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American Girl: Caroline #4
Caroline Takes a Chance
Caroline, like everyone else in Sackets Harbor, is waiting anxiously for the first supply boats of the year to arrive. Without supplies, the shipyards can’t build boats to fight the British. When Caroline and her friends Rhonda and Seth go out fishing in Papa’s skiff, they’re excited to catch sight of a supply boat—until they realize that it’s being chased by a British warship. Desperate to save the supply boat, Caroline comes up with a daring idea. Will her plan work? Or is it a dangerous and foolish risk? Caroline has no time to think—she can only plunge ahead.
90 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
About the author
Kathleen Ernst
57 books392 followersI grew up in Maryland, in a house full of books! Both of my parents were avid readers, thank goodness. Before we traveled to a new area, my librarian-mom used to bring home historical novels set in that place. It was a great way to get excited about history.
I began writing stories when I was maybe 10 or 11. At 15 I wrote my first novel; I sold my first novel to a publisher 20 years later! Writing was my hobby, so during those two decades I just kept practicing, reading, writing some more. What a thrill to finally hold my first book in my hand! Still, I write because I enjoy the process (at least most of the time).
For years I wrote while working at other day jobs. I spent 12 years working at a huge historic site, which was a perfect spot for someone interested in historical fiction. I also developed and scripted instructional videos for public television. Finally, though, it got to be too much to juggle. I now write full-time, and consider myself enormously fortunate to do something I love.
I began writing stories when I was maybe 10 or 11. At 15 I wrote my first novel; I sold my first novel to a publisher 20 years later! Writing was my hobby, so during those two decades I just kept practicing, reading, writing some more. What a thrill to finally hold my first book in my hand! Still, I write because I enjoy the process (at least most of the time).
For years I wrote while working at other day jobs. I spent 12 years working at a huge historic site, which was a perfect spot for someone interested in historical fiction. I also developed and scripted instructional videos for public television. Finally, though, it got to be too much to juggle. I now write full-time, and consider myself enormously fortunate to do something I love.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
January 13, 2020
THIS is the book that made Caroline be my favorite as a kid. I wrote a letter to American Girl begging them not to retire her, that's how much of a fangirl I was in elementary school.
November 29, 2023
Caroline is not your average American Girl. She has people to save and skirmishes to prevent.
March 1, 2026
This book had more historical information but I do wonder if a girl like Caroline would have had so much freedom during 1813.
December 12, 2025
Caroline is rapidly becoming my favorite American Girl. She has to make some hard decisions in this book, and faces a lot of self-doubt. I absolutely love the core message of her stories, which the adults in her life (and especially her grandmother) continue to reinforce - everyone has to make their own decisions in life. You do the best you can with the information you have. Her family is just all around awesome.
September 29, 2024
Again, reading for the first time as an adult, in advance of the American Girls podcast.
Here's what stood out to me:
- This one had the genre-savvy part of my brain hard at work. All the books descriptions are about sinking the skiff, which happens pretty early on. So where are we going with this? Delivering the mail??
- After Caroline doesn't return with fish, Mama buys salmon, which surprised me because I associate salmon with the Pacific Northwest. A cursory googling tells me that salmon species were introduced to the Great Lakes in the late 1800s - well after Caroline's time. Perhaps there was also a species of salmon that was native to the region, but pending reliable sources, I'm going to mark this one as... fishy. (Sorry.)
- Caroline wandering further and further away when she's supposed to be heading home stresses me out, although the results turn out to be amazingly lucky for her whole family.
- Caroline is extremely capable in the wilderness and I have a ton of respect for that. Embroidery, fishing and herbal medicine: Caroline contains multitudes.
- The convenient Native Americans who happen to be present and willing to help Papa are awfully convenient. They are not characters, they are part of Mr. Abbott's plot armor. It's not great.
- This is the Happy Birthday slot, but I don't see any obvious echos there - not even an animal companion. Increased independence/responsibility?
More Caroline babble
Meet Caroline | Caroline’s Secret Message | A Surprise for Caroline | Caroline Takes a Chance | Caroline’s Battle | Changes for Caroline
Traitor in the Shipyard | The Traveler’s Tricks | The Smuggler’s Secrets
Here's what stood out to me:
- This one had the genre-savvy part of my brain hard at work. All the books descriptions are about sinking the skiff, which happens pretty early on. So where are we going with this? Delivering the mail??
- After Caroline doesn't return with fish, Mama buys salmon, which surprised me because I associate salmon with the Pacific Northwest. A cursory googling tells me that salmon species were introduced to the Great Lakes in the late 1800s - well after Caroline's time. Perhaps there was also a species of salmon that was native to the region, but pending reliable sources, I'm going to mark this one as... fishy. (Sorry.)
- Caroline wandering further and further away when she's supposed to be heading home stresses me out, although the results turn out to be amazingly lucky for her whole family.
- Caroline is extremely capable in the wilderness and I have a ton of respect for that. Embroidery, fishing and herbal medicine: Caroline contains multitudes.
- The convenient Native Americans who happen to be present and willing to help Papa are awfully convenient. They are not characters, they are part of Mr. Abbott's plot armor. It's not great.
- This is the Happy Birthday slot, but I don't see any obvious echos there - not even an animal companion. Increased independence/responsibility?
More Caroline babble
Meet Caroline | Caroline’s Secret Message | A Surprise for Caroline | Caroline Takes a Chance | Caroline’s Battle | Changes for Caroline
Traitor in the Shipyard | The Traveler’s Tricks | The Smuggler’s Secrets
September 19, 2020
This book has some plausibility problems, particularly since it is hard for me to believe that Caroline's mother would let her deliver mail by herself on a friend's behalf. She takes a long journey all by herself without anyone to help or protect her, and even though I know that it was a different time, would a mother let her ten-year-old daughter travel over hill and vale to deliver mail just so that her friend could sign up for the army one day sooner? It wasn't even an emergency.
However, despite that flaw in the premise, this is a very engaging story. I loved the part at the beginning, and Caroline's quick thinking and willingness to make sacrifices for her country and for the good of her community. This part really moved me, and there are other great surprises in this book as well, even though it appears that everyone else on Goodreads has decided to openly spoil them.
I enjoyed this book a lot, and appreciate the continued realistic portrayal of people's struggles and courage during the War of 1812. One thing that I had forgotten was how involved Caroline's mother was in keeping her husband's company going in his absence. This series makes a lot of great points about women's competency and wisdom without drawing exaggerated, preachy attention to it, and I appreciate how well the author portrayed these themes with a focus on her characters, rather than a focus on a particular message.
However, despite that flaw in the premise, this is a very engaging story. I loved the part at the beginning, and Caroline's quick thinking and willingness to make sacrifices for her country and for the good of her community. This part really moved me, and there are other great surprises in this book as well, even though it appears that everyone else on Goodreads has decided to openly spoil them.
I enjoyed this book a lot, and appreciate the continued realistic portrayal of people's struggles and courage during the War of 1812. One thing that I had forgotten was how involved Caroline's mother was in keeping her husband's company going in his absence. This series makes a lot of great points about women's competency and wisdom without drawing exaggerated, preachy attention to it, and I appreciate how well the author portrayed these themes with a focus on her characters, rather than a focus on a particular message.
August 26, 2013
Real tearjerker, especially when Caroline is one of the most resourceful and unselfish of the American Girl heroines, and I applaud Pleasant Company for continually providing young girls with quality literature in the largely under-appreciated historical fiction genre.
December 12, 2024
like the rest of Caroline's series, I think this does some really interesting things with the AG formula. unfortunately it's a super action-focused series. which like. this isnt me saying "young ladies shouldn't read about adventure". i think it's awesome that this exists. but also i just don't like reading about action adventure stuff.
May 11, 2023
Caroline Takes A Chance was a very difficult read considering the events that were taking place back then the subject matter was heavy and overall, wasn’t pleased.
