An American Girl: How a Billion-Dollar Doll and Its Unlikely Founder Changed Girlhood Forever

by Amanda FitzSimons

A deeply researched, invigorating love letter to the beloved brand, its unforgettable female founder, and her then radical, now iconic line of eighteen-inch dolls that surprised and transfixed a nation.

Are you a Samantha? A Felicity? An Addy? Dive into the world of American Girl, the franchise that has captivated the world for generations.

For four decades and counting, American Girl has been a defining force in the lives of young girls, shaping their understanding of history, identity, and girlhood itself. But the story of its creation—and the visionary woman behind it—has never been fully told...until now. An American Girl is the fascinating story of Pleasant Rowland, the trailblazing founder who disrupted the toy industry with her line of dolls defined by their high-quality craftsmanship and rich, educational backstories—and how those dolls shaped girlhood for an entire generation.

Author Amanda FitzSimons takes readers inside Rowland’s meticulous, and at times obsessive, creative process and the complex, often-conflicted legacy of her creation. The book explores how American Girl became a cultural touchstone, navigating the crosscurrents of third-wave feminism, the rise of consumer culture, and contentious debates over historical accuracy and representation. It dissects the brand’s complicated relationship with race, class, and diversity, from the groundbreaking introduction of Addy Walker to the critiques of its aspirational price point.

An American Girl is a compelling, eminently readable love letter to the entrepreneurial genius of a brand that has maintained its grasp on public consciousness for decades. It is an essential read for anyone who has ever loved a doll, or who wants to understand the powerful, and often surprising, ways in which toys shape our world.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, American History, Business, Pop Culture

Kindle Edition

Expected publication October 13, 2026

Reviews

[Mai H.]

Non-fiction November TBR

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books

[Jessica Milliner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading American Girl books when I was little. I’ve never had the dolls. This book shows so much about the history of The American Girl. Inside it explains so much including books, dolls, magazines, and catalogs. It’s a pretty good read.

[Abigail Franklin · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC review—

Well-researched, well-constructed, and fascinating. This book is for anyone who ever loved an American Girl doll in the past & loves saying “oh! did you know?” in the present.

[Rebecca Brenner Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

the kind of book that makes my days better by carrying it around with me. AN AMERICAN GIRL by Amanda FitzSimons is engagingly written, well researched, at times laugh-out-loud funny, and overall a model for this kind of book. full of millennial nostalgia, too!

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

"An American Girl: How a Billion-Dollar Doll and Its Unlikely Founder Changed Girlhood Forever" caught my eye at NetGalley. No wonder: all three of my girls got one of the dolls from Grandma, and each took the long-anticipated trip to American Girl Place in Chicago. Those days are wonderful memories for me, as are the memories of the girls playing so raptly with their dolls. As they got older, each saved her own money to buy one more American Girl doll to befriend the first. I made clothes for the dolls. Mom made clothes for the dolls. Ah, the halcyon days of youth! When I saw this book described as a "deeply researched, invigorating love letter to the beloved brand," I signed up to review it right away. What fun this would be!

Author Amanda Fitzsimons digs in, and we learn that American Girl began in 1986. They were unique in that they were sold via mail order only, not in stores. They quickly became the country's second-most popular doll--behind Barbie. The company was created out by Pleasant Rowland, a formidable woman and former educator who wanted a line of dolls that could teach girls (hence the book series that accompanied each doll). Rowland loved colonial Williamsburg and wondered if there was a way her line of dolls "could bring history alive for girls, the way Williamsburg had for me?"

The company originally sold just three dolls: Samantha, Kirsten, and Molly.

It was fun to travel back to the '90s and early 2000s, a time when my girls were little. I remembered many of the things discussed--the dominance of Toys R Us (our local store closed years ago), the appearance of AG competitors like Magic Attic dolls (we had one of those too), the prominence of malls and "experiential retail" stores like Build-A-Bear. FitzSimons even mentions Disney stores and suggests that they likely popped up in part to compete with American Girl retail stores (after a few years, AG did open its own stores rather than remain solely mail-order). She shares that in the early nineties, doll collecting had become the second most popular hobby in the US, after stamp collecting.

I found Pleasant Rowland's insistence on attention to detail interesting. For instance, each Samantha doll sold with accessories included an actual 1904 Indian Head penny. One company employee was tasked with finding and buying thousands of these pennies. Eventually, the supply dwindled and the price went up. He had to come up with an acceptable replica (but not too close, since that was against counterfeit law). In those early years of the company, if a shipment of backordered dolls arrived with just enough time to reach a customer's home by Christmas morning, a member of the AG staff would personally drive to the Madison WI airport with the doll and BUY IT A SEAT ON THE PLANE. At the destination, someone else would deliver the doll to the girl's home. Talk about service! "Am I finicky? Yes. My name is on the company," Rowland once said. Her initials were PTR, which she jokingly stood for "prepare to redo."

