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My Journal by Summer McKinny
- GenresChildrens
80 pages, Paperback
Published September 17, 2024
17 people want to read
About the author
Clare Hutton
17 books23 followersCLARE HUTTON loves moonlit nights, but has never seen a werewolf (that she knows of). She lives in Queens, New York, with her husband and their two kids.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 31, 2024
Very light, cute, and comes with a recipe for dog treats I plan to try
January 15, 2025
Read this to my 5-year-old daughter, who received Summer for Christmas.
Recognizing that I’m obviously not the target demo, this was a cute read. I grew up in Columbia with an aunt in Baltimore, just like Summer!), and it was fun to see how they incorporated local elements.
At times it did feel like the books was more about animals (Crescent, Fettuccine, etc.) than Summer, but I’m sure that will appeal to children.
Recognizing that I’m obviously not the target demo, this was a cute read. I grew up in Columbia with an aunt in Baltimore, just like Summer!), and it was fun to see how they incorporated local elements.
At times it did feel like the books was more about animals (Crescent, Fettuccine, etc.) than Summer, but I’m sure that will appeal to children.
August 6, 2025
read aloud to my little sister!
December 30, 2024
Great book for American Girl lovers and dog people! - Romy (age 8)
February 10, 2025
☀️Summer, Girl of the Year 2025
A lot of AG fans still don't like the journals, though I personally like them. I think with the last two GOTY journals, AG finally understands how best to utilize them. Like Lila's Journal, Summer's isn't a copy-paste of her main book [which I have not read yet]. Strange concept, I know that two books should have different plots [lol]. But, I digress. Anyway, I am thankful that AG released Summer's Journal instead of packaging it with the doll like Lila's and others. By the looks of Summer, I wasn't really interested in buying her doll. She is definitely targeted for a younger demographic, which is honestly fine. However, I collect and read all of the GOTY books, so I was going to read this book one way or another.
Summer's journal follows her from September to October [presumably 2025, I guess?]. When her mother goes away on a business trip, Summer's Aunt Olivia comes to stay with the family. Aunt Olivia has an adorable cat named Fettuccine, but Summer's dog Crescent isn't used to cats. Eventually, the family helps socialize the two. The secondary plot is about Summer's dog walking business. She also enters a fair for young entrepreneurs, for which she makes dog cookies. The storyline is a little basic, but that's expected of an 80 page children's book and I was still engaged nevertheless.
From the book, I feel that we get a basic idea of Summer's personality. It's definitely not enough to make me want to buy the doll, but Summer seems like a normal eleven-year-old who likes dogs and baking. Holly, Summer's sister, is the only other character we get to know besides maybe Aunt Olivia. Honestly, Holly makes me grateful that I don't have sisters [lol] though I understand her motivations. I did think that it was strange that Summer doesn't seem to have any friends. According to the cover of Summer Gets to Work, Summer does have a friend so I wonder if there's an explanation for her friendless-ness in the journal.
To conclude, I enjoyed reading Summer's journal but it doesn't have anything in particular that makes it stand out from the other GOTYs. [I might change my mind after I read her main book, but who knows?] It does have plenty adorable animals and the dog-cat thing is actually unique to her story for GOTYs. The entrepreneur part is too reminiscent of Grace's story, and I think we know who's the better GOTY of the two. I think fans of Summer and the target audience of children will like this book. I hope it inspires some young people to try their hand at entrepreneurship.
P.S. I really like Maike Plenzke's illustrations. She worked on several AG books and I think her style suits this era of AG the most. Slightly realistic, slightly animated, and very colorful.
P.S.S.: I liked noticing the things from Summer's collection. Though I'm still not a fan of most of the items, it made the collection seem more cohesive seeing it in illustrations.
A lot of AG fans still don't like the journals, though I personally like them. I think with the last two GOTY journals, AG finally understands how best to utilize them. Like Lila's Journal, Summer's isn't a copy-paste of her main book [which I have not read yet]. Strange concept, I know that two books should have different plots [lol]. But, I digress. Anyway, I am thankful that AG released Summer's Journal instead of packaging it with the doll like Lila's and others. By the looks of Summer, I wasn't really interested in buying her doll. She is definitely targeted for a younger demographic, which is honestly fine. However, I collect and read all of the GOTY books, so I was going to read this book one way or another.