March 12, 2026
How serious each American Girl's story is kind of depends on their time period, but I really enjoy seeing Caroline put everything she has into fighting the British.
August 3, 2015
Although they weren't as engaging as some of the other American Girl books I have read, I generally liked the Caroline books. This one, Caroline Takes a Chance, annoyed me a bit however. Although I question the reality of a mother letting her 10-year-old daughter go out to deliver the mail while they are in the middle of a war by herself (the war of 1812), I admit it may just be my 20th century perspective. What really bothered me was the fact that after Caroline knows that she really should turn back and even gets chased by possible deserters she STILL continues to go to the cove where her and her father used to fish. I find that REALLY implausible.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 28, 2017
This one was great. No whining, a lot of stepping up to help and quick, but productive, thinking.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this part of Caroline's story. What starts out as a normal fishing trip leads to action and adventure. Caroline takes charge several times and her quick thinking successfully helps Sackett's Harbor and her family.
Caroline's character grew showing strength, courage, ambition, tenacity, and love. All good things. She wavered over her initial decision, but did not whine or storm off or act sullen.
So far this is my favorite of the series. I am looking forward to the final two in hopes they continue in this manner.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this part of Caroline's story. What starts out as a normal fishing trip leads to action and adventure. Caroline takes charge several times and her quick thinking successfully helps Sackett's Harbor and her family.
Caroline's character grew showing strength, courage, ambition, tenacity, and love. All good things. She wavered over her initial decision, but did not whine or storm off or act sullen.
So far this is my favorite of the series. I am looking forward to the final two in hopes they continue in this manner.
April 15, 2020
Fits more with the “Saves the Day” storyline than the usual “Happy Birthday” storyline for the fourth book. This one had two main plot lines that fit the theme.
September 19, 2021
One of the better books in the Caroline series. I like how the series shows Caroline needing to make hard choices where both options are not ideal. I hope they can recover the boat and fix it.
December 24, 2023
Fishing queen.
Nurse queen.
Nurse queen.
June 25, 2026
#2 of the Caroline main series in my opinion (though it's hard to rank them, since I love Caroline and her books SO MUCH). This book once again features difficult decisions for Caroline to make, which I LOVE. Caroline is such a sweet, brave girl who just wants to do the right thing and make her parents proud of her. And I love how the book once again gives an accurate depiction of what war is like, down to supply shortages and the anxiety in waiting for the supply boats, especially the first one to come once the ice has unfrozen.
Poor Caroline starts out the book missing her father so much, since he's still imprisoned in Upper Canada. Her friend Rhonda is also missing her dad, and Caroline decides to try to cheer her up by taking her out fishing. I love that Caroline always tries to take action and do something to help when things are wrong, and I love how even as a ten-year-old girl, she is so focused on what is within her orbit of control and how she can impact the people around her. That is such an empowering message for young girls. And I love how Caroline learns that helping others is a way to help herself feel better as well. And Caroline's love of Lake Ontario is just so sweet. She's just a precious girl who only wants to sail on Lake Ontario and be together with her parents in her hometown. I love that for her so much.
And I loved how once they're out on the water and Caroline observes the British boat trying to catch the American supply ship, Caroline doesn't just watch helplessly - she takes action! Caroline has GREAT ideas. And what an incredibly brave and generous girl to sacrifice her beloved skiff to block the channel. My heart went out to her as she made that decision. I feel like I've gotten to know her well throughout her series and that decision was so hard for her, and yet she was so brave. What an icon.
And my heart went out to her throughout the rest of the book as she worried about what her dad would think about her decision, and how she remembered her dad saying that a captain who lost his ship was disgraced. Noooooo, Caroline, your dad will be so proud of you for how brave you were and how you thought quickly and made a tough decision in difficult circumstances! I think the book realistically portrays the complex emotions Caroline would experience after this decision: "proud and ashamed, happy and sad, all at the same time." I just wanted to give Caroline a big hug! I liked her grandmother and mom telling her they were proud of her, but I know it's Caroline's dad's praise she yearns for the most, especially about boats. Poor brave girl!
So the first half of the book I would give five stars too. The rest of the book gets a bit dicey with the realism. First of all, I don't think it's realistic that Caroline would get to deliver Seth's mail for him. And there's really no reason for her to...so he can join the navy literally one day earlier? Not really necessary. I know it's a plot contrivance so Caroline has a reason to be out near the woods and eventually find her father, but still, I didn't love it. It was impulsive of Caroline to try to go to her father's fish camp, but also it made sense and was in character for her; the poor girl misses her dad so much.
It was very plot convenient for her to find her father, and also that her father had been nursed back to health by the Oneida people. I didn't really love the way the author set that up. At the same time, of course I was delighted for Caroline to be reunited with her beloved father, and she was so brave and mature to care for him as she did. I was very glad she was able to tell him what happened with the skiff and that he understood the difficult choice she had to make and wasn't disappointed in her. I loved her dad saying, "Sometimes, all we can do is take a chance and hope for the best." I think that is a very important piece of wisdom. And I loved the ending of Caroline's mom getting to see Caroline AND her dad again.
And once again I love the illustrations in this book. Really, I love all the illustrations in ALL the Caroline books. But that last image of Caroline and her mom and dad walking home together is just precious and I love all of them. Gosh, Caroline is truly one of my favourites.
Poor Caroline starts out the book missing her father so much, since he's still imprisoned in Upper Canada. Her friend Rhonda is also missing her dad, and Caroline decides to try to cheer her up by taking her out fishing. I love that Caroline always tries to take action and do something to help when things are wrong, and I love how even as a ten-year-old girl, she is so focused on what is within her orbit of control and how she can impact the people around her. That is such an empowering message for young girls. And I love how Caroline learns that helping others is a way to help herself feel better as well. And Caroline's love of Lake Ontario is just so sweet. She's just a precious girl who only wants to sail on Lake Ontario and be together with her parents in her hometown. I love that for her so much.
And I loved how once they're out on the water and Caroline observes the British boat trying to catch the American supply ship, Caroline doesn't just watch helplessly - she takes action! Caroline has GREAT ideas. And what an incredibly brave and generous girl to sacrifice her beloved skiff to block the channel. My heart went out to her as she made that decision. I feel like I've gotten to know her well throughout her series and that decision was so hard for her, and yet she was so brave. What an icon.
And my heart went out to her throughout the rest of the book as she worried about what her dad would think about her decision, and how she remembered her dad saying that a captain who lost his ship was disgraced. Noooooo, Caroline, your dad will be so proud of you for how brave you were and how you thought quickly and made a tough decision in difficult circumstances! I think the book realistically portrays the complex emotions Caroline would experience after this decision: "proud and ashamed, happy and sad, all at the same time." I just wanted to give Caroline a big hug! I liked her grandmother and mom telling her they were proud of her, but I know it's Caroline's dad's praise she yearns for the most, especially about boats. Poor brave girl!
So the first half of the book I would give five stars too. The rest of the book gets a bit dicey with the realism. First of all, I don't think it's realistic that Caroline would get to deliver Seth's mail for him. And there's really no reason for her to...so he can join the navy literally one day earlier? Not really necessary. I know it's a plot contrivance so Caroline has a reason to be out near the woods and eventually find her father, but still, I didn't love it. It was impulsive of Caroline to try to go to her father's fish camp, but also it made sense and was in character for her; the poor girl misses her dad so much.
It was very plot convenient for her to find her father, and also that her father had been nursed back to health by the Oneida people. I didn't really love the way the author set that up. At the same time, of course I was delighted for Caroline to be reunited with her beloved father, and she was so brave and mature to care for him as she did. I was very glad she was able to tell him what happened with the skiff and that he understood the difficult choice she had to make and wasn't disappointed in her. I loved her dad saying, "Sometimes, all we can do is take a chance and hope for the best." I think that is a very important piece of wisdom. And I loved the ending of Caroline's mom getting to see Caroline AND her dad again.
And once again I love the illustrations in this book. Really, I love all the illustrations in ALL the Caroline books. But that last image of Caroline and her mom and dad walking home together is just precious and I love all of them. Gosh, Caroline is truly one of my favourites.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2024
This had a lot of scary things happen for Caroline and she was really brave and daring, I wasn’t expecting such a story honestly. What started off as a fun day to distract her friend turned into a scary and fast thinking event, with the supply ship finally arriving but having a British ship trailing it they had to think fast to help them survive and stop the British from taking everything.
Then to be doing Seth’s route of mail delivery so he could signup to the navy which sounded scary to begin with, going out to the woods all on her own. Then her decision to find her papa’s hideout which I was thinking was so dangerous and not a good idea, ended up being important as she found her papa sick and injured in his hide out, no wonder she felt a need to go there.
She was such a clever girl, coming up with so many idea for both scenarios, for how to stop the British following the supply ship and for how to help her papa get better and stay alive. She was very clever indeed.
Then to be doing Seth’s route of mail delivery so he could signup to the navy which sounded scary to begin with, going out to the woods all on her own. Then her decision to find her papa’s hideout which I was thinking was so dangerous and not a good idea, ended up being important as she found her papa sick and injured in his hide out, no wonder she felt a need to go there.
She was such a clever girl, coming up with so many idea for both scenarios, for how to stop the British following the supply ship and for how to help her papa get better and stay alive. She was very clever indeed.
January 27, 2020
I guess this is analogous to the "birthday" book because Caroline is 10 now? There's still allusions to the first two books which I haven't gotten to yet, but otherwise a nice, easily self-contained story that I can follow. The bravery aspect made me think of the "Saves the Day" historical books, but from the preview the next one might be more worthy of that spot. A fishing trip turns into a chance to aid a supply ship in the first half, and in the second Caroline makes a surprising (but positive) discovery.
June 20, 2026
The structure of this book is interesting as it almost feels like two separate books/stories. I love how resourceful and clever Caroline is, even when she has to make tough decisions. This must be one of the most “action packed” AG series. Not sure if I’m a fan of all action versus the “day in the life” style of other AG series, but it certainly makes this one unique and as on the edge of your seat as one can get reading an American Girl book😂. The second half of this book and the reunion is where this one shines🩷.
March 27, 2018
This one kind of bugged me. I understand Caroline continuing on her mail delivery route despite the danger because she felt responsible for it, but taking the detour to visit the fishing spot was foolish. Obviously, there was a need for that in the plot, but I feel like it could have been managed without it being such a stupid decision. Maybe she could have gone there because she felt like it was safe?
Otherwise, though, I enjoyed the story.
Otherwise, though, I enjoyed the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 19, 2025
4.5 stars. This felt like the last book in the series. I loved everything that happened in this one. Caroline is a legit hero. She finds her Papa and nurses him back to get him home. I love this kid! The ending with both of her parents reuniting was so incredibly heartwarming. This series is great and has definitely moved up the list of my favorite AG books.
December 20, 2020
I have started to read some of the books from this series. Enjoying them. I like the short history lesson at the end of the story, and always learn something. Of course, I love the illustrations by Robert Papp.
April 23, 2026
It’s so lucky that Caroline decided to go fishing or no one would have saved Sackets Harbor. Also amazing that her wandering in the woods against her mother’s wishes resulted in her finding her long lost father just in time to save him from the brink of death.
October 24, 2017
It's always a good sign when books meant for people 10+ years younger than I am have major plot twists that I don't see coming, right?
January 8, 2018
The perfect amount of excitement, history, and emotion. Definitely the strongest in the series so far.
February 5, 2019
My favorite book of the series so far!
February 18, 2020
I did, in fact, cry.
August 4, 2021
A happy ending.
November 5, 2021
This children’s book about the War of 1812 made me cry. #onbrand
January 1, 2022
Ended the year with a happy ending!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews