Dolls of Our Lives: Why We Can't Quit American Girl

by Allison Horrocks, Mary Mahoney

Which American Girl are you?

Are you a Molly (a patriotic overachiever with a flair for drama)? Felicity (the original horse girl)? Kirsten (a cottagecore fan who seems immune to cholera), Samantha (a savior complex in a sailor suit), or Josefina (who dealt with grief by befriending a baby goat)? Have you ever wondered how Britney Spears or Michelle Kwan would answer that question? And why do we care so much which girl we are?

Combining history, travelogue, and memoir, Dolls of Our Lives follows Allison Horrocks and Mary Mahoney on an unforgettable journey to the past as they delve into the origins of this iconic brand. Continuing the conversations that began on their podcast, they set out to answer the lingering questions that keep them up at night. What did American Girl inventor Pleasant Rowland hope to say to children with these dolls? Was girl power something that could be ordered from a catalogue, described by a magazine, or modeled in the plot lines of books? And how - and why - did this brand shape an entire generation?

Through interviews with a legion of devoted doll lovers, a field trip to Colonial Williamsburg, a place that inspired Pleasant to create American Girl, and an exploration of their own (complicated) fandom, this is a deep dive into one of the 90s most coveted products - the American Girl doll.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, History, Pop Culture, Memoir, Feminism, Adult

251 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 7, 2023

Reviews

[Mai H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The amount of nostalgia this just gave me is insane. As a millennial that grew up in the height of these dolls' popularity, especially the Original Six, my favorite was always Samantha. We have almost nothing in common. She's white, orphaned, and very much upper middle class. I always thought it was strange she called her grandma Grandmary, but have since heard other odd names that white people call their grandparents. I don't get it.

The stories behind the dolls are often problematic, especially looking back. Felicity wants to free her horse, but not slaves. We pride Kirsten on being an immigrant, and probably have a lot more sympathy for her than Josefina. I was going to say racism aside, but racism isn't an aside. It's the main topic. If you allow me to segue, this is why white Americans will feel sympathy for Ukraine, but not Palestine.

I wasn't allowed a doll growing up, but I owned nearly all of the books for the Original Six. I always wondered by, until one of my siblings told me our mom didn't buy them for us, because the company behind American Girl donated to a pro-abortion group. My parents have very different politics than me and my siblings. It's a topic of contention between us.

But more than all of that, these dolls, and stories, really got us to think. Sure, there were things they could've done better, but during a time when Barbies were all the rage, it was nice to have something realistic to look at that wasn't obsessed with men.

🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fine…I feel really guilty that I didn’t enjoy it more and, in fact, was impatient for it to be over. I was so excited to read this and purchased it immediately, but am embarrassed to admit that I found it dull and had trouble maintaining my attention.


The book is a true hodgepodge of history and (fairly superficial or obvious?) analysis of the American Girl dolls, books, products, and brand; how they were in some ways groundbreaking and influential but still limited by being products of the time in which they were created; and what they have meant in the lives of their consumers and fandom, which of course includes the authors.


I kept getting distracted and Googling essentially unrelated things - like buying haunted dolls online and what Baby Spice is up to now? I also did not love the Audible narration, which is interesting given that the authors host a podcast on which this book is based.


Someone please explain to me why books generated from popular podcasts are so often disappointing, whether you listen to the podcast first or not? - I’m not smart enough to figure this out! I do really, really love myself a good podcast, and am a dedicated fan and follower of many diverse ones, but my amateur hypothesis is maybe that there’s a time and a place for the podcast as its own unique format and what’s engaging for an hour while doing laundry or putting on makeup or driving to work in traffic doesn’t necessarily hold up cohesively for hours on end, or hang together as a book??


Other features of podcasts that don’t seem to translate well to the book format (including this one) might be an over-focus on the hosts’ autobiographies and relationship (which I would be totally down for with some hosts!! - just not necessarily all of them), and an excess of asides, casual commentary, and misc. pop culture references? And maybe it’s also partly a problem of tone? I’m not quite sure, but this is a consistent issue I’ve noted and I’m befuddled and I really want to know!

[Olive Fellows (abookolive) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite what I was expecting, but still an enjoyable deep dive into the history and cultural impact of American Girl dolls.

[Emma Griffioen]

I've been waiting for 6 months to get this on Libby, and it's finally here! Despite being Canadian, I was an American Girl girl growing up, and whenever my mom and I are in the States we visit the AG store🥹🤍 I am super curious to see the approach the authors take in this book!

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this! The topic was fun and the research was solid but I don’t know why they tried so hard to be funny. “Paraphrasing” pop songs and restaurant slogans (???) was an odd, jarring choice to make so many times in the middle of sections that required actual research or an interview with someone. The made up hashtags (so many hashtags) were distracting, unnecessary and instantly dated the book.

I cringed through so many pages I wished I could have written into American Girl Magazine and asked how to deal with second hand embarrassment.

Yes, it should be a fun, somewhat lighthearted book given the subject matter but boy did that element seem forced. To be clear, there is nothing cringey about their love of the dolls and their work around that but how they presented it.

As an aside, I was puzzled and disturbed by a casual reference to throwing a JonBenét Ramsey themed birthday party. Why that is a party someone would throw much less admit to in print is truly beyond me. For a book that seemed to pride itself on being inclusive and holding stories, dolls and history accountable, including that you threw a child murder victim themed party was surprising and grotesque.

I did receive an arc from the publisher but that did not have any influence on my review.

[Sadie Zabawa · Rating 3 out of 5]

i learned some fun history but could have used like 75% fewer song lyric and astrology references lol

[Panda Urban · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can’t overstate how disappointing this book was. For the amount of times the authors state that they have history PhDs, I’d expect a more thoughtful and scholarly work. However, the book was primarily personal reflections *heavily* seasoned with pop culture references and sensationalized posturing. A summary of this book:

Ch 1: “We’re Quirky Girls!”
Ch 2: “No really, we are Quirky Girls!”
Ch 3: “Seriously, we are SO Quirky! Also, because we’re trying to awkwardly span millennial social awareness while passing this off as an academic work, here are criticisms we feel we have to include in order to seem like We Get It.”
Etc.

Imagine criticizing a company a woman single-handedly started with her own ingenuity for releasing a black doll that can be *bought*. What? They hired a whole formal panel of black scholars, academics, museum curators and writers to construct Addy’s story, outfits, and accessories with both historical accuracy and cultural truth. Pleasant didn’t try to tell the story herself- she understood her own limitations and respected the voices of those whose personal stories would be detailed. I see a legitimate criticism in AG not releasing another black doll that had no history of personally having been enslaved for over 20 years after Addy’s release. The waters are muddied though, when a thoughtful critique like that becomes one of dozens and dozens of nitpicking issues the authors bring up.

I detailed it in another note but the JonBenet party mentioned is so incredibly unself-aware that after I read about their pride in having thrown such a Creative Bash (TM), the rest of the authors’ critiques of AG couldn’t hold much weight for me. Their self-examination seems to need work.

Lastly, where the heck was Kaya? I understand primarily limiting the scope of the books to the original 6, but Caroline, Nanea, Melody, and Rebecca are mentioned too (among others)- why the heck was Kaya left out?

I loved the nostalgia in some of the descriptions and there were some funny moments, and I enjoyed reading about Pleasant herself. I was so put off by the tone of the whole book and the implications of the JonBenet party that this is definitely a one-star.

[Alley Kolstad · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Stefan's Voice* This book has everything: dolls, Pleasant Rowland, 90's nostalgia, magazines, holding companies accountable for their problematic decisions, girl power.

I typically listen to audiobooks at 1.15x or 1.2x without issue, but because Mary and Allison are regularly in my ears at their normal speed that wasn't possible.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Please don’t lecture me about the fraudulence of capitalism while selling me a book about $115 dolls.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for a fun, nostalgic look at American Girl, not a laundry list of all the ways in which AG was/is problematic. Disappointing.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Those who follow my reviews cannot help but have noticed that I’ve spent much of the last three or four years deep in a marathon of American Girl books – historical fiction for 7-12 year-olds. And I’ve been pretty open about the fact that the Dolls of Our Lives (nee the American Girls Podcast) jumpstarted all of that.
 
So when I tell you that I enjoyed the new book by these same podcasters, I assume exactly no one is going to be surprised.
 
The book both is and is not exactly like the podcast. “Is not” because the format and content are different. (Any attempt to put their book-by-book discussions on paper would be a whole lot longer than this volume.) “Is” because the voice of the book is unmistakably them. I have hunches about which parts were drafted by Mary and which by Allison, but it truly doesn’t matter. It sounds like my podcast friends, and that’s lovely. (I’m sure the audiobook, which they read, is even more so.)

Instead of exploring the American Girl stories and characters (book by book) as they do in the podcast, here Mary and Allison delve into the origins of the brand, ponder what Pleasant & Co. expected to come from their creations, and explore what has actually come from it as the AG audience has grown up. How has it impacted our lives, choices, worldviews; how are some of use choosing to re-engage (or continue to engage) as fans; how has our perspective on these characters changed from the vantage point of adulthood; how has our adult understanding of the brand as a capitalist enterprise affected any of the above. The further in you go, the more you realize how rich and varied and personal it can be.

Would this book work for readers who don’t know the podcast? Honestly, I’m in too deep, I’m not sure — but I think so. The authors do their utter best to thread the needle between explaining enough for readers who don’t remember American Girl in great detail without boring the readers inclined to quibble over details (hi). Definitely this is not an academic text — this is very readable. Perhaps a more meaningful gauge is whether the would-be reader can grok the constant ‘90s pop culture references. As long as that’s your jam, then likely you’ll find this pretty sweet.

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but it ended up being too millennial-nostalgia Tripp for me. And this might just be me, but I would never throw a birthday party themed around the horrific murder of a young child (let alone publish that fact for the world to see). Especially when I'm writing a book about children's toys. But again, maybe that's just me...

I thought the book had some interesting thoughts, but they would jump topics too fast. I kept wanting them to stay on one thing, but we would already be in a new place by then. Furthermore, I thought the book contained too many "haha look at my jokes", without containing as much analysis that I was looking for.

I think the book felt like a summary of different podcast episodes, and I wanted something I could read without having to listen to the podcast. It felt like it translated formats poorly.

Finally, as with all AG things: there was not enough Kaya. Am I biased? Yes. However, as a doll I think that she is incredibly important to the brands history. I think that limiting themselves to the first 6 dolls, limited the book as a whole. There were several times I was reading where I thought that a discussion involving Kaya would have been a perfect fit.

Maybe the book wasn't for me, since I'm not a millennial, but as someone who grew up with AG, I was let down.

[L. · Rating 2 out of 5]

To start off this review - I do not listen to this podcast, nor do I normally write reviews. I saw this book on the American Girl subreddit and thought it would be a neat way to learn more about the history of the company and how the brand has shaped their now adult fans lives. While this book did contain what initially made me excited to read it, it ultimately fell flat for me and I was just waiting for it to end. I did thoroughly enjoy learning about Pleasant Rowland and her Colonial Williamsburg inspiration for brand. I have been an AG fan for at least 20 years, so this book was aimed at an audience that experienced the AG brand a little before my time. I did enjoy the section on the magazine, as I have fond memories of reading it as a kid. Reading about Kirsten's raccoon/house burning/dead body finding antics was also pretty funny since I've never read her books. I also do have a history education, not a PhD, but I still have had many of the conversations the authors have in the book with my peers and know people working in the museum space.

There are a lot of issues with this book for me. First, the Saves the Day section seemed clunky and like it was trying to make a point that it never really go to. I think the authors kind of forget that the dolls are sometimes just that - dolls. The kids in the stories don't have to solve problems or dissect issues that kids probably wouldn't in real life. They don't have to (and shouldn't have to) deal with a lot of things that grownups have to. I would have loved to read more from the interview they alluded to from the show about what Americans actually would have known about the holocaust at the time it was happening. But the next sentence went to another topic, so that was disappointing. There's also a lot of references to the Spice Girls and other 90s pop culture which was distracting. So many "as so and so would say" or "to quote". Like we get it, you understand pop culture references and like to make them. It was too much lol.

Also name dropping JonBenet Ramsey in the party planning section was honestly...weird? Like, I get it was a joke, but saying that two 30-somethings had a birthday party themed on a murdered child was...uncomfortable and really off putting. If you're going to mention her in the American Girl Doll Book just to be quirky and unique - at LEAST mention the fact that she had TWO American Girl dolls - Samantha and Kirsten. The Samantha books made her cry because she was so touched by Samantha sharing her doll - she was a real little girl and shouldn't be a punch line, especially in a book about something she loved and participated in like the authors did.

[Brandice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dolls of Our Lives has elements of history, observation, and fandom, as authors Mary Mahoney and Allison Horrocks dive into the creation of the iconic American Girl brand.

Mary and Allison describe Pleasant Rowland and The Pleasant Company, makers of AG dolls and later, the expanded AG brand. Their research includes a visit to Colonial Williamsburg. This book has slight memoir vibes too, as the authors share some of their own experience growing up as avid AG doll fans. The book primarily focuses on the 6 original AG dolls: Felicity, Kirsten, Josefina, Addy, Samantha, and Molly, though there is also information about how the company has grown, was later sold to Mattel, and has expanded its product offerings.

“The only thing better than owning something from American Girl was dreaming about buying something from the American Girl catalogue.”

This sentiment ^ is absolutely spot on/ true for me! I had a Felicity doll growing up and read all the original AG books. My Christmas and birthday wishlists were frequently filled with AG theme requests for several years and it was truly something I loved growing up! The details of the books are mostly hazy now, but I have fond memories of AG being part of my childhood and I enjoyed the nostalgia this book offers.

Dolls of Our Lives isn’t long, and while my memories of AG growing up were only positive, I think readers who “can’t quit American Girl” and/or are existing fans of the authors’ podcast by the same name will enjoy this book more than me.

[laurel [the suspected bibliophile] · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a childhood fan of American Girl, I had high hopes for this one.

Alas, it was not meant to be, although similar to what my high school teachers told me, it had great potential.

Between the annoying writing style and disjointed organization, this was a long, rambling and disconnected look at two women who really love American Girl and want to share their love of community and success of their podcast.

While I learned about the company, it was less insightful than I anticipated. Overview topics, and so rambling that I was practically screaming for it to get to A Point, already.

What I had hoped for was more of an in context at the time of the 90s when AG hit a high point—particularly with what children and tween publishing looked like then and why AG was so different and hard hitting. The book doesn't really cover this aspect at all, even though the market for white tween girl books was at an all-time high in the late 80s and throughout the 90s (I highly recommend the excellent Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of '80s and '90s Teen Fiction). Although the book has a "Peek into the Past" section that provides a lot of pop culture context, it comes far too late (the very end) and didn't overwrite how memoir-heavy this book was (it could have benefited from a lot more editing, imo).

Anywho, all this to say: not for me.

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think I am the target audience for this book as I am the mother of a daughter who read these books, had the American Dolls, and loved all things American Girl; including going to the American Girl store.

The book was well-researched having talked to Pleasant Rowland, creator of the American Dolls and books company, Pleasant Company, taken a trip to Old Williamsburg that inspired the creator, and covered every aspect of the dolls, books, magazines, and every part of this beloved doll company.