Summer's journal follows her from September to October [presumably 2025, I guess?]. When her mother goes away on a business trip, Summer's Aunt Olivia comes to stay with the family. Aunt Olivia has an adorable cat named Fettuccine, but Summer's dog Crescent isn't used to cats. Eventually, the family helps socialize the two. The secondary plot is about Summer's dog walking business. She also enters a fair for young entrepreneurs, for which she makes dog cookies. The storyline is a little basic, but that's expected of an 80 page children's book and I was still engaged nevertheless.
From the book, I feel that we get a basic idea of Summer's personality. It's definitely not enough to make me want to buy the doll, but Summer seems like a normal eleven-year-old who likes dogs and baking. Holly, Summer's sister, is the only other character we get to know besides maybe Aunt Olivia. Honestly, Holly makes me grateful that I don't have sisters [lol] though I understand her motivations. I did think that it was strange that Summer doesn't seem to have any friends. According to the cover of Summer Gets to Work, Summer does have a friend so I wonder if there's an explanation for her friendless-ness in the journal.
To conclude, I enjoyed reading Summer's journal but it doesn't have anything in particular that makes it stand out from the other GOTYs. [I might change my mind after I read her main book, but who knows?] It does have plenty adorable animals and the dog-cat thing is actually unique to her story for GOTYs. The entrepreneur part is too reminiscent of Grace's story, and I think we know who's the better GOTY of the two. I think fans of Summer and the target audience of children will like this book. I hope it inspires some young people to try their hand at entrepreneurship.
P.S. I really like Maike Plenzke's illustrations. She worked on several AG books and I think her style suits this era of AG the most. Slightly realistic, slightly animated, and very colorful.
P.S.S.: I liked noticing the things from Summer's collection. Though I'm still not a fan of most of the items, it made the collection seem more cohesive seeing it in illustrations.
October 9, 2024
A perfectly fine addition to the American Girl - Girl of the Year line.
Summer Mckinny loves two things, pets and baking. And by golly, if she doesn't find a way to combine the two! And learns about starting a business to boot. Lots of illustrative matter accompanies the text, and it also features a dog treat recipe & a peek at a real life young entrepreneur.
There has been some online discourse, grumbling about another girl being into baking/cooking, as Blaire and Grace already covered that hobby. But those were 5 and 10 years ago respectively! Kids age in and out of this level of book pretty quickly, and chances are a kid today won't see those books on the shelves. To the intended demographic, this is still a fresh concept!
Summer Mckinny loves two things, pets and baking. And by golly, if she doesn't find a way to combine the two! And learns about starting a business to boot. Lots of illustrative matter accompanies the text, and it also features a dog treat recipe & a peek at a real life young entrepreneur.
There has been some online discourse, grumbling about another girl being into baking/cooking, as Blaire and Grace already covered that hobby. But those were 5 and 10 years ago respectively! Kids age in and out of this level of book pretty quickly, and chances are a kid today won't see those books on the shelves. To the intended demographic, this is still a fresh concept!
December 18, 2025
While all of the books in the AGD series I am reading are not for someone at my archaic age, this one just was eh.
While ofc all doll books/movies/ect are a means to push toy sales, this felt so blatant, each page just trying tk wrap another piece of her collection into the story which just made the story read like a catalog.
While ofc all doll books/movies/ect are a means to push toy sales, this felt so blatant, each page just trying tk wrap another piece of her collection into the story which just made the story read like a catalog.
November 8, 2025
really adorable and I loved the illustrations!
December 25, 2025
Read this book out loud to my niece to learn about her new American Girl doll ! Great story for the 2025 doll 💯
December 30, 2025
Cute read aloud with my dog loving daughter.
January 7, 2026
that's my GIRL i will not allow any summer hate!!!!!!!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews