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American Girl: Marie-Grace and Cécile #1
Meet Marie-Grace
Marie-Grace Gardner has just arrived in New Orleans, and she hopes she never has to move again. The lively city is unlike any other place Marie-Grace has lived. When she meets Mademoiselle Océane, a talented opera singer, Marie-Grace longs to take lessons. She loves to sing, and she would like to get to know Cécile Rey, the confident girl who is Mademoiselle's student. But Marie-Grace is shy, and starting school reminds her how hard it is to make friends and fit in. Can an unexpected adventure help her feel as if she belongs in New Orleans?
105 pages, Paperback
First published August 30, 2011
23 people are currently reading
1104 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Masters Buckey
29 books47 followersSarah Masters Buckey was raised in New Jersey and lived in Texas for 15 years. Sarah was nominated for the Agatha Award in 2008 for A Thief in the Theater and in 2005 for The Curse of Ravenscourt. She was nominated for an Edgar Award in 2007 for The Stolen Sapphire.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 132 reviews
June 24, 2011
I didn't want to like it. AG has become over commercialized with expensive products and retiring old favorites. Marie-Grace and Cecile break a lot of traditions that really annoyed me. Two dolls sharing three books? Set in 1853? One year before Kirsten? Appalling!
But I loved Marie-Grace. She's a shy, quiet girl who reminds me of myself at that age. I haven't read the other AG books in ages, and I've never read some of the newer doll books, but this one was good enough that I really want to go back.
Marie-Grace is from New England but was born in New Orleans. Her father decides to move back and give MG a stable home. She struggles with not remembering French, a mean haughty girl, making friends, and going to a ball. It was wholesome and sweet, and she might be my favorite AG since Samantha.
I went in expecting the worst and was pleasantly enchanted.
BEA 2011
But I loved Marie-Grace. She's a shy, quiet girl who reminds me of myself at that age. I haven't read the other AG books in ages, and I've never read some of the newer doll books, but this one was good enough that I really want to go back.
Marie-Grace is from New England but was born in New Orleans. Her father decides to move back and give MG a stable home. She struggles with not remembering French, a mean haughty girl, making friends, and going to a ball. It was wholesome and sweet, and she might be my favorite AG since Samantha.
I went in expecting the worst and was pleasantly enchanted.
BEA 2011
March 20, 2024
marie grace is such a boring character compared to cecile but i like that about her honestly
June 6, 2024
2.5 💫
marie grace had so much potential but i honestly found her really boring and it took me an embarrassingly long amount of time to get through this. marie grace was the only one i never read about as a kid so maybe that has something to do with it since i don’t have any nostalgia or memories associated with her.
i really liked cecile though and the new orleans setting.
marie grace had so much potential but i honestly found her really boring and it took me an embarrassingly long amount of time to get through this. marie grace was the only one i never read about as a kid so maybe that has something to do with it since i don’t have any nostalgia or memories associated with her.
i really liked cecile though and the new orleans setting.
June 17, 2019
This was one of the more boring Historical American Girl books. I felt like her character was a bit bland, and the story itself was pretty slow moving. I'm not sure I love this step away from the traditional set-up of American Girl stories, but I can see how it could be interesting creating stories that kind of run together. I think the setting is interesting. But I wish they would have picked a different year to do. For a number of reasons. First of all it really bothers me that this story isn't set in a year ending with a "4." I know that's dumb, but it's the first one that isn't and for some reason that just bothers me. It is also only 1 year earlier than the Kirsten stories. I know they are different regions, and these girls aren't pioneers, but it just doesn't feel that different than me. And Marie-Grace seems to have some similar problems as the Kirsten character. 1) They both just moved from far away and don't have any friends they know near by, they are both reserved because of this. 2) Both characters are also thrown into a situation where they don't speak the local language and struggle in school and with friends because of this. 3) (it hasn't happened yet - but just by reading the summaries of the stories) Marie-Grace's stories include major illnesses and epidemics, and Kirsten goes through this too when her friend dies of Cholera. With these similarities it just makes me wish they had picked a time period about 10 years earlier and done a slightly different take on the stories.
April 23, 2024
3.75 stars
I really enjoyed the nostalgia of rereading this one.. I really love this one even though it is probably not the best of the AG books
The pros:
The setting of New Orleans in the 1853 was really fun
Marie-Grace is pretty relatable
The opera teacher is iconic
Masked ball
✨French language ✨
We had a mean wealthy girl who bullied our main
character
Cons:
Compared to the other American girl doll books we are not in a war or anything traumatic
The plot didn’t have much structure
I really enjoyed the nostalgia of rereading this one.. I really love this one even though it is probably not the best of the AG books
The pros:
The setting of New Orleans in the 1853 was really fun
Marie-Grace is pretty relatable
The opera teacher is iconic
Masked ball
✨French language ✨
We had a mean wealthy girl who bullied our main
character
Cons:
Compared to the other American girl doll books we are not in a war or anything traumatic
The plot didn’t have much structure
November 26, 2012
Marie-Grace was born in New Orleans where she lived with her father, a doctor, and her mother, who came from a French family. After her mother died, Marie-Grace and her father moved north, where her father grew up. Now, in January 1853, Marie-Grace and her father had finally moved back to New Orleans.
Marie-Grace is happy to be back in New Orleans and hopes she never has to move again, since she and her father moved several times in the previous four years. She is excited to discover New Orleans, see her families from her mother's side of the family again, and go to school, where she can hopefully make friends. But the girls at school are unfriendly to her and she feels like an unknown. Her only friend is Cécile, a young girl her age who is a welcome person of color from a well-off family in New Orleans.
The two girls meet at the opera house where Marie-Grace hopes to take lessons, and quickly become friends.
One of the major messages/ themes was that, Marie-Grace is just like everyone else! She is practicing her French in her new school.
I kind of liked the American Girl series, even though it’s still the first book of it. I really Like Marie-Grace because, she is sort of like me. She is shy, independent and responsible.
One of my dislikes is that sometimes her father keeps moving in a lot of cities to get the job. I could just visualize that moving into city to city, how hard that would be! The past setting is very interesting since New Orleans was such an open city and very different from the rest of the United States in the mid-19th century. I think young girls will enjoy this series while hopefully learning a bit about a very unique place and time from American history.
I suggest that young girls like Marie-Grace can read this fantastic book! Here are other recommended books if you like The American Girl series: Little House and Dear America books, Really Truly Ruthie, Candlelight for Rebecca, Changes for Julia, and Addy Saves the Day : A Summer Story.
Marie-Grace is happy to be back in New Orleans and hopes she never has to move again, since she and her father moved several times in the previous four years. She is excited to discover New Orleans, see her families from her mother's side of the family again, and go to school, where she can hopefully make friends. But the girls at school are unfriendly to her and she feels like an unknown. Her only friend is Cécile, a young girl her age who is a welcome person of color from a well-off family in New Orleans.
The two girls meet at the opera house where Marie-Grace hopes to take lessons, and quickly become friends.
One of the major messages/ themes was that, Marie-Grace is just like everyone else! She is practicing her French in her new school.
I kind of liked the American Girl series, even though it’s still the first book of it. I really Like Marie-Grace because, she is sort of like me. She is shy, independent and responsible.
One of my dislikes is that sometimes her father keeps moving in a lot of cities to get the job. I could just visualize that moving into city to city, how hard that would be! The past setting is very interesting since New Orleans was such an open city and very different from the rest of the United States in the mid-19th century. I think young girls will enjoy this series while hopefully learning a bit about a very unique place and time from American history.
I suggest that young girls like Marie-Grace can read this fantastic book! Here are other recommended books if you like The American Girl series: Little House and Dear America books, Really Truly Ruthie, Candlelight for Rebecca, Changes for Julia, and Addy Saves the Day : A Summer Story.
December 27, 2021
The great AG marathon continues. Again, reading for the first time as an adult, inspired by the American Girls podcast. Here's what stood out to me:
Cécile and Marie-Grace were a fascinating — and short-lived experiment — in exploring a historical period from multiple perspectives: Their six-book core series is split between books from Cécile's point of view and ones from Marie-Grace's. As long as you have the whole set, that seems pretty nifty. If you don't, it's very clear that you're getting half the story. And as the publisher, you have to know that no matter how many times you put "Get the rest of the story!" on the cover or add a preview of the next book at the end, there are always going to be readers who don't have access to the other books, for whatever reason.
When this series was published in 2011, the expectations for the first book looked like this: (1) Introduce the setting, characters and overall plot arc; (2) Also have an exciting self-contained story! (3) Intersect and overlap with Meet Cécile, which is being written by a different author. Oh, and (4) teach some history. That's a fairly tall order for under 100 pages.
So if those are the goals, I think it's unfortunate but not shocking to find that the book doesn't always check all the boxes, and that continues throughout the series.
Marie-Grace herself is a sweet cinnamon roll of a character. She's shy and worried about making friends, she loves to sing, and she is absolutely capable of boldness once she feels comfortable in her surroundings. A sweet, caring, motherless girl. But she also feels safe: she wants to be good and helpful, she has a good relationship with her father. We don't see a lot of flaws, which makes her feel — and I say this with love — a little bit vanilla.
The first few pages dump a lot of Gardener family history on the reader, which left me feeling that all those details could have been conveyed more smoothly somehow. She's new to New Orleans — but also not! An uncle she doesn't remember — well, mostly! Deaths in the family prompted a cross-country move — but not this most recent one! (Plus, I would have liked more conversation about how rare it was in this time period for the Gardeners to move around so much.)
Other than the awkwardness of getting oriented, I do like MG's complex reaction to New Orleans: It seems foreign and strange, and yet sometimes she goes around a corner and finds something she remembers. Shrimp gumbo. Pralines.
Counterpoint: I don't at all like the way Buckey introduces the idea that New Orleans is home to many free people of color. MG and her Uncle Luc see a Black boy chased and beaten by two white men who demand to see his papers. MG and Uncle Luc talk about how awful slavery is and say they hope the boy has papers on him, but there's no suggestion of intervening — this background boy's trauma is just local color that serves to inform MG (and the reader) about how race functions in this setting.
Being New Orleans, another aspect of the settings is that there's lots of French - and since MG has been away so long, she doesn't remember the language. I said in Kirsten Learns a Lesson that it would be neat if we saw Kirsten excelling at math even as she struggled with English, since numbers would translate more easily. We come SO CLOSE to giving Marie-Grace that plot here... but the math lesson seems to be taught in English, so never mind.
After my first read, I assumed that the school girls would play a significant role in the series overall — I even predicted that our girl MG was going to pull Sophronia (what an amazing name, I love it) away from Lavinia. But they turn out to be bit players overall.
Structurally, this overlaps with about 2/3 of Meet Cécile, giving us MG's side of their first interactions, most notably the Mardi Gras balls. That's a cute trick. It's fun. But it also means these first two books really can't show the girls together very much or they'd be very repetitive. And on the other hand, the ball switcheroo is the point where it really feels like we're missing half the story. The ending feels chopped off, as though there should have been one more chapter to reflect and wrap things up.
This series was published several years before AG moved to the Beforever 2-book core series model, but this one, like Kaya's, really would have been better as one big novel.
Cécile and Marie-Grace were a fascinating — and short-lived experiment — in exploring a historical period from multiple perspectives: Their six-book core series is split between books from Cécile's point of view and ones from Marie-Grace's. As long as you have the whole set, that seems pretty nifty. If you don't, it's very clear that you're getting half the story. And as the publisher, you have to know that no matter how many times you put "Get the rest of the story!" on the cover or add a preview of the next book at the end, there are always going to be readers who don't have access to the other books, for whatever reason.