It quickly becomes clear though that Rowland is not going to be portrayed in a positive way in this book. FitzSimons begins with some sympathetic overtures; there's not a lot of information out there about Rowland partly because of "sexism," she writes. Although "politically, she was a Democrat," FitzSimons can't get over some of Rowland's beliefs. "'I am opposed to the portions of feminism that deemphasize the basic femininity of women. The feminist movement defeats itself when it pounds the table and puts on army boots.' That wasn't a terribly strange view back then," FitzSimons writes--I mean, wow, what a "terribly strange view" it would be today, huh?! An employee at the time explains that the AG brand wasn't about feminism, but rather about "slumber parties and doing crafts and reading interesting stories." As a parent, that's pretty much what I loved about it. FitzSimons shares that Rowland "never missed an opportunity to toot her own horn" (heaven forbid that a WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR would do that, right?).

FitzSimons is also not a fan of Williamsburg--a place that I'd never heard negative things about. "The historical reenactment village, with its powdered wig-wearing character interpreters dressed in their George Washington Breeches-and-stockings finest, isn't for everyone, obviously." Well, why not?

And throughout the book, more and more as I read along, I was alarmed at all the criticism of the AG brand. I mean, wasn't this billed as "love letter"?

* The dolls' "appallingly archless feet were almost a middle finger to Barbie's stiletto-ready tootsies"

* FitzSimons bemoans the dolls' "all white, all Christian" identities, in 1986

* AG dolls had a "trademark toothy smirk-smile"

* The catalog description for Samantha's Tea Tin Lunchbox contains "fat phobic gender-regulation" (not even sure what that is?)

* "What did it say about American Girl that its most popular doll was the really, really rich one?"

* Calling Hispanic AG doll Josefina an "American girl" "betrayed a colonialist bias, since New Mexico wasn't part of the United States during Josefina's time."

FitzSimons' "voice" in this book is decidedly snarky: she refers to "half-assed bows" employees would put on gift packages, "the crap you see on toy store shelves today," "silk ribbon rosebuds that could blow any Coachella basic b*#&$^ out of the water," and refers to "the cheerleader for selfishness himself, Ronald Reagan."

In the final third or so of the book, the author (who I assume is young-ish; she says she had an AG doll in her youth) lets her stereotypically-white-college-educated-female-liberalism run free, often with strange musings. She suggests that colonial doll Felicity "has become something of a lesbian icon among the extremely online set." She frequently quotes comments from online places like Reddit, not much of a scholarly resource. She bemoans the fact that studies have shown that young black girls, given the choice, often choose a blonde, blue-eyed doll over a black one. And she is all over AG for waiting so long to introduce a black doll, Addy. When they do, though, she is very critical of the fact that Addy is an escaped slave. Okay then. We hear about American Girl's "particularly complicated relationship to Asian dolls." If all this isn't enough, FitzSimons shares, "Emboldened by President Trump, the ever more powerful hard right is demanding that women return to their 'proper' roles as wives and mothers--one faction even floated the breath-taking idea of taking away our vote." Okay then, Amanda--catch your breath. Want me to share some ideas "one faction" of left wingers have floated? And how exactly does this tie into a "love story" about the American Girl brand?

It's common for books on NetGalley to be not quite ready for primetime--ie, having some errors. But I'm hoping this one gets a major editorial cleanup before its October 13 debut. There were numerous almost-exact-sentence repetitions and typos. Much as the author claims that AG has errors, this book itself follows suit (she mentions, critically, the dolls all having bangs before saying that bangs "didn't really take off until the flappers wore them in the Twenties." Ummmm, I beg to differ; I specifically remember Laura in "Little Town on the Prairie" mentioning all the popular girls having bangs in the 1880s. FitzSimons points out that ex-slave doll Addy's 1864 Christmas dress is black, red, and green, "the colors of Kwanzaa"--not sure of the point she's making here, since Kwanzaa didn't begin until 1966. These issues should be addressed in the final version of the book, especially since FitzSimons is so critical of the AG brand for similar inaccuracies (for instance, pointing out that Samantha is billed as "a bright Victorian beauty," but mentioning that 1904 is technically the Edwardian era).

So. I began reading this with very high hopes. I ended having learned some things, but mainly feeling (and I know this is wrong) rather annoyed by and superior to the author. Would you enjoy this book?

[Sage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks for the review copy! A nostalgic walk down memory lane. At 32, I am part of the American Girl generation, and I remember poring over the catalogs with my sister and circling items for our wish list (and then painstakingly winnowing it down to a few inexpensive/under $20 items lol). We both didn’t get dolls until we were 12–my sister got Samantha and I got Felicity AND KIT because I was a brat who told my mother three weeks before Christmas “Santa will know that I changed my mind and he’ll send me Kit!” I wanted so desperately to still believe in Santa and magic even though it was slipping through my fingers, and I will always remember the look on my mother’s face 🤪💀 Can’t even believe she did that, I would have been like “Santa left a note and said that your order was too far along to change” lol

And not for nothing, but my first and only trip to the American Girl store in NYC was a pivotal moment in my preteen life for MANY REASONS (also shout out to the American Girl revue show that I don’t remember details but I LOVED!!!)

ANYWAY: this was a delightful read, a deep dive into Pleasant Rowland and the American Girl doll empire. I especially found the later chapters about AG being sold to Mattel to be FASCINATING. (FREE AG!!!!)


- Colonial Williamsburg American Girl Woodstock lol — the character interpreter who was playing Miss Manderly said she felt like a rock star!!!
- by the early nineties, a single doll was $82 ($200 adjusted for inflation!!!)
- American Girl led to Scholastic’s Dear America series in 1996!!! I still have all of my books 💜🥰

Quotes from my review copy that resonated:

✨ “A fan of metaphors, Rowland called it "chocolate cake with vitamins"-the cake (aka the dolls) acted as a decoy for the vitamins (aka the historical books).” (chapter 1)

✨ “Perhaps most alarming for American Girl was something toy-industry types called "age compression" or "kids getting older younger (KGOY)." Referring to the fact that children were aging out of toys two to three years earlier than their counterparts a decade prior, KGOY was blamed on a host of factors: cable TV, with its 24/7 specialty channels for kids and on-demand movies; home computers ("children are reaching for a computer mouse even before they get to school," lamented Marketing Week); a general fatigue from having so many toys; and, ironically, the anxiety of boomer parents who'd prefer their progeny pick up a squash racket or a violin rather than pal around with a Samantha.” (Chapter 8)

✨ “Like she did at American Girl, Rowland has consistently framed her involvement in Aurora as purely benevolent, brushing aside any suggestion that she cared about money. While that may have some been somewhat true at Pleasant Company, it's almost definitely true in Aurora. Opening a resort in a struggling upstate New York isn't the move of a billionaire jonesing for a second billion. But the purity of one's motives doesn't magically make one impervious to criticism.” (Chapter 11)

✨ “The "we need an American Girl" memes had a sarcastic undertone, calling out the way the American Girl doll treatment can flatten complicated ideas and rely on tired clichés. How would you like it if your own era were summed up in a few words or by a few events? the jokes seemed to say.

Consider a 2022 episode of Ted Lasso:
Adult [dripping with sarcasm, pointing to an American Girl style-doll]: So how'd her parents die? Factory fire? Eaten by rats?

Girl [without a hint of irony]: No, Zoe's from the modern line. Her parents were canceled.” (Chapter 14)

✨ “In the toy industry, where having just one good Christmas season is considered a feat, American Girl has managed to stay relevant for forty years— selling more than thirty-six million dolls and 160 million chapter books to date.” (Epilogue)

[Alanna Metz · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a 90s baby, I LOVED American Girl. I read every book up until Kit, had an AG themed pajama birthday party with their slumber party kit, subscribed to the magazine, learned about puberty from "The Care and Keeping of You" and even went to American Girl Place in Chicago. I still have my Hallmark ornament (Josefina) but never did get a doll (I wanted Molly). Reading this book really brought memories back. The author describes things in such detail that I could suddenly remember them again. The catalogs, the books, Kirsten's trunk, and the DRESSES. I can even still remember some of the stories, such as Molly's ill fated Halloween costume.

I learned so much from this book. I had no idea the founders name was actually Pleasant. I understood why I never got a doll, but did get the sleepover kit. The doll was $80 then, and the sleepover kit $20 ($167 and $41 in 2026 money). I never knew it was sold to Mattel. I didn't realize it was only sold in catalogs. (I lived in a very rural area at the time. Still do. We still don't have an Apple store in the entire state. I just assumed there were stores American Girl was sold at, just not near me.) I didn't know the inspiration behind the books, such as Gettysburg. I could keep listing things, but page after page I was treated to a new fact I was unaware of.

Pleasant Rowland in particular I found fascinating. Rowland really cared about the presentation of everything, down the Addy's drinking gourd. The way she treated her employees was often harsh, but she also paid them very well. She had a great idea, and the book illustrates perfectly how she implemented it, down winning over girls and their mothers. She was great at marketing the dolls and their collections, without being only about the profits. There was many times in the book where she took an extremely expensive option to safeguard the way she saw her brand. (A seat on an airplane for a doll? Ruth Handler would NEVER)

It was a little sad to see where the company is now. The future for the dolls doesn't seem so bright, but there's always a possibilty of a turn around. The last few chapters really hammered home that the brand simply isn't the one I knew and loved in the 90s. It doesn't seem like there's a much care put into the Girls as there used to be, though they are much more inclusive now. I was particularly thrilled to see an Indigenous Girl, as that was truly a long time in the making. I do hope the Girls get more books, as I read they only get one book per doll now. The best part of the dolls was always the background they had. It's so much more fun to tuck Molly into that gorgeous bed of hers knowing she is listening to the radio for news of her father.

Thank you, Ms. FitzSimons, for the walk down memory lane. I appreciate your balanced look on the subject, showing the good and bad about the brand, its founder, and its current direction.

I was given an advanced reader copy of this book for my honest review.

[Victoria H · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly very nearly gave this book five stars, but based on somewhat nebulous, entirely subjective reasons that it didn't quite meet that threshold. I thought this was a very good book. It was well researched and written in a very compelling way.

As someone who owned two American girl dolls as a child (Kit and Kirsten!), both of which were second-hand handmedowns from one of my mom's coworkers' daughters, the cost component was a huge deal to me and I think this book addresses it in a well-reasoned way. I wasn't aware of any of those things happening behind the scenes, and it was fascinating to learn about Pleasant Rowland as a complicated figure behind the brand. It also made me very curious about the book Happyland as both an allegory of the GW Bush years and billionaire Pleasant Rowland enforcing her will upon the town of Aurora.

It was interesting to me that so many people's favorite was Samantha, because she was mine, too. Not because I liked her story the best---I resonated with Kit's the most---but Pleasant Rowland's nieces had it right that there's something about being eight years old and loving to read about orphans. AND Samantha had all the pretty clothes. But not only could we not afford to buy *any* American Girl doll, she was discontinued when I was almost ten years old. Yet another way high cost was an essential part of the brand. I DID get a chance to go to one of the American Girl Cafe's as a child though, though a family friend paid for it. It seemed a lot less "healthy" than this book suggests to child me, but this would have been after Rowland was already out of the picture in terms of micromanaging the menu to keep it to a "chocolate cake and vitamins" level of indulgence and things that are allegedly good for children.

I enjoyed the level of criticism and discussion on how the American Girl books were written, their intellectual rigor and historical accuracy. I was a big fan of both the American Girl books and the Dear America books, which I never knew were inspired by American Girl (with a great deal more historical accuracy!) The prose in this book is also quite workable.

Anyway, I think this book would be good for people who:
- liked the Barbie movie or at least liked discussions about girlhood and growing up that came from the Barbie movie's release
- are interested in toy histories
- are interested in the general conception of the American consciousness
- are interested in myth-making and how American history is written and portrayed
- are feeling nostalgic or complicated about their own girlhoods

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me this book as a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Maura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria books for an e-ARC of this book.

I have to start by saying I highly recommend this book, especially if like me you were born at the end of Gen X or if you're a millennial. This book serves two purposes in my opinion: doing a great job telling the story of the creation of the Pleasant Company and at the same time giving insight into what was going on culturally during the mid-1980s to early 2000s when American Girl was at the height of its success. The story of Pleasant Rowland and the creation of American Girl is written in a way that is very readable and compelling. It’s an interesting look at how Rowland built the company from the ground up through the lens of her exacting standards and whose original historical dolls had a huge impact on the childhood of girls who are now women of a certain age.

What I really enjoyed about this book was taking a critical look back at the culture of girlhood during the late 1980s into the early 2000s. I was 7 when the American Girl dolls launched, but unfortunately my family was never able to afford to get me one. That didn’t mean I didn’t want one. I used to pour over the catalog and read all the descriptions of all the dolls and their accessories. I had some of the books and at one time I actually had the paper dolls, but never the entire Samantha collection I desired.

Why I say this is not to make this review about me, but to show how the book really worked beyond telling the story of a company but showing a snapshot of the mash up between consumerism of the 80s and that “girl power” messaging of the 90s. Of course I wanted the Samantha doll and the lifestyle that went with it, it was all by design. Fitzsimons also looks at the changing narratives of that time of how American history was starting to be told with an eye to truth and respect for other cultures. As Fitzsimons shows, American Girl became a part of that in positive and negative ways through the creation of the Abby doll and the historical dolls that came in the 2000s. In the book, Fitzsimons quotes Don Draper from the show Mad Men talking about nostalgia being a delicate but potent twinge in your heart. That’s what this book did for me and I think it can resonate for anyone who loved the dolls and longs for those “girl power” days.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you are looking to dip your toes into nostalgia from your childhood [like, who doesn't remember the American Girl catalog that came out every year!?] then this is a book to consider. The author's writing style is very approachable and it is so reminiscent of that of Malcolm Gladwell which lends to how invested and engaged in the book I got.

That being said, this book leaned more negative than I expected; this is a book discussing how American Girl changed girlhood forever, after all. For many in my generation who grew up in the nineties, American Girl dolls were a cornerstone of our childhood - I wish the book spent more time discussing the positive impact and influence these dolls had, rather than spending the majority of the book discussing historical inaccuracies of the various character stories and the sexism, racism, and classism that were prevalent in their respective times, and during the time of Pleasant Rowland, the founder of American Girl. A lot of the book was spent contemplating why Samantha, Molly, and Kristen's stories were told, instead of others from different backgrounds in the same eras which really detracted from celebrating the stories of the American Girl dolls that were chosen. While I appreciated the historical deep dives on various times in history, a book on how American Girl dolls changed girlhood forever, I did expect we spend more time on all the characters and how they were selected - including Josefina, Addy, Felicity, my girl Kit, and others, rather than just cursory mentions of their inclusion.

If you are looking for a love letter to American Girl that will pull you back into your childhood love of these dolls, this is not the book for you. But if you are looking for a deep dive on Pleasant Rowland and where the American Girl Company is today [like, how did I not know that American Girl is now owned by Mattel??], then I would recommend picking it up.

Thank you Atria Books providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still remember the feeling I used to get from the Pleasant Company catalog, the fascination with Kirsten, Samantha, and Molly and their lives and accessories. I loved how each piece had a complete story, and I loved how the names of the items were italicized so that they popped out on the page: "Each morning, Mrs. Hawkins, the cook, packed a lunch for Samantha in a shiny brass pail that was originally filled with tea." I loved Pleasant Rowland's message to parents on the back cover, and found her argument for a lifetime keepsake extremely effective in my own negotiations for a lifetime, heirloom doll.

After reading this, I went into my basement and pulled Samantha out--her steamer trunk as water stained and grubby as the one Pleasant Rowland described. And the world unfolded in front of me again: the dresses, the stockings, the petticoats, the mirror, the brass pail. It left me with an enormous feeling of nostalgia. But of course, that's the whole point.

FitzSimmons' book is a must-read for women of a certain age and station. If we could have an Oregon Trail generation, why not an American Girl generation? There are different eras, to be sure; for example, I was an early adopter in the 1980s, long before Felicity or Addy or Kit. But there are things here to be learned as an adult that provide more context for the worlds of American Girls that so many of us got lost in. Rowland's exactitude in world building and doll manufacturing is fascinating. I do wish that the author had been able to access Rowland for interviews, as the distance (and sometimes disdain) between her and her subject can be frustrating.

Overall, though, this is a well-researched, thorough examination of the juggernaut that was American Girl. It's always fascinating to observe our culture through the things we consume and how those brands evolve. I have a masters degree in history now...thanks Pleasant Rowland for the early intro! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Nev · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had an absolute blast reading this book! Back in the day I had a Kirsten American Girl doll, loved reading the books and American Girl Magazine, and playing the computer game. As an adult I’ve never done deep dives into the company to learn more about the background of who the founder was, or cultural criticism of the dolls and the stories the company was selling.

So this book was such a fun walk down memory lane with all the information about the different dolls and their histories as well as learning new things about Pleasant Rowland, the woman who founded American Girl. The author Amanda FitzSimons really delves into Pleasant as a person, what led to the forming of the company, and all the different ideas she had about how to set American Girl apart from other toy brands. Namely Mattel and Barbie. American Girl dolls were supposed to be educational in addition to fun, and formed around historically accurate stories and accessories.

I really appreciated how this book isn’t simply a love letter to the company that is overlooking the hypocrisies, shortcomings, and negative aspects of American Girl. There is plenty of time spent discussing how the non-white dolls have their stories almost entirely focused around their race or discrimination while the white dolls don’t. There’s also a lot of discussion around how the books sanitized these time periods or didn’t give enough historical context for young readers to be able to get a full picture.

I’d definitely recommend this to people who have nostalgia for American Girl but are also interested in getting a nuanced look at the company and the stories they were telling.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a big fan of American girl as a child (the reason I ended up majoring in history!), this book was so fascinating. It both brought me right back to my childhood and explored the history of American Girl in a way that respected adult intellect and nuances. The way that it addressed the biases within the American Girl franchise was really fascinating — I was aware of some of the information, but a lot of it was new or presented in a way that I hadn’t thought about before.

Pleasant’s role within the book is very interesting, with there being a lot of primary and secondary sources to paint a clear(ish) picture of her actions many times, but also times where the level of speculation and theorizing about Pleasant’s motives doesn’t feel rooted in any source material. Regardless, Pleasant understandably looms largely from start to end, but toes that line carefully and ensures the book avoids veering away from American Girl and into a Pleasant biography.

My one note is that I did find the prose a little too informal in a bit of a hokey way at times, especially in the introduction, but it was easy enough to look past it because of the content. Other than that, the writing was mostly well done and the book flowed well.

Overall, I definitely recommend this book for anyone who had an American Girl growing up, or is interested in the history of girls in the US. The book really explores a turning point in American history for women, one that American Girl played a large role in fomenting and capitalizing on.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have an American Girl origin story, then you must read this book! I'll never forget wandering into our mall's bookstore in the late 80s (as an unaccompanied elementary school student, naturally) and seeing the display of Pleasant Company catalogs shelved in the children's book section. For someone who had already consumed all of the Little House books and had started the Anne of Green Gables series, this catalog of historical artifacts in miniature was the stuff that dreams are made of.

In An American Girl, journalist Amanda FitzSimons provides a comprehensive look at the brand's 40-year history and its founder, Pleasant Rowland. I learned some fascinating stories about Rowland's creativity, bravery, and determination in bringing her vision to life, including having her employees sew on thousands of tiny ribbons to complete Christmas orders and tasking another employee with sourcing thousands of tiny gourds and early 20th century pennies. I do feel that Rowland gets an unfair portrayal in FitzSimons' book at times, and that was the only element of this otherwise excellent book that disappointed me. The tone is scholarly, yet accessible, and I would recommend it to anyone who grew up with the series of books and dolls and maybe later became a librarian, teacher, or journalist because of it. Thanks to Amanda FitzSimons, Simon and Schuster, and Netgalley for the librarian preview copy!

[Alexa Blart, Library Cop · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for providing an ARC of this title. All opinions are my own.

Earlier this year I read The Making of American Girl , the brand's official forty-year-anniversary retrospective tome published. While highly informative, especially with regards to the early years of Pleasant Company, the book ends with the 1998 sale of Pleasant Company to its once-rival, Mattel--and I mean ends ABRUPTLY, with kind of a "lol and then we sold to Mattel. Still going strong though! Thanks for reading!" vibe.

All of this to say, this independently researched history of the American Girl brand from its debut in 1986 to present day goes much deeper, especially into the state of the brand post-Mattel (they stripped it of everything that made it beautiful and worthwhile in the first place, you will not change my mind) and the character of American Girl's enigmatic creator, Pleasant Rowland. Diehard American Girl fans should note that FitzSimons, while once herself the owner of a Molly doll, isn't drowning in millennial nostalgia over all things American Girl the way a lot of us are, so this may end up being a harsher book than anticipated in some places; however, the research here goes deep and presents a nuanced view of some of the aspects of the brand that have always been complicated.

Also, none of this is about me specifically, so what do I care? (As I sip my coffee out of my Felicity Merriman tumbler)

[Maggie Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was exactly what I was hoping for when I saw the title and description!

Amanda FitzSimons carefully balances a chronological account of the American Girl brand's history with a thoughtful investigation of how the brand both reflected and influenced broader societal trends.

I'm someone who has very fond memories of American Girl dolls and the surrounding brand from my childhood in the mid-2000s, and credits the accompanying books with my first awareness of certain events in history. Despite this, I was already aware that the brand had issues regarding representation and its prohibitive price point.

I think FitzSimons did a great job critically examining the American Girl brand and its choices without being overly negative or striking the tone of a takedown expose. I appreciated how many different studies and articles she cited from the specific time she was discussing, which highlighted how the critique of the brand is not new.

I'd highly recommend this book to anyone like me who has a soft spot for American Girl dolls but wants to learn more about how the brand came to be and examine many of its shortcomings.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC.

[Sara Bremer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I vividly remember patiently awaiting my turn to read the American Girl books from the library and begging my mother to get me Samantha for Christmas in 1991. I was obsessed with all things American Girl and loved the history as much as the play. Going into this book, I was hopeful for a love letter and a history lesson. Instead, what I read felt more like an exposé of a company that truly had good intentions to create education and play for young girls.

I loved learning more about the history of Pleasant Company and what came after its sale to Mattel, but the story feels like it's missing the positive impact the brand created, including getting girls to read and learn. American Girl rose at a time when America was a very different place culturally. Watching old sitcoms or reading books from that era shows how much room we had to grow to become a more inclusive society, and American Girl, as part of that era, has genuinely tried to evolve and stay relevant today.

The writing itself was serviceable, and I found myself setting the book down rather than racing through it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the free eARC. This review contains my honest opinions.

[Whitney Hofstetter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of advanced copy from NetGalley

Plot: Non-fiction about the rise and fall of the American Girl doll company. A critical look at the way the founder shaped the industry; positively and negatively.

Impression: I really enjoyed this look back at American Girl. It was both nostalgic and appropriately critical. As an elder millennial, these dolls and books were part of my childhood even if I never owned a doll. I was dressed like Kirsten for a school Christmas program! However, the lack of diversity and insight into some aspects of American history is important to be aware of. The book was well-researched but still accessible.


Star System:
5 star reads are books I can’t put down and/or make me cry. This is a book that will stick with me for either the topic, writing style, or emotional impact.
4 star books are unique or interesting and perhaps teach me something new. A feel good read is usually 4 stars.
3 star reads are good, solid books. I’m not necessarily learning or feeling anything new.
2 star books have some plot holes or timeline issues. These are the books that just aren’t believable.
1 star books are typically offensive

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a huge American Girl doll fan. My dad worked for the printing company that printed the books in my youth and it was so exciting for me to get to read them. I didn't get a doll until I was just about too old for them, but my daughter has a few and it's one of the few places we could find black dolls for awhile.

I truly wanted to love this book and while I love the nostalgia and I obviously know corporation owners have a lot of issues and the owner of this company had privilege, she was disparaged a lot in this book. This didn't altogether meet its description and seemed very condescending. There wasn't a lot of focus on how hard it must have been to compete against other doll companies in the toy boom or how hard it was to be a female entrepreneur marketing a child's brand to other females.

I know that this is an arc, but it does seem like some editing is still needed prior to publication.

I'm glad I read this book, but I felt like something was missing. However, this is a hard book to write--when so many people love things, there is only so much you can do!

Thank you to netgalley for the arc of this book.

[Sarah Maldonado · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an eArc in exchange for my honest review.

With 2026 being the 40th anniversary of American Girl, this book could not be arriving at a more appropriate time. FitzSimons gives such a thoughtful and thorough recount of the journey of American Girl’s history over the past 40 years. Having been the girl Rowland and her company were marketing towards, American Girls dolls and books were such a hallmark of my childhood. I remember having to save my money to buy my first doll, Samantha. I remember my mom calling and letting me order her myself. I was so excited!

This book brought back so many fond childhood memories! I learned so much through this book about Pleasant’s vision for the brand. I truly wonder what Mattel sees as the future for it. Whatever that future might be, I’m so glad I was able to get a glimpse ”behind the curtain” at one of the quintessential toys of my childhood.

For anyone that loved, or still loves, American Girl, please read this book. You’ll be glad you did.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who grew up loving the American Girl books even though I did not have a doll, I was fascinated by this book! I did not want to put it down. FitzSimons recognizes the complexity of American Girl/Pleasant Company, both how it got many girls interested in American history AND how it did not always have a complete picture of America, at least initially. Additionally, FitzSimons notes the double-edged sword of Pleasant Rowland's perfectionism: her eye for excellence and her allegedly controlling nature. This book is full of impeccable research, good writing, and lots of heart. I found it a bit repetitive at times (and some readers might not agree with some of the political content, but that's no reason to change your honest review's rating). I still think it's a great read! I give it 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the free eARC. I post this review with my honest opinions.

[Samantha Perro · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who grew up with a deep appreciation for the brand, I found the core premise of An American Girl absolutely fascinating. Amanda FitzSimons does a wonderful job researching the history of Pleasant Rowland and diving into how these iconic dolls shaped a generation of girlhood. Learning the behind-the-scenes business details and the cultural impact was incredibly interesting.
However, the execution felt a bit dry for my personal taste, making the pacing feel slow and heavy at times. While it was a bit of a struggle for me to push through the slower chapters, I think non-fiction lovers, business biography enthusiasts, and die-hard nostalgic fans of the franchise will absolutely love the level of detail provided here. It wasn't entirely for me, but it is undeniably a well-researched look at a cultural phenomenon.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

[Sarah Dunmire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as an ARC on NetGalley. I enjoyed the topic as someone who had a personalized American Girl doll as a child in the 90s. It was interesting to read about the making of the dolls, books, and company and about their creator, Pleasant Rowland. However, I did not enjoy the “pop history” style of this book. Contemporary phrases like “and a circlet of silk ribbon rosebuds that could blow any Coachella basic bitch out of the water” meant to draw in current audiences just cheapened the material, in my opinion. As a Wisconsinite, I didn’t realize American Girl was headquartered in Madison, WI until 2024! The author was upfront that neither Pleasant Rowland nor American Girl chose to be interviewed for this book, which made me feel like I couldn’t trust it.