For me, it felt like a "woke" analysis of the books not having "properly" covered the correct history and include enough to cover all aspects of the doll world to match all aspects of our country today. Trying to force today's political beliefs on what was once dolls created to give girls a look into American history for ages 5-9, just seems to take away from the original intent. I quickly grew weary of the comparison's to 1990's music, TV, movies, and Monica Lewinsky. To me, it felt like they were pushing their Democrat Socialist (as they declared themselves in the book) agenda as activists trying to influence young girls today. I did not feel the warm fuzzies I had hoped for reading this book.

My thanks to Net Galley, Feiwel & Friends, and Macmillian Audio for an advanced copy of this e-book and audiobook, narrated by the authors.

[Melissa Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

too much kirsten slander

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 2 out of 5]

As someone who grew up loving American Girl, I thought this would be just my thing, but it was a disappointment. I just don't think the same things stand out for me and the authors. Case in point, the "Peek into Our Past" section at the end, where they explore childhood in the 1990s, trying to imitate the "Peek into the Past" sections after the historical books. AG authors intentionally widened the narrow scope of the book by taking a few historical topics confronted in the novels and explaining them on a broader scale. Where the novels presented slices of history through the eyes of a child, the "Peek into the Past" showed what that history looked like across society. Mahoney's and Horrocks's "Peek into Our Past" centered on their own experiences and reference points, which was covered in the previous two hundred pages. I Just...I don't know. For me, the experience of engaging with the AG brand was broadening, learning about things for the first time, and increasing the scope of my imagination.

I liked the pictures in the middle, drawn from the authors' childhoods and elsewhere. There's plenty of humor and I liked learning about the world of adult AG fans who make an art form out of enjoying dolls. It also inspired me to have a lengthy daydream session about new lines of Asian-American historical characters. (Mitali Perkins should write the Bengali-American one!)

[Lauren D'Souza · Rating 2 out of 5]

I truly hate to say that I was quite disappointed by this book. I have just as much American Girl nostalgia as the next gal, but that nostalgia was not enough to get me to read and enjoy a book that feels like a superficial, hodgepodge collection of tidbits about the dolls and The Pleasant Company. The writing was very millennial cringe, filled with so many unnecessary hashtags and random paraphrased song references. I truly felt like I was forcing myself to finish and hoping it would get better, but it was just the same content over and over. I honestly couldn’t tell you if I learned anything new from this book. Such a bummer - this was one of my most anticipated nonfiction reads for this year! Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via NetGalley.

[Emmie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too agenda driven. 🙃

[Rebecca Brenner Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

a book that builds off the famous Dolls of our Lives podcast by two historians, Allison Horrocks & Mary Mahoney. the podcast takes American Girl dolls seriously, analyzing their character arcs & reception with sophistication, nuance, & enthusiasm. the book does the same thing. it’s full of history, exploration, and personal anecdotes & reflection. their book launch has reached sources as elite as The New Yorker & NPR and platforms as niche as the feminist millennial Be There In Five podcast. empathetic, passionate, & smart, DOLLS OF OUR LIVES is where it’s at

[Jules | Friday Night Readers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dolls of Our Lives feels like a stroll down memory lane, tapping deep into the nostalgia of the early days of the Pleasant Valley Company and the American Girl dolls and books. Readers get the company's history, fan stories, and oodles of pop culture references. As an elder millennial, it felt like reminiscing with two friends.

[Sabrina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started liking American Girl when I first discovered their online games. Then came the infamous catalogue, the glorious magazine, and later my own Ruthie with her play outfit perfectly tucked away in its red American girl box. I was also a massive animated Barbie movie fan and a self identified ‘Yasmin’, to use the book's language. Picking this up I had expected to connect with these two authors and become fast friends via their deep-dive/memoir.


So, where do we begin?


The Millennial Curse

This book attempts to capture its audience with familiar language and silly uses of memes and other jokes that would've been popular on LiveJournal back in 2004. None of them land. In fact, whatever plane these two were attempting to land veered off the tarmac and went straight into the ocean. The random quotes from the likes of Cher and Biggie are not funny. The use of hashtags do not inspire joy. It's annoying. They try to emulate a sense of timeless humor and end up sounding like two women in Starbucks clinging desperately to their chevron print tunics and messy top buns. They need you to know they were alive in the 90s. What else could they base their entire personalities off of?


It kills any means of connection to the authors if you're born after them. Hell, I can't imagine the millennials I know enjoying a lick of this humor. By the midway point, you're so used to skipping random paragraphs that meander into unrelated anecdotes that all you can do is sigh and hope you still have a few tablets of Excedrin left in your medicine cabinet. 


Nevermind the use of parentheses (Nothing they say in these brackets ever matters), which hits overkill before you reach the middle of the book (I mean seriously, if it's so important, then take it out of the parenthesis and tell me). Towards the end I would skip every bracketed phrase with an absolute quickness and lose nothing of value. A waste of time and several trees.


The Addy Problem and Other Woes

This book concerns itself with Addy quite a bit. Not in a ‘let's dedicate an entire part of the book discussing the genuine successes and failures of American Girl's POC dolls’ but more in an ‘we'll talk about it when we feel like it’ way. Every time they discuss Addy it's to twiddle their thumbs and express the most surface level comment regarding race and expect to be applauded for it. ‘Enslaved people didn't have birthdays,’ I know that. ‘Weird that the only black doll concerns the most violent part of black history,’ Yes, black people, fans or not, have talked about this already. Also, Addy is not the only black AG Historical girl doll and it takes far longer for the authors to bring up Claudie. Also, Cecile is completely ignored despite being released in 2011. ‘Did you know about that study they did with little black girls and white girls when they-’ Yes I know! Most of us learned about the Kenneth and Mamie Clark ‘Doll Test’ from Tumblr or Gender Studies 101. Catch up.


Or, one of my favorites: “To be clear, there is nothing in the catalogue about blackness or the origins of an event such as Chinese New Year,” (Page 109). 


Genuinely, what do you mean by blackness in this sentence? Do you mean cultural specificities of black American culture? Do you mean black American black pop culture? Do you mean anything that relates to blackness at all? Specify! Tell me! Or are you so frightened by your whiteness that you can't configure a meaningful conversation about race? Neither of them offer a conclusion to this section, opting to state that the catalogue and magazines simply didn't do enough. Show me what these materials should have done. That would've been interesting! 


Also, to be completely annoying: *Lunar New Year. I thought we were committed to progressiveness?


Barbie Lives Rent Free in Your Heads, Huh?

One of my major gripes was the random mentions of Barbie and her inability to be the ‘perfect’ role model for children. It's not a secret that Pleasant Rowland didn't think Barbie was a proper toy for young girls and part of that was the reason for American Girl's conception. That may be well and good for her, but no longer is unadulterated Barbie slander tolerated. In fact, it illustrates a lack of understanding of Barbie’s success in the first place.


Now, this isn't a book about Barbie. Completely understand that. However:


“...the Chicago Tribune devolved into language more reminiscent of the world of Barbie than the empowered, desexed world of American Girl,” (Page 122). 


So, tell me if I'm right. Barbie is not an empowered figure and American Girl, the one you so easily critique for its inability to factor girls of color, boys/queer kids, and accessibility into their brand is. Barbie, who teaches young children that any career, teaching all the way up to being the president, is completely possible. Barbie, which features the first black Barbie in 1967. Barbie who, in the 2020's is now more conservative than ever, is a bad role model? 


A better book would have discussed this weirdo useless war between a fashion doll and these educational dolls. How they each carry flaws but fundamentally offer good for the children they are presented to. You do nothing for the brand you love by tearing another one down. Especially not Barbie. Maybe the Barbie movie was made specifically for some people to get this point.


Overall:

This book is not concerned with diving deep into anything. It's simple, one note, tidbits and facts that everyone born after 2000 definitely learned online. Nothing is interesting. Nothing is truly investigated or picked apart. It reads like a baby's first YouTube video and it is painful. If they try to discuss anything regarding the social justice they claim to care about, they give it two pages and forgo any further research or true depth in favor of their three favorite dolls. 


If you want to learn about the brand after the 90’s, look elsewhere. If you want to learn more about American Girl at a depth that is more than ankle deep, look elsewhere. If you want to make good use of your already limited reading time, look elsewhere.


That being said, I can offer this for those who still want something to fill the AG hole in their adult hearts but are unwilling to have this book beaten over their heads: actual fun and interesting YouTube videos. I offer two here that are well researched and engaging. One is over an hour long! 


Darling Dollz: The Complicated Legacy of Addy Walker

sarahserif: the evolution of american girl dolls

[Hannah Showalter · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/maybe four??? mixed feelings about this-on the one hand, it's the perfect book for me! i had fun reading it generally; the way it was structured was just off to me?? the chapters could have been much shorter, and i wish the distinction between the memoir portions vs the history portions vs the listener stories portions would have been clearer.

all in all though, this made me feel SO nostaligic. reminded of how much fun i had with american girl as a kid, and how much these books and dolls truly shaped who i am as a person today. loved that one of the author was also queer and talked about how american girl specifically impacted her queerness as a kid and what being a girl meant to her!!

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

not the only reason i'm giving this one star (despite my ongoing love for my samantha and kailey dolls!!), but at one point the authors say that they "recreated our own interpretation of 2 fast 2 furious, flipping through pages with the recklessness of vin diesel behind the wheel," and for people who talk about their phds throughout the book i can not justify this lack of basic research. 2 fast 2 furious was a paul walker vehicle (hehe), introducing new members of the fast family, roman and tej. it is the ONLY fast and furious film vin diesel is not in. they could have chosen any other movie in the franchise to reference.

[Jenna Elizabeth ×͜× · Rating 4 out of 5]

First I’d like to say that just like the authors I considered myself a Molly growing up! This book was a great read for me connecting my love of reading, history and how that started with my personal journey with American Girl as an Older Gen Z. I’ve been a big American Girl fan since I was about 6 or 7 and we got the American Girl catalog in the mail for the first time. I got to read the historical girls books way before I ever got my doll. The day I finally got an AG doll for my 10th birthday (Nicki The Girl of the Year 2007) was one of the best birthdays I had as a child, especially also getting to read the book that went with my doll! The cultural significance American Girl has had on girls growing up in the US is massive. I really enjoyed this book and I definitely want to check out their podcast. If you really liked American Girl growing up, you should check this book out!

[Carin · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I never had an American Girl doll. I was a tad bit too old (plus they were expensive!) I do vividly remember seeing them in some catalog when they first came out and being super intrigued. I have though been to the store a couple of times with a friend’s daughters. And still, I enjoyed the heck out of it.

It was fascinating to learn about the history of the company and of Pleasant Rowland and her goal for the company and the dolls. I do love history and like other Gen Xers was recently horrified to discover American Girl was putting out a 90s doll, as it turns out my teenage years are now “historical.” The authors are fun and irreverent but not disrespectful and they do call the company to task for past choices that wouldn’t be made today. I appreciate so much how Ms. Rowland was trying to engage kids better in teaching them history and making it fun so they would want to learn. Personally, I super enjoyed the meld of history (both of US history and history of the company and the dolls) with memoir as both authors repeatedly talk about their own dolls and their past experiences with them. That might not work for everyone but mashing up two of my favorite genres was delightful to me. If you had an American Girl doll, you might want to check this one out.

