AMERICAN GIRL: Molly

Growing up, Molly McIntire was my favorite American Girl. I was eight in 1986 when AG debuted. I remember getting a catalog in the mail and being mesmerized by the amount of detail on the accessories. But one thing really stood out: Molly wore GLASSES. Just like me. I don't remember a lot of dolls who wore glasses from when I was young. Shy Violet had them and Plum Pudding, but I never got either of those dolls. Molly resonated with me because I identified with her, especially when it became clear that Samantha was the favorite American Girl, probably because of her wardrobe. Molly had the glasses and the braids, the less girly fancy, more functional wardrobe, the unusual gray eyes. I grew up being the smart girl in glasses, shy, not fashionable, so Molly was my type of girl.

That said, it's impossible for me to give a true review of her books, because I read them over and over when I was young and they were easily my favorites. There's a lot of nostalgia with Molly. I think her books are really fun, even though sometimes she's shallow and she doesn't have the same type of struggles as Addy or Kit. She may not have stories that are as powerful as others in the AG lineup, but that doesn't mean she wasn't important to the people that read and loved her books. I love all the characters in Molly's books. Her relationship with each family member is fun to read, except poor little Brad, who got overlooked a lot. I like both Susan and Linda, her best friends, and Emily, the girl from London who lives with Molly briefly. And the illustrations! Molly's books have the best cartoony margin illustrations. I still think BeForever really suffers from the lack of illustrations.

Molly was an important part of my childhood, so it's hard to rank her. She's #1 on the nostalgia list for sure.

AG Best to Least Best (they're too good to be called "Worst") Historical Ranking:
-Josefina/Addy
-Felicity/Molly
-Samantha
-Rebecca
-Kit
-Kaya
-Kirsten
-Marie-Grace and Cécile
-Caroline
-Maryellen

AMERICAN GIRL: Kit

Wow, the last AG reread review I did was back in August! I've finally zipped through Kit's books, so I hope to finish this project well before we get our newest historical girl, Nanea, in the fall.

Kit was honestly never a character I was super interested in. I got her book set when it came out, but I never really bonded with her, as I did with Felicity, Josefina and others. I'm really not sure why or if there's just something about her that I only fell in love with recently, but I greatly enjoyed rereading all her books.

Kit is the Great Depression character. We watch as her family adapts to the many changes it's put through. Her father loses his job, they convert their home into a boarding house, they deal with nearly being evicted, and Kit struggles to become the reporter she knows she's meant to be.

I like Kit's books because they show the growth of multiple characters, not just her own. Her father adapts to losing his job and eventually finds part-time work. Her mother gets used to running a boarding house, instead of garden club meetings. Mrs. Howard finds her usefulness and Stirling, who's possibly my fave male character in all of AG, grows from a coddled, sickly boy into a smart, capable one. Even grumpy Uncle Hendrick turns a little bit of a new leaf in one of the mysteries.

I also like that there's a core cast of characters, but also an open door for new ones with boarders that change quite a bit.

Of the main books, the only one I didn't care for was Kit Saves the Day, because Kit and Stirling getting arrested for riding the rails, Kit's escape from jail and trek over the bridge were a bit too much for me.

I liked Really Truly Ruthie a lot, because Ruthie's always looked at as a bit of a fluffbrain and this digs more into her. She's so into fairy tales and her family is still wealthy so she's not always presented as being grounded in the harsh reality of the depression. I don't think she ever comes off as unsympathetic, but there's an idealistic aspect of her that some people don't like. Her book tells the story of how Aunt Millie came to save the Kittredges from eviction. It was Ruthie who learned their deadline was earlier than they thought and Ruthie who went to Kentucky (with Charlie forcing himself along) to get the money from Aunt Millie. While Ruthie isn't my fave best friend by a long shot, she's not bad at all.

Kit's mysteries are some of my favorites, because Kit is the character that most realistically would get involved in mysteries. She's a reporter, so she's always got an eye for detail and watches everything. Danger at the Zoo and A Thief in the Theater are my favorite two. Intruders at Rivermead Manor is my least favorite, because it's a little out there and there are characters like Mr. West that never seem to be resolved. Missing Grace has a moment like that, where I really wanted Kit to blame the stupid dog-hating boarder for Grace's disappearance, but that boarder is only mentioned once after the kidnapping. She's a jerk and gets away with it and I hate things left like that, but the rest of the book is decent. The Jazzman's Trumpet is the most recent Kit offering, her only Beforever mystery. It took me awhile to get into it. Kit's mysteries are written by an array of authors, but Jazzman's Trumpet has a different voice than all the others. Kit calls Slim "dreamy," which I think is out of character for her. There's also a moment where she's taking her time spelling "Chicago" and you know she knows how to spell that. I did like it overall, but I think the others do a much better job of plopping you into history. Jazzman's Trumpet could practically be a modern story.

So where does Kit stand?

AG Best to Least Best (they're too good to be called "Worst") Historical Ranking:
-Josefina/Addy
-Felicity
-Samantha
-Rebecca
-Kit
-Kaya
-Kirsten
-Marie-Grace and Cécile
-Caroline
-Maryellen

She's actually really close to both Samantha and Rebecca, but I find their time periods and settings more interesting.

I've got Molly's story collection all ready to go, so hopefully I'll be back soon with another one of these. Then I've got Maryellen's two mysteries, Melody's two classics and mystery, and finally, Miss Julie, who's one of my faves. Her new mystery is going to finish off this very long-running reread!