss" (another series) because she is so blissful and sweet. Yet she's also canny and curious and courageous and ends up helping solve a mystery involving strange passengers. Honestly, the mystery was fairly lightweight but even so it was interesting in how impossible such a plot could be in today's world with all our security measures. I loved the book for Vicki and the great cast of secondary characters (especially her lovely, supportive family and the group of fellow stewardesses Vicki rooms with) and the glimpse into the early days of commercial air travel when it was still fresh and exciting, even glamorous, when it wasn't fraught with the worries and drudgery travelers face today. This is not "great literature" but I found it surprisingly well written, utterly absorbing and a whole lot of fun and thus my five star review.

[Sara the Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are times when all one wants is a little reminder of childhood when things were ever so much simpler and it was perfectly fine to read about a girl who wanted adventure and excitement so naturally she'd jump at the chance to become a stewardess!

Author Helen Wells is more well known for her first heroine, intrepid nurse Cherry Ames (my mother is a HUGE fan apparently) but I was totally charmed by Ms. Vicki Barr who, despite a lack of education and being a year short of the required age manages to become a stewardess for Federal Airlines. Soon she's traveling the country and finding intrigue and mystery around every corner.

Yes, this novel and whole series is probably sexist as hell and yes its very awful that it was written at a time when young girls were expected to only be stewardesses and nurses for as long as it took them to find a husband but darn it I loved this!

Wells is a wonderful writer who totally captures the impetuosity of youth and the yearning for a life bigger than the little one you've always lived in your small home town. She also makes flying sound like the most amazing goddamn thing in the world which I imagine it probably was in 1947 when you dressed in your absolute best to fly in plush leather seats and eat gourmet food served by charmy, witty, intelligent young women.

There's something kind of amazing about Vicki especially given when her character was created. She doesn't want to be a stewardess because she thinks it's glamorous. She wants to be a part of this amazing new industry and really help people. She's completely enraptured with flying and learning all she can about it. She's not a simpering, giggly debutante, in fact she's got plenty of scenes where she laments not being taken seriously because of her blond hair and petite figure. When she's instrumental in stopping a major crime she's horrified to find herself all over the front pages of the papers. She's quick witted and incredibly brave. She is, in other words, a heroine worth admiring now just as much as I'm sure she was in 1947.

I just bought the next three books in this series on Amazon without a second thought and I can't wait to see where this bold as brass adventuress of the skies winds up next.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, as you may know, I enjoy almost any book where a girl can refer to her friends as chums, be courted by multiple nice young men with no possibility to sleep with any of them, and have lots of adventures in a job that at one time or another was thought to be glamorous. These books were written by Helen Wells, best known for authoring the Cherry Ames series of mysteries for young women. Aimed at the same readership as Nancy Drew, Cherry Ames and Vicki Barr both solved mysteries while pursuing careers as a nurse and a stewardess. This book features Vicki Barr as she becomes a stewardess, and is a real blast from the past. This is the first of the Vicki Barr books I've read, though I am very familiar with the Cherry Ames books. Vicki's journey to become a stewardess will seem impossibly dated to some, but for me, that's part its charm. The descriptions of flying are classic. Definitely a great read for fans of mysteries along the Nancy Drew lines, and for fans of classic YA lit in general.

[Miss Lili · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a cute, old fashioned book with fun characters!

[Gina House · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5🌟 I enjoyed this airplane adventure! This was my first time reading a book by Helen Wells and it was a great experience. Although this isn't my favorite middle grade book, the plot was interesting and Vicki is a likable character. The information and language is very dated, but I feel like I actually learned a few things about the life of a flight stewardess. I had no idea that they had to be up to date on so many different topics and have top notch social skills. I would never want to have this career myself, but Vicki made it seem fun and rewarding. Looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like every other girl with a sense of adventure, I grew up reading Nancy Drew and loved her. I was thrilled recently to learn that the publisher, Grosset and Dunlap, had published many similar series for both boys and girls. After falling in love with the Christopher Cool series, I have made it my mission to collect as many of these gems as possible to read and share with my own children.