This book is published by Feiwel & Friends, a division of Macmillan, my employer, so I got it free from work.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deeply nostalgic, Mahoney and Horrocks chat all things AG, life in the 90s, and friendship, while providing a thoughtful critique on the brand - selective history, lack of representation, financially inaccessible - and its efforts to evolve. Dolls of Our Lives is a joyous celebration of childhood and girlhood and reflection on how moments of imagination and play in childhood have shaped who we are as adults. Mahoney and Harrocks speak to how the brand taught us about friendship, to dive further into history, to cultivate empathy, that children could make noteworthy impacts in their communities, while expanding our imaginations and encouraging us that bravery comes in all shape and sizes.

I’ll never forget the Christmas morning when I was gifted my American Girl doll - the American Girl of Today in the Red Vinyl Jumper Outfit. AG, the dolls and books, is where my love of history and research originated. These younger years of gobbling up books about girls my age in the past, ignited a spark and desire to get involved in social issues and led to adult me to getting a degrees in history political science. I remember getting together with friends and their dolls to chat about the books, go on adventures in our backyards and neighborhoods, and sew new fashions for our dolls.

I loved the book in its entirety, but my favorite sections were those on the brand’s development and the thoughtful critiques from Mahoney and Horrocks on how Pleasant’s vision for the brand, as well as the curation of history for each doll, preserved a limited view of history and was exclusionary and harmful in its attempts to make more inclusive and diverse characters. The brand’s drive to instill and preserve American patriotism ultimately led to presenting a whitewashed version of history and creating a selective historical fantasy. While the creation of these dolls and their stories are not at their roots bad, the focus on this selective fantasy and storytelling that comforts a white audience is flawed. I very much appreciated how Mahoney and Horrocks didn’t gloss over this and even provided moments for reflection and calls to action near the end of the book.

From beginning to end, this deep dive on all things American Girl and the children, now adults, who loved and were shaped by these stories of bravery, friendship, and kindness, was absolutely brilliant and such a delight to read. If you had an AG doll, wore butterfly clips in your hair, died of dysentery while playing the Oregon Trail, or believed your beanie baby collection would yield millions, this book is for YOU.

[Madi Shiba · Rating 4 out of 5]

SUPER niche but so fun for those who grew up very invested in everything American Girl! (me)

[anya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book. I adore the podcast, but this book brings over all the worst elements of the podcast (tiresome pop culture references, millennial-cringe, endless nostalgia bait) and almost none of the good parts.

Mary and Allison really can’t decide what they want this book to be. At times it seems like a history of the brand, other times it’s a look into the adult AG fandom. Sometimes it’s reflective on growing up with AG in the 90s and a look into girlhood. It never lingers on any of these topics long enough to leave an impact. I found Mary’s sections to be particularly difficult to get through. She’s very dismissive of the toy element of the brand, as the dolls don’t really interest her, but also refuses to take the content of the AG books seriously. The actual context of the historical books is only briefly discussed, despite that being Mary’s main stake in the brand.

They also seem to bring up the problematic elements of the brand (Felicity’s family owning slaves for example) without actually grappling with what that means for the brand and it likely affected girls who grew up with the brand. These elements are seemingly only brought up because they have to be pointed out. (Also, unrelated, but at one point they passively mention throwing a Jonbenet Ramsay themed party!!?!? In what world is that in anyway okay?!?)

I found the book to be best when it dealt with the experience of girlhood growing up with AG. The best moment in the book, for me, was Allison detailing a trip to the library to check out a Julie doll. The anecdote about the tween girls trying to decide if they’re too old for dolls is extremely sweet. In general, I think Allison has a lot more respect for the role that toys play in children’s and adults lives, and I really enjoyed the sections from her perspective about that. (Though I am a doll collector so take that with a grain of salt).

A few last nitpicks: I wish the photos had been spread out across the book, to sections where they were relevant. I also wish they had citations?!! Where are their sources?!?