“If the ‘play pattern’—to borrow a toy industry term—for baby dolls was nurturing and the play pattern for Barbie was a kind of future projection, then the play pattern for Rowland’s dolls would be one of self-exploration.”

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about American Girl dolls that conveys their early start, struggles for success, and ultimately how the company left in charge of stewarding the brand into the future ultimately abandoned them to time. Along the way I learned how many controversies about characters and their depiction of their respective historical eras nearly split the brand down the middle. I will definitely be picking up a copy once it publishes because I know my friends with their American Girl dolls will need to hear how Addy, Kaya, and Felicity had a panel of authorities on African American history so that the brand could be as compassionate as possible and honor history instead of glossing over traumatic events. Ultimately, I learned that once an AG always an AG. And if you have a deep need to understand why they picked the accessories they did and the stories they told this is the book you should read.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, Artia Books, and Amanda FitzSimons for this ARC


I grew up with American Girl dolls since I was a child. I don’t remember who introduced me to them, but whoever it was, opened me up to a world of history and adventures. My first doll was Samantha. I had all her books and different accessories.


This book dives deep into the history of American Girl, exploring the six books that each girl possesses. Each book represents a different era in the girl’s life, that shows the same experiences but set against the backdrop of various historical periods.


I did expect a book of trivia, but I did got a deep dive into the history, including the company and how it became the American Girl brand it is today.


Perfect for any fan of the catalog or books!


Pub date. October 13th, 2026.

[Rebekkah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is, for the most part, an engaging and readable dive into the history of American Girl/Pleasant Company and its founder, Pleasant Rowland. While scholars and fans of the brand will likely not be surprised by much of the content FitzSimons includes, a reader with a more cursory knowledge of the brand will doubtless learn something new. This is very much a popular nonfiction book rather than a work of scholarship, although it does reference scholarship on the topic (full disclosure: including my own). Unfortunately, the text contains multiple factual errors, particularly when referring to the characters' stories and collections, which belies the author's supposed expertise on the subject, but I'm hoping these errors will be corrected by the time of publication.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Zoe Lipman · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who grew up loving American Girl Dolls (I still have them, in their boxes, in the top of my closet), I just had to read this book about the history of the company.

This is definitely more of a history of the business, which I didn't know much about, so I was excited and intrigued to learn about it.

I especially liked the Barbie comparisons, I found that really interesting. Especially because I didn't think they ever had that much of a rivalry given they are for such different demographics. But oyu learn something new everyday.

I would definitely recommend this to people who have been fans of the characters and are curious as to how businesses like this work.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

[K&E_getlit · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 I am not used to getting ARC's that are so badly in need of a copy edit, especially from big publishers. Assuming the editing will happen but it was bad enough to be distracting from the actual content - like a rough ROUGH draft. However I am of the exact age that makes AG very nostalgic and it was fun to see behind the scenes in a story I hadn't really considered. Overall I thought this did suffer from "made a great article but felt too stretched to be a full book" that I think sometimes happens with these pop histories. The premise was great but FitzSimons just needed to tighten it up a bit and follow through on some points to make it really impactful. \

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

[Jessica Sorentino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun read!

A natural curiosity of mine is how ideas come to life, and I was completely fascinated by the story of how Pleasant Rowland built American Girl from the ground up. And as someone who grew up with the dolls (Kirsten girls, unite!), the nostalgia was obviously a huge bonus.

I especially loved the way the book looks at American Girl within the cultural context of the 1990s: girl power, consumerism, and how society was teaching girls to think about themselves and American history. This reconnected me with something I loved so much as a child, and made it feel even more interesting as an adult.

If you’re a fan of journalism-based storytelling, or books like The Women of Fifth Avenue by Julie Satow, I think you’ll really enjoy this one.

[Chrissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who never owned an American Girl doll growing up, I was completely captivated by this behind-the-scenes history of the iconic brand. Amanda Fitzsimmons does a wonderful job detailing how the company came to be, from its visionary beginnings to its meticulous historical research. The book shines brightest when it explores the corporate struggles and manufacturing challenges happening behind the scenes. It offers a fascinating look at how the company changed over the years to keep pace with shifting cultural expectations of girlhood. Smart and balanced, this is a captivating read for anyone interested in business history or pop culture.