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The Adventure Girls Series
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| The Adventure Girls books were written by Clair Blank, author of the Beverly Gray books. Not surprisingly, the books flow much like the Beverly Gray books. The protagonists are a group of girls who have named themselves the Adventure Girls, just as Beverly Gray and her friends are the Alpha Deltas. The main character is Gale Howard who has reddish brown hair like Beverly Gray and has a romance with a pilot, also like Beverly Gray.
The first volume appears to have been written as a stand-alone volume and does not give much information about the different characters. The setting and adventures which take place in the first volume could be from any series with any characters. Gale Howard is apparently the main character but the other characters are of nearly equal importance. In fact, the first volume would perhaps be best read after the second volume so that the reader would better appreciate the different characters. In the second volume, the series quickly begins to take shape with specific information being learned about several characters. Gale Howard's struggles with English are revealed as well as her obvious attraction to her new pilot friend, Brent Stockton. Phyllis Elton has trouble with her unfriendly and controlling aunt, Melba Fields. Miss Fields rarely allows Phyllis to go out with her friends and plans to send Phyllis to a different college so that Phyllis will be separated from her friends. The three books in the Adventure Girls series were issued in 1936 by the A.L. Burt company. The publisher, A.L. Burt, soon sold the series to Saalfield, which could not afford to finance any new titles in the series. Therefore, The Adventure Girls on Vacation, the upcoming fourth volume mentioned at the end of the third volume, does not exist. Due to the short time of release, the A.L. Burt editions are more difficult to acquire than the Saalfield editions. |
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| At some point, the Saalfield Publishing Company packaged the series in a boxed set. The sides of the box feature action scenes of girls skiing, riding, and diving, and the back of the box features an illustration of a girl. The sides and back of the box are pictured in consecutive order at the right. |  |
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| The below summaries are adapted from the original dust jackets and have been greatly modified from their original form. | ||
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| #1 The Adventure Girls at K-Bar-O | ||
 Gale Howard, Valerie Wallace, Phyllis Elton, Janet Gordon, Madge Reynolds, and Carol Carter visit Gale's cousin Virginia Wilson in her home on her father's Arizona ranch. The girls have named themselves the Adventure Girls and plan to live up to the name during their vacation. After the girls learn to ride horseback, they take a long camping trip through very rough country. Gradually the girls become experts at roping and horseback riding, and thoroughly enjoy their vacation.
During their time in the west, the girls endure attacks by a snake and a cougar, get lost in a cave, and are kidnapped more than once by cattle rustlers. Their thrill-packed Arizona vacation ends after a final confrontation with the cattle rustlers. The girls help capture the bandits, collect a reward, and give the reward to a needy person. |
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| #2 The Adventure Girls in the Air | ||
| Gale Howard and the Adventure Girls, members of the senior class of Marchton High, see an airplane crash on a nearby island and go to the pilot's assistance. The young pilot, Brent Stockton, has Gale and her friend Bruce help him get his airplane plans to his mechanic. Several weeks later, Gale rides with Brent when he flies her father to Canada on business. On the return trip, Brent's plane crashes. While Brent goes for help, Gale disappears, a victim of amnesia. Brent spends weeks searching for Gale, of whom he has become especially fond.
Brent finally finds Gale, who regains her memory and returns home to catch up in her studies. Gale and the other girls try to help Phyllis Elton with her problems with her aunt. Miss Fields plans to send Phyllis to a different college to separate her from her friends. The girls trick Miss Fields into sending Phyllis to the same college, while Gale's romance with Brent flourishes. |
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| #3 The Adventure Girls at Happiness House | ||
| Gale Howard, Phyllis Elton, and the rest of the Adventure Girls are now freshmen at Briarhurst College. Gale and Phyllis are fortunate to be roommates at the Omega Chi Sorority in Happiness House. Briarhurst College has a new Dean, whom Gale likes very much, but many other students dislike the new Dean because they lost the privileges they had with the last Dean. Mysterious attacks are being made on the Dean, and Gale is determined to find out who the culprit is.
Meanwhile, Phyllis is injured while playing hockey and later receives another injury that sets back her recovery. Gale appeals to Miss Fields, Phyl's aunt, who refuses financial assistance for the girl, confessing she is not her niece, but the daughter of the great Dr. Elton. The doctor operates successfully on Phyl, the mystery of the Dean's assailant is solved, and the freshman year ends happily. |
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| #4 The Adventure Girls on Vacation
This volume is mentioned at the end of The Adventure Girls at Happiness House but was never printed. The Adventure Girls were to go on a summer cruise on Dr. Elton's boat. |
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