When this series was published in 2011, the expectations for the first book looked like this: (1) Introduce the setting, characters and overall plot arc; (2) Also have an exciting self-contained story! (3) Intersect and overlap with Meet Cécile, which is being written by a different author. Oh, and (4) teach some history. That's a fairly tall order for under 100 pages.
So if those are the goals, I think it's unfortunate but not shocking to find that the book doesn't always check all the boxes, and that continues throughout the series.
Marie-Grace herself is a sweet cinnamon roll of a character. She's shy and worried about making friends, she loves to sing, and she is absolutely capable of boldness once she feels comfortable in her surroundings. A sweet, caring, motherless girl. But she also feels safe: she wants to be good and helpful, she has a good relationship with her father. We don't see a lot of flaws, which makes her feel — and I say this with love — a little bit vanilla.
The first few pages dump a lot of Gardener family history on the reader, which left me feeling that all those details could have been conveyed more smoothly somehow. She's new to New Orleans — but also not! An uncle she doesn't remember — well, mostly! Deaths in the family prompted a cross-country move — but not this most recent one! (Plus, I would have liked more conversation about how rare it was in this time period for the Gardeners to move around so much.)
Other than the awkwardness of getting oriented, I do like MG's complex reaction to New Orleans: It seems foreign and strange, and yet sometimes she goes around a corner and finds something she remembers. Shrimp gumbo. Pralines.
Counterpoint: I don't at all like the way Buckey introduces the idea that New Orleans is home to many free people of color. MG and her Uncle Luc see a Black boy chased and beaten by two white men who demand to see his papers. MG and Uncle Luc talk about how awful slavery is and say they hope the boy has papers on him, but there's no suggestion of intervening — this background boy's trauma is just local color that serves to inform MG (and the reader) about how race functions in this setting.
Being New Orleans, another aspect of the settings is that there's lots of French - and since MG has been away so long, she doesn't remember the language. I said in Kirsten Learns a Lesson that it would be neat if we saw Kirsten excelling at math even as she struggled with English, since numbers would translate more easily. We come SO CLOSE to giving Marie-Grace that plot here... but the math lesson seems to be taught in English, so never mind.
After my first read, I assumed that the school girls would play a significant role in the series overall — I even predicted that our girl MG was going to pull Sophronia (what an amazing name, I love it) away from Lavinia. But they turn out to be bit players overall.
Structurally, this overlaps with about 2/3 of Meet Cécile, giving us MG's side of their first interactions, most notably the Mardi Gras balls. That's a cute trick. It's fun. But it also means these first two books really can't show the girls together very much or they'd be very repetitive. And on the other hand, the ball switcheroo is the point where it really feels like we're missing half the story. The ending feels chopped off, as though there should have been one more chapter to reflect and wrap things up.
This series was published several years before AG moved to the Beforever 2-book core series model, but this one, like Kaya's, really would have been better as one big novel.
Read
January 29, 2021My history with Marie-Grace and Cécile is this: I took my youngest sister to the American Girl store in Natick (RIP) for her birthday circa 2013. I saw these two characters from 1850s New Orleans and thought it was such a cool time and location, and I love that they have an interracial friendship. “If I were into still into American Girl, I would be into them,” I thought to myself, and promptly forgot about them as I dropped $47363 dollars on hair styling and ice skating outfits on my sister’s doll.
Cut to: Present day. I bought a Kirsten doll to replace mine from childhood (again, RIP), and because I am not content to have just a casual knowledge about anything on this Earth, I have been brushing up on the AGs of my youth and learning about “new” characters. Want to make your brain explode? Addy was introduced 28 years ago.
I was surprised to find that Marie-Grace and Cécile were only around from 2011-2014. I assume this was because they were not profitable enough to keep around, which is some BS. Who are these children who are NOT interested in a friendship that crosses racial barriers in the antebellum South? Are their parents not raising them to be anti-racist nerds? (Full disclosure: I took a break during the writing of this review to read about the role of Louisiana in the Civil War, so clearly my parents did raise me to be The Nerdiest.) I can understand that an MG doll on her own may not be a fan fave so she really needs to be purchased in tandem with Cécile (who I think can go solo on her own merit, this doll is cool af). That $230!price tag for Dolls Who Are Friends may be a bit high, even for the rich folks who buy AG instead of the plentiful knockoffs.
So when I found the Marie-Grace and Cécile books at a thrift store, I had to read them.* I was more excited for Cécile’s story so I wanted to start there, but although the two Meet books are told concurrently, Cécile’s is technically #2 (I assume this is a “co-headliner” situation where the first “co-headliner” goes on first, i.e., is a long-winded opening act). So here we are at the longest Goodreads review I’ve ever written, about the book Meet Marie-Grace.
Marie-Grace was born in New Orleans to a French mother and a Doctor from Pennsylvania father. Change the occupation to Engineer and the setting of this book to Southern New Hampshire and this could describe me. She and her father have moved around a lot during her childhood, but have landed back in New Orleans. She has unfortunately forgotten her French since leaving, and she is not Orleansian for the French-speaking girls at her school, and not rich enough for the “American” girls at her school. Ah, the good old days when having a doctor father and a live-in illiterate maid did not make you, “the best in society”. I shudder to think what her classmates would think of me, as I type this on my early-model iPhone on a couch I purchased from a college furniture store 9 years ago. So Marie-Grace doesn’t fit in anywhere. Except at her singing classes, where she can chat with Cécile every weekend between their classes.
Marie-Grace’s defining characteristic is that she is insecure. It appears she has not discovered alcohol yet, so I predict better things to come for her in her adulthood. But for now, while being relatable, I don’t think that is enough to carry the story. She does go to a Mardi Gras ball, which is definitely the highlight of the story. She musters up the courage to dance only because of Cécile. Marie-Grace was too nervous to dance at the White Kids Ball but Cécile was not, even after she, a Black girl, snuck into that same ball. I LOVE THIS, but I shudder to think what would have happened if she had been caught. Although whites and free people of color lived side-by-side I am not seeing a whole lot of commingling so I doubt the punishment would have been “sent back to Black ball”.
I have Cecile’s book ready to read next, but looking ahead in the series the books seem to take a dark turn into 2020 territory: The final 4 books in the series deal with a yellow fever epidemic that rages though New Orleans. I CANNOT WAIT. Because this was not a popular series I’ve never seen these books in the wild before, so I’m crossing my fingers that I can get them from the library, where, I don’t want to brag, but I got a card for yesterday after having lived here for 5 months. COVID!
*They came with with dolls I bought don’t look at me NEXT
Cut to: Present day. I bought a Kirsten doll to replace mine from childhood (again, RIP), and because I am not content to have just a casual knowledge about anything on this Earth, I have been brushing up on the AGs of my youth and learning about “new” characters. Want to make your brain explode? Addy was introduced 28 years ago.
I was surprised to find that Marie-Grace and Cécile were only around from 2011-2014. I assume this was because they were not profitable enough to keep around, which is some BS. Who are these children who are NOT interested in a friendship that crosses racial barriers in the antebellum South? Are their parents not raising them to be anti-racist nerds? (Full disclosure: I took a break during the writing of this review to read about the role of Louisiana in the Civil War, so clearly my parents did raise me to be The Nerdiest.) I can understand that an MG doll on her own may not be a fan fave so she really needs to be purchased in tandem with Cécile (who I think can go solo on her own merit, this doll is cool af). That $230!price tag for Dolls Who Are Friends may be a bit high, even for the rich folks who buy AG instead of the plentiful knockoffs.
So when I found the Marie-Grace and Cécile books at a thrift store, I had to read them.* I was more excited for Cécile’s story so I wanted to start there, but although the two Meet books are told concurrently, Cécile’s is technically #2 (I assume this is a “co-headliner” situation where the first “co-headliner” goes on first, i.e., is a long-winded opening act). So here we are at the longest Goodreads review I’ve ever written, about the book Meet Marie-Grace.
Marie-Grace was born in New Orleans to a French mother and a Doctor from Pennsylvania father. Change the occupation to Engineer and the setting of this book to Southern New Hampshire and this could describe me. She and her father have moved around a lot during her childhood, but have landed back in New Orleans. She has unfortunately forgotten her French since leaving, and she is not Orleansian for the French-speaking girls at her school, and not rich enough for the “American” girls at her school. Ah, the good old days when having a doctor father and a live-in illiterate maid did not make you, “the best in society”. I shudder to think what her classmates would think of me, as I type this on my early-model iPhone on a couch I purchased from a college furniture store 9 years ago. So Marie-Grace doesn’t fit in anywhere. Except at her singing classes, where she can chat with Cécile every weekend between their classes.
Marie-Grace’s defining characteristic is that she is insecure. It appears she has not discovered alcohol yet, so I predict better things to come for her in her adulthood. But for now, while being relatable, I don’t think that is enough to carry the story. She does go to a Mardi Gras ball, which is definitely the highlight of the story. She musters up the courage to dance only because of Cécile. Marie-Grace was too nervous to dance at the White Kids Ball but Cécile was not, even after she, a Black girl, snuck into that same ball. I LOVE THIS, but I shudder to think what would have happened if she had been caught. Although whites and free people of color lived side-by-side I am not seeing a whole lot of commingling so I doubt the punishment would have been “sent back to Black ball”.
I have Cecile’s book ready to read next, but looking ahead in the series the books seem to take a dark turn into 2020 territory: The final 4 books in the series deal with a yellow fever epidemic that rages though New Orleans. I CANNOT WAIT. Because this was not a popular series I’ve never seen these books in the wild before, so I’m crossing my fingers that I can get them from the library, where, I don’t want to brag, but I got a card for yesterday after having lived here for 5 months. COVID!
*They came with with dolls I bought don’t look at me NEXT
February 16, 2022
First book in the Marie-Grace & Cecile books. Half the books are from her perspective, half from Cecile's. So far, so good. I'll add in a full review when I'm done with the series.
ETA, after finishing the series: In a way, this series felt more like a (longish) single book from multiple viewpoints than a series. After the initial setup in the first two books, the entire series deals mainly with an epidemic of yellow fever. Put it another way: the other American Girls historicals have read like episodes in a TV series. Marie-Grace and Cecile read more like a miniseries. It's a nice change of pace, and I think I preferred it to the more disconnected series. This is the first (so far, only) series with split protagonists. Luckily, they do read like different people sharing a world, instead of two facets of the same person. Also a nice change of pace: Cecile's family are well-to-do free people of color, something I don't see terribly much of in historical fiction, especially aimed at this age group. I was nervous about how the split protagonists would work, especially with early books repeating entire scenes from one book to the next. That happened less with later books, so it ended up working out much better than I had expected.
Re-read 2022: I'm feeling much more critical of this book this time around. Marie-Grace is not the most engaging character, at least not in this book. And the treatment of race here is... odd. It's extremely surface level and feels quite ahistorical to me. Marie-Grace has been raised with historically implausible notions of equality, and has somehow managed to miss segregation as a concept until she gets to New Orleans. And later in the book, Marie-Grace and Cecile change places at a costumed party, with Cecile going to the party for white children and Marie-Grace going to the party for children not considered white, and there is no sense of the very real danger this little caper puts Cecile in. For that matter, it feels like the author carefully avoids having Marie-Grace notice that some of the children not considered white would have looked very much like her. AG generally does a rosy view of history, but this is practically revisionist.
Whole series review, 2022: Eh. Dividing the series between two girls, while an interesting enough concept in the abstract, didn't really do either character any favors. We have half as much time to get to know each of them, and chunks of each girl's book is taken up by the other. Marie-Grace in particular is kind of a bland protagonist. I think I would have preferred if this had just been Cecile's book, so we could have spent more time with her family and society. Or even just more time dealing with the epidemic, which can't show up at all until towards the end of the third book and is functionally over at the end of the fifth. Race is quite unevenly handled through the whole series, in that it's largely not handled at all. It should be a much bigger deal that the daughter of a white doctor and a girl from a well-to-do family of color have made friends, but nobody seems to care. And that may again be partly to do with the split nature of the series: we can't deal with race because there's no time to deal with race. In the end, I think having two protagonists in this series was a gimmick that just didn't work out. Either one of the girls should have taken the lead, or the series should have been longer. It's a fine enough read, but it just can't live up to the better AG series.
ETA, after finishing the series: In a way, this series felt more like a (longish) single book from multiple viewpoints than a series. After the initial setup in the first two books, the entire series deals mainly with an epidemic of yellow fever. Put it another way: the other American Girls historicals have read like episodes in a TV series. Marie-Grace and Cecile read more like a miniseries. It's a nice change of pace, and I think I preferred it to the more disconnected series. This is the first (so far, only) series with split protagonists. Luckily, they do read like different people sharing a world, instead of two facets of the same person. Also a nice change of pace: Cecile's family are well-to-do free people of color, something I don't see terribly much of in historical fiction, especially aimed at this age group. I was nervous about how the split protagonists would work, especially with early books repeating entire scenes from one book to the next. That happened less with later books, so it ended up working out much better than I had expected.
Re-read 2022: I'm feeling much more critical of this book this time around. Marie-Grace is not the most engaging character, at least not in this book. And the treatment of race here is... odd. It's extremely surface level and feels quite ahistorical to me. Marie-Grace has been raised with historically implausible notions of equality, and has somehow managed to miss segregation as a concept until she gets to New Orleans. And later in the book, Marie-Grace and Cecile change places at a costumed party, with Cecile going to the party for white children and Marie-Grace going to the party for children not considered white, and there is no sense of the very real danger this little caper puts Cecile in. For that matter, it feels like the author carefully avoids having Marie-Grace notice that some of the children not considered white would have looked very much like her. AG generally does a rosy view of history, but this is practically revisionist.
Whole series review, 2022: Eh. Dividing the series between two girls, while an interesting enough concept in the abstract, didn't really do either character any favors. We have half as much time to get to know each of them, and chunks of each girl's book is taken up by the other. Marie-Grace in particular is kind of a bland protagonist. I think I would have preferred if this had just been Cecile's book, so we could have spent more time with her family and society. Or even just more time dealing with the epidemic, which can't show up at all until towards the end of the third book and is functionally over at the end of the fifth. Race is quite unevenly handled through the whole series, in that it's largely not handled at all. It should be a much bigger deal that the daughter of a white doctor and a girl from a well-to-do family of color have made friends, but nobody seems to care. And that may again be partly to do with the split nature of the series: we can't deal with race because there's no time to deal with race. In the end, I think having two protagonists in this series was a gimmick that just didn't work out. Either one of the girls should have taken the lead, or the series should have been longer. It's a fine enough read, but it just can't live up to the better AG series.
November 15, 2024
This series is a bit hard to rank, overall. AG's first experiment in doing a two-main-character lineup, one that wouldn't be replicated for about a decade. And it's... I'm not sure how I feel about it.
A part of me likes it! The idea of approaching the same time period through two different perspectives. I still wonder of 1974 would have worked better under this approach, with Julie and Ivy sharing the lead.
A part of me doesn't like it, though. I feel like it would have been possible to make a story that didn't feel like it was "leaving stuff on the table", where it didn't feel like we were missing out by sharing the spotlight. But I don't think that was this story, and I do feel we lost something through this abridged arc.
oh, and also, the illustrations are hideous. i don't know where they went wrong, but they aren't appealing to look at and they don't even portray the most important parts of the story.
I liked Marie-Grace well enough. I enjoyed seeing her interactions with her doctor father, and I like that you can feel the absence of her dead mom and brother throughout. And I do like that she was shy, a personality trait usually reserved for side characters.
The Mardi Gras Ball plotline, though... the fact that she was so unconcerned about the potential Consequences was wild.
A part of me likes it! The idea of approaching the same time period through two different perspectives. I still wonder of 1974 would have worked better under this approach, with Julie and Ivy sharing the lead.
A part of me doesn't like it, though. I feel like it would have been possible to make a story that didn't feel like it was "leaving stuff on the table", where it didn't feel like we were missing out by sharing the spotlight. But I don't think that was this story, and I do feel we lost something through this abridged arc.
oh, and also, the illustrations are hideous. i don't know where they went wrong, but they aren't appealing to look at and they don't even portray the most important parts of the story.
I liked Marie-Grace well enough. I enjoyed seeing her interactions with her doctor father, and I like that you can feel the absence of her dead mom and brother throughout. And I do like that she was shy, a personality trait usually reserved for side characters.
The Mardi Gras Ball plotline, though... the fact that she was so unconcerned about the potential Consequences was wild.
May 6, 2024
⭐️3.5⭐️
July 7, 2013
The Marie-Grace/Cécile series is not as historically based as the other series nor does it address issues as serious as the others. It glosses over things and is extremely superficial. Considering the basis for the series, it could have been very well done and interesting, but came up extremely short.
April 20, 2020
I was excited finally to read the AG New Orleans characters, but this was a disappointment. It reads like a basic tourist introduction to the city with its outsider heroine. The illustrations are lackluster compared to past AG series - how are there zero images of Mardi Gras parades and balls when they are the crux of the plot?!
February 1, 2020
Finally my 8 year old daughter is interested in the story behind her American Girl. The AG books are rich with history and custom and written in a style that is very enjoyable, and not boring. Reading this book together provided us with some meaningful discussion about a different part of the country and the historical perspectives of slavery. It helped that my daughter had a few of the AG doll clothes and accessories that are depicted in the book, as it held her interest. And now she knows why Marie-Grace had the fairy costume. Very well done and can't wait to read other books in this series.
July 1, 2022
I never read any American Girl doll books growing up and was surprised to hear from grown friends how good they are. This is the first one we chose from the library and it stood out since it’s set in New Orleans (in 1853) and we live in NOLA. My daughter and I loved it and she was excited to recognize some of the famous places mentioned that she’s quite familiar with. I loved learning more about the history of that time and definitely want to read the rest of the series and look into the other AG books.
March 12, 2021
Question I can't figure out how to read the books on here
March 23, 2023
It is a great book
December 22, 2024
I enjoy this character’s story!
December 31, 2024
Yippee another book done
Read
March 3, 2025I’ve definitely read this before, and the imagery of the balls and switching places at them has stuck with me for years. Don’t think I ever got around to the rest of the series, though. Mad it’s taken me this long. Oh well. Better late than never?
Read
February 11, 2021We are currently shelving this, to my sadness. My daughter is losing interest in the series, as she is not as big a history buff as I. We will come back to it at a later date though!
November 15, 2023
god this is fulfilling me
August 10, 2016
Recap:
Cecile Rey is one of the "gens de couleur libres" or "free people of color" living in New Orleans in 1853. Together, she and her friend, Marie Grace, experience all that the diverse, busy city has to offer: Mardi Gras parades and costume balls, outdoor French markets, helping to fight a yellow fever epidemic, volunteering at a local orphanage, and performing at a city-wide benefit for the orphaned children.
Review:
Happy Mardi Gras, book lovers! In honor of the holiday, today I'm featuring a series set in New Orleans, and the first two books take place during Mardi Gras!
I was first inspired to cover this American Girl series after seeing a feature on author Denise Lewis Patrick on The Brown Bookshelf. I'd never given a thought to the authors behind my beloved American Girl books, and reading the story of how Patrick was asked to author the Cecile series piqued my interest. The Cecile series is unique from that of the other American Girls because she shares her books with a girl named Marie Grace. I read "Meet Marie Grace" and then all of the Cecile books in the series, and it's very clear that the two authors plotted the stories out together. Between the two "Meet ____" books, some lines were actually word-for-word the same. I'm really not sure why they chose to have two main characters this time. If any of you know, please fill me in!
On the surface, the Cecile/Marie Grace series follows the same "formula" as every other in the AG line. We "Meet" the girls, they go through some "troubles" but eventually save the day, and everyone ends up stronger and wiser. A little didactic, yes... but these characters are brave, self-confident role models for little girls today. I really like the fact that each book includes a chapter of nonfiction in the back, explaining how the events in the story are a reflection of real events from the past.
Cecile's story is notable because, unlike so many black characters in historial fiction - including Addy!, she has no ties to slavery. In fact, her family is one of the wealthier in New Orleans. She speaks French fluently (a french glossary and pronunciation key is in the back of every book!), takes lessons from a well known Opera singer, and attends a private school. Stereotypical, Cecile is not. Now I love Addy and I think her story is an important one, but I also think it's exciting to see such a unique narrative through Cecile.
Recommendation:
Gosh, I love the American Girls. This series, and the rest in the AG collection, are perfect for elementary school aged girls. And have you been to the AG website lately? There are games, videos, and apps galore!
Cecile Rey is one of the "gens de couleur libres" or "free people of color" living in New Orleans in 1853. Together, she and her friend, Marie Grace, experience all that the diverse, busy city has to offer: Mardi Gras parades and costume balls, outdoor French markets, helping to fight a yellow fever epidemic, volunteering at a local orphanage, and performing at a city-wide benefit for the orphaned children.
Review:
Happy Mardi Gras, book lovers! In honor of the holiday, today I'm featuring a series set in New Orleans, and the first two books take place during Mardi Gras!
I was first inspired to cover this American Girl series after seeing a feature on author Denise Lewis Patrick on The Brown Bookshelf. I'd never given a thought to the authors behind my beloved American Girl books, and reading the story of how Patrick was asked to author the Cecile series piqued my interest. The Cecile series is unique from that of the other American Girls because she shares her books with a girl named Marie Grace. I read "Meet Marie Grace" and then all of the Cecile books in the series, and it's very clear that the two authors plotted the stories out together. Between the two "Meet ____" books, some lines were actually word-for-word the same. I'm really not sure why they chose to have two main characters this time. If any of you know, please fill me in!
On the surface, the Cecile/Marie Grace series follows the same "formula" as every other in the AG line. We "Meet" the girls, they go through some "troubles" but eventually save the day, and everyone ends up stronger and wiser. A little didactic, yes... but these characters are brave, self-confident role models for little girls today. I really like the fact that each book includes a chapter of nonfiction in the back, explaining how the events in the story are a reflection of real events from the past.
Cecile's story is notable because, unlike so many black characters in historial fiction - including Addy!, she has no ties to slavery. In fact, her family is one of the wealthier in New Orleans. She speaks French fluently (a french glossary and pronunciation key is in the back of every book!), takes lessons from a well known Opera singer, and attends a private school. Stereotypical, Cecile is not. Now I love Addy and I think her story is an important one, but I also think it's exciting to see such a unique narrative through Cecile.
Recommendation:
Gosh, I love the American Girls. This series, and the rest in the AG collection, are perfect for elementary school aged girls. And have you been to the AG website lately? There are games, videos, and apps galore!
March 16, 2025
After thinking about it, I’m giving this two stars.
The descriptions of New Orleans are vibrant and lively, but Marie-Grace is pretty flat as a character. Compared to Cécile, she feels more like a secondary character, serving more so as a stand-in for the reader, as we view this city with new eyes much like she does.
I think her story (and her dad being a doctor) set the series up well, considering what is to come for the characters, but she is mostly forgettable.
The descriptions of New Orleans are vibrant and lively, but Marie-Grace is pretty flat as a character. Compared to Cécile, she feels more like a secondary character, serving more so as a stand-in for the reader, as we view this city with new eyes much like she does.
I think her story (and her dad being a doctor) set the series up well, considering what is to come for the characters, but she is mostly forgettable.
May 30, 2011
Nine-year-old Marie-Grace Gardner was born in New Orleans where she lived with her father, an American doctor, and her mother, who came from a French family. After her mother died, Marie-Grace and her father moved north, where her father grew up. Now, in January 1853, Marie-Grace and her her father have finally moved back to New Orleans.
Marie-Grace is happy to be back in New Orleans and hopes she never has to move again, since she and her father moved many times in the past four years. She is excited to explore New Orleans, see her relatives from her mother's side of the family again, and go to school, where she can hopefully make friends. But the girls at school are unkind to her and she feels like an outsider. Her only friend is Cécile, a young girl her age who is a free person of color from a wealthy family in New Orleans. The two girls meet at the opera house where Marie-Grace hopes to take lessons, and quickly become friends.
I loved the American Girls series growing up and I credit it, along with the Little House and Dear America books, for helping me develop a love for historical fiction. Even though I am an adult now, I was very interested when I saw that the newest American Girl series would be from the perspectives of two different girls from very different backgrounds growing up in New Orleans in 1853. The historical setting is very interesting since New Orleans was such a multicultural city and very different from the rest of the United States in the mid 19th century. I think young girls will enjoy this series while hopefully learning a bit about a very unique place and time from American history.
Disclosure: Review copy provided by publisher.
Marie-Grace is happy to be back in New Orleans and hopes she never has to move again, since she and her father moved many times in the past four years. She is excited to explore New Orleans, see her relatives from her mother's side of the family again, and go to school, where she can hopefully make friends. But the girls at school are unkind to her and she feels like an outsider. Her only friend is Cécile, a young girl her age who is a free person of color from a wealthy family in New Orleans. The two girls meet at the opera house where Marie-Grace hopes to take lessons, and quickly become friends.
I loved the American Girls series growing up and I credit it, along with the Little House and Dear America books, for helping me develop a love for historical fiction. Even though I am an adult now, I was very interested when I saw that the newest American Girl series would be from the perspectives of two different girls from very different backgrounds growing up in New Orleans in 1853. The historical setting is very interesting since New Orleans was such a multicultural city and very different from the rest of the United States in the mid 19th century. I think young girls will enjoy this series while hopefully learning a bit about a very unique place and time from American history.
Disclosure: Review copy provided by publisher.
July 15, 2020
When I read this in 2012, I thought it was boring and had no plot, and I decided not to read the rest of the series. I never regretted or questioned this decision, but during the COVID-19 closure, my library system purged copies of books that were over ten years old, and thereby axed a lot of the older and out-of-print American Girl books. I placed hold requests on everything that I don't own, knowing that it's my last chance to read these books if I don't want to buy them.
Having read this again, I can confirm that I have no interest in ever adding it to my collection. I want to read the whole series to have the experience, but this is just as dull as I had remembered, and the illustrations are flat and unappealing. Also, Marie-Grace's only conflicts revolve around a dead mother, a new home, and a new school, and none of these issues come off in an emotionally resonant way. Unlike other American Girl books, which are full of intense historical conflicts, this book could have been set in any other time period or place, and the core story would have been much the same.
This book's only redeeming quality is the New Orleans setting. The story explores some elements of the culture there, and addresses the unique racial dynamic in New Orleans prior to the Civil War. That was interesting, and the "peek into the past" was educational, but the story itself is worthless, and I kept being surprised by how much further I had to go. A 105-page children's book should not be a slog, but this was.
Having read this again, I can confirm that I have no interest in ever adding it to my collection. I want to read the whole series to have the experience, but this is just as dull as I had remembered, and the illustrations are flat and unappealing. Also, Marie-Grace's only conflicts revolve around a dead mother, a new home, and a new school, and none of these issues come off in an emotionally resonant way. Unlike other American Girl books, which are full of intense historical conflicts, this book could have been set in any other time period or place, and the core story would have been much the same.
This book's only redeeming quality is the New Orleans setting. The story explores some elements of the culture there, and addresses the unique racial dynamic in New Orleans prior to the Civil War. That was interesting, and the "peek into the past" was educational, but the story itself is worthless, and I kept being surprised by how much further I had to go. A 105-page children's book should not be a slog, but this was.
May 5, 2012
I really enjoyed reading this book. I grew up loving American Girl books and pretty much read the entire series (at the time). Marie-Grace is a new edition to the American Girl lineup, having just recently debuted in 2011. Her story is set in pre-civil war New Orleans (1853 to be exact) where Marie lives with her father and housekeeper. As a young girl she and her father moved from city to city, they have just returned to her birthplace. Marie has to learn how to adjust to life in a city she barely remembers, as well as a language that is no longer familiar. She meets a young free black girl named Cecile and the two strike up a friendship. Cecile helps Marie practice her French and helps Marie become immersed in New Orleans culture. The two even switch places to attend the segregated mardi gras balls. The story ends with the pair saying goodbye after the ball.
One of the best features of American Girl stories is that they all contain a "looking back" chapter at the end of the book. This chapter uses real photographs to tie the characters into real events of the time period. This allows girls a bridge to a subject that is often viewed as boring or mundane. This is American Girl's strength, and I believe this is what has allowed them to remain popular with girls and educators over the years. I would recommend this book to any girl aged 7 and up, or any teacher looking for a new way to present American history to their class.
One of the best features of American Girl stories is that they all contain a "looking back" chapter at the end of the book. This chapter uses real photographs to tie the characters into real events of the time period. This allows girls a bridge to a subject that is often viewed as boring or mundane. This is American Girl's strength, and I believe this is what has allowed them to remain popular with girls and educators over the years. I would recommend this book to any girl aged 7 and up, or any teacher looking for a new way to present American history to their class.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 3, 2018
I love the American Girl series of books. Though I'm not their target audience any longer, I still like reading about the characters they've invented since my childhood.
The NOLA characters flopped pretty spectacularly -- being released and retired in the span of 3 years. But maybe the books had something to do with that? Not to say this one was bad at all. I enjoyed it, and I relate to Marie-Grace a lot since I have trouble making friends and don't always know what to say when I'm around people. So my beef isn't with the story or the character, but it felt off-brand. The illustrations were lackluster, none of the people in them actually making proper eye contact, and feeling very flat. After looking up the artist to see her other work, it feels like maybe she wasn't into this project. She's very talented.
The vignettes also were cartoonish and vague. Usually the vignettes would highlight a specific thing that needed a helpful visual element to go with the text. And while the ones included here aren't bad for what they are, they just don't feel right.
Also, there was hardly any description of the characters' clothes or accessories - we all know these books are here to help sell the toys, and I wasn't compelled to look anything up to add to my collection.
I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series, but I'm understanding better why these dolls failed.
The NOLA characters flopped pretty spectacularly -- being released and retired in the span of 3 years. But maybe the books had something to do with that? Not to say this one was bad at all. I enjoyed it, and I relate to Marie-Grace a lot since I have trouble making friends and don't always know what to say when I'm around people. So my beef isn't with the story or the character, but it felt off-brand. The illustrations were lackluster, none of the people in them actually making proper eye contact, and feeling very flat. After looking up the artist to see her other work, it feels like maybe she wasn't into this project. She's very talented.
The vignettes also were cartoonish and vague. Usually the vignettes would highlight a specific thing that needed a helpful visual element to go with the text. And while the ones included here aren't bad for what they are, they just don't feel right.
Also, there was hardly any description of the characters' clothes or accessories - we all know these books are here to help sell the toys, and I wasn't compelled to look anything up to add to my collection.
I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series, but I'm understanding better why these dolls failed.
November 14, 2019
Actually finished this last night/early this morning before going to sleep. An interesting premise, having two leads- I wonder if they got feedback from the Julie series about how Ivy could've been a co-lead? (see: all my Julie reviews where I gripe about how Ivy was functionally the protagonist of two books)
New Orleans has a unique history in the United States- much like Josefina's Santa Fe, it has its own identity and history prior to joining the union. Cecile and other characters express surprise that Marie-Grace "sounds American", who is in turn baffled that they call her that when technically, Louisiana's been part of US territory for the last 50 years.
It's nice to get in the head of a shy, reserved character! Julie acts on her thoughts and Nanea actively wanted to help with the war effort, but Marie-Grace is intimidated by being the new girl and not understanding French in a bilingual society. I also found it refreshing that she's from the middle class and Cecile, a free person of color, is the one from the wealthy family- more stories of all types for people of color instead of pigeonholing our historical roles into one kind of thing
Something felt a bit off in the illustrations- maybe the posing, or the way light reflected off of them? It felt less detailed and dynamic than previous series' work.
New Orleans has a unique history in the United States- much like Josefina's Santa Fe, it has its own identity and history prior to joining the union. Cecile and other characters express surprise that Marie-Grace "sounds American", who is in turn baffled that they call her that when technically, Louisiana's been part of US territory for the last 50 years.
It's nice to get in the head of a shy, reserved character! Julie acts on her thoughts and Nanea actively wanted to help with the war effort, but Marie-Grace is intimidated by being the new girl and not understanding French in a bilingual society. I also found it refreshing that she's from the middle class and Cecile, a free person of color, is the one from the wealthy family- more stories of all types for people of color instead of pigeonholing our historical roles into one kind of thing
Something felt a bit off in the illustrations- maybe the posing, or the way light reflected off of them? It felt less detailed and dynamic than previous series' work.
April 10, 2013
Marie-Grace now of New Orleans, formerly of Elton, Massachusetts, is different from most American Girls: she is shy, quiet, and lacks self-confidence, especially since she is surrounded by French speaking NO natives who know the ropes better than she does. This book even has a villainess--snarky classmate Lavinia, who does her best to make Marie-Grace feel unwelcome. (Mean Girls,anyone?
Fortunately, at her singing lesson Marie-Grace meets friendly Cecile (who has her own titles in this series), who comes from a wealthy family "of color." Together they even manage gently to outmaneuver Lavinia. Good beginning to a new series with a new twist. The frocks worn by Cecile and Marie-Grace are spectacular, by the way. I guess that helps Mattel sell more doll clothes!
As usual, there is a "Looking Back" author's note at the end, which makes the book more than a frivolous girls' story, and makes it useful for the classroom. Lexile measure is 750.
Fortunately, at her singing lesson Marie-Grace meets friendly Cecile (who has her own titles in this series), who comes from a wealthy family "of color." Together they even manage gently to outmaneuver Lavinia. Good beginning to a new series with a new twist. The frocks worn by Cecile and Marie-Grace are spectacular, by the way. I guess that helps Mattel sell more doll clothes!
As usual, there is a "Looking Back" author's note at the end, which makes the book more than a frivolous girls' story, and makes it useful for the classroom. Lexile measure is 750.
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