DEAR CANADA: Gold Rush

And we're back on the trail again, only this time with more pretending to be a boy action.

Harriet's father headed out to participate in the gold rush, leaving behind