Vicki Barr....oh, how can I describe her? Vicki Barr is the girl every girl wants to be. She is 20 years old, blonde, blue eyed and clever. Her father is a professor and her family lives in an inherited home they call the castle. She has a beautiful mother and a kid sister and a dog named Freckles. She is a girl with big dreams and they are realized when she successfully interviews for a place in stewardess school with Federal Airlines.

She shares an apartment with five other stewardesses. Two interesting young men vie for her interest. This book was written in a time when young people were believed to be intelligent, so there is a lot of information about flying, working and daily life. This is the homogeneous America past, where girls were beautiful and clever, but still ladylike; boys were handsome, dashing gentlemen; and teens could dream about a happy life and adventures they too might have some day. It's the life that was stolen from us all so that corporations could have the pleasure of cheap labor.

I loved every minute of this book.

[Laura Bang · Rating 4 out of 5]

After all the dime novel mania, I decided it was high time to indulge in my love of early children's series fiction again. This is a fun look at the culture of air travel back when it was first becoming more accessible to more people and when it was still a very novel and exciting thing. Planes! Whee! They also used to fly really slowly and the cabins weren't pressurized yet so people would sometimes get sick from oxygen deprivation. It's a fascinating look back at that period of history. Vicki is your typical series heroine -- pretty, charming, and so amazing that the airline will hire her even though she's too young and has none of the experience required. And of course she also has a knack for solving mysteries.

Quite fun and I'm looking forward to my next flight with Vicki! (Whatever you do, just don't read these books with your 21st-century sensibilities...)

[Qt · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I really enjoyed this story, the characters, and the glimpse into the past! All of the characters seemed real, and most of them were fun to get to know; they seemed like they'd be fun roommates too :-) I usually enjoy books written in the 40s or 50s so that is another big plus right there. I'm looking forward to continuing Vicki's adventures and "seeing" some more country with her!

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pages are brittle on my copy of this 1947 young adult’s book. It is written by Helen Wells who wrote other books during this era, aimed at showing the types of careers available for girls. She wrote a series about nurses, but my most favourite is a book about a Medical Laboratory Technologist (see previous reviews).
Vicki Barr wants to become a flight stewardess but she doesn’t meet all of the qualifications. This book tells of her acceptance into the class and of the friends she makes in the airline business.
It provides a snapshot of the time, similar to another book I read, Jane, Stewardess of the Airlines, but that predated this one by over ten years. The same stringent appearance, age, no marriage rules applied for Vicki and her co-workers. They were to be representatives of the airlines, hostesses in the sky, and knowledgable enough to answer the questions posed to them.
I found that it took about three quarters of the book to establish the characters, and their role. It wasn’t until then that the action began and my interest began. This is the first of a series about this stewardess which I read as a young girl. I have collected several of them and am looking forward to reading more of them.

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. This is a fun book. There are a lot of details about the application process to be an airline stewardess and the training. While dated--some of the requirements or restrictions are very sexist by today's standards, but they had to start somewhere--it is fun to read and nice to read about young women who could be real friends without there being backstabbing, etc. This would definitely fall under clean fun but still has excitement.

The mystery is not as fully developed as it could be because so much time is spent on the training, etc. I don't quite buy that Vicki could make the connections she did with so little information but then there wouldn't be a book.

This is the first one I have read of this series and look forward to more.

[Clara Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-written and fun story about learning to be a stewardess, making new friends, and even helping catch some crooks! I really like this author's writing style and loved getting to know Vicki, her family and her friends.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from my aunt when I was in my preteen years (very early 1980s) and it was the most fascinating thing I had ever read. While it felt dated then, I longed to be Vicki. It was the first book to get my thinking about my future and what I wanted to do when I grew up. Great nostalgia!

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh I love this book! I wish the rest weren't so hard to find!

[Randy Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Silver Wings for Vicki is the first book of the “Vicki Barr Flight Stewardess Series,” and I liked it a lot. It started out slow and took its time—introduced Vicki Barr, her home, and family. She applies for a job with the airline, and it's quite competitive, but she gets accepted, and they fly her to New York for training. This is the first time she's flown, and the description of it is pretty inspired. She meets a few other women who are also in training, and a group of them share an apartment in New York, once they start working. They are all on call—they have to be ready to take a shift with a moment's notice. Eventually, there is a mystery involving smugglers, and it's a good mystery, very believable, not too overblown. What I like best about the book, though, is the detailed description about the job and flying—it's in the mid 1940s, so an interesting time for aviation. I especially liked the description of Vicki's initial flight, and the steak dinner during the flight, followed by coffee and ice cream. Then following the dinner, there's a wax-paper envelope with mints and a cigarette!

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't remember how I found this series, but I really am glad I did. It is pure entertainment and that is so needed right now during the days of the coronavirus shutdown. I am a flight attendant,(I will answer to stewardess)and love reading this nostalgic, purely fictional take of life in the air. They are also mysteries, ala Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew. I think I read that one of the authors of Trixie Belden wrote a few Vicki Barr books. The only drawback is being able to find these books. There are 16 in the series, but they are out of print. Why oh why!! My copy of Silver Wings for Vicki has a dustjacket and the description of the book is amazing. I have read it to other flight attendants and we get a good laugh. The copyright for this book is 1947. I enjoyed this book a lot more then I thought I would and look forward to the rest.

[Sande Riggs]

Find view on the New York Memphis run

I picked up the series after many years of buying this one in book form. I love Cherry Ames so I was tickled to finally read this. It is about Vicky Barr, a fresh high school graduate, entering the the Federal Airlines as the youngest Stewardess. She trains and succeeds. It details her training and flights, where she stumbles upon several suspicious fliers. She grows more and more curious involving herself in a jewelry gang. She assists the FBI in solving this mystery. And,goes onto a new flight to continue the world of air travel.

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was quite a fan of the authors Cherry Aimes nursing books so I thought I would give this a try. For what it is I found it was ok but I can’t say that I really got a good sense of the characters. I think I would have preferred more of a setup with the characters. Her training to be a stewardess seemed rushed. I would have liked more time in training before we get to her solving mysteries. For me it was a meh and I won’t be continuing the series.

[Sherry Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this in a bag of books saved from my youth. An enjoyable look at the early airline industry and how much air travel has changed.....it took hours to fly from New York to Memphis, cigarettes were provided on the dinner tray....and how some things don't change....a passenger was forcibly removed from a flight!!!

[Sandy Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this for my past self, the child who loved Nancy Drew but was too poor to own more than three or four of the series, but who also dreamed of being a flight attendant. This is not a recommendation for anyone now, but a fun look back at a world that resembled the real one, except nothing really bad ever happened.

[Tiina · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as books go in general, this was of course rather simple, but it was fascinating to read about the past way of life. The book had originally come out in 1947 - I read a Finnish translation from 1963. Airlines were already a business. The recruitment process for air stewardesses was interesting, and what the flights were like was something very different from today.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Vicki dreams of being a stewardess, and can hardly believe it when her dream comes true. In the process she makes new friends, both male and female, and encounters a mystery, leading to an exciting adventure.

[LuAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great start to this series. I didn’t know what I was missing—a fascinating look at early commercial air travel, a fun group of friends and coworkers and another overly curious and somewhat reckless heroine.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute story about a young woman who becomes a "flight stewardess" for a small airline in the 50's.

[Doreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

another series i read when i was a young girl and loved them.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a glimpse into a very different time! Helen Wells did an amazing job on this story

[christines-to-be___ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up to 4

[Julia Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a favorite childhood book series I read when I was young. It's dated and very modest and I was glad to read it after all these years.

[Tara Chevrestt · Rating 4 out of 5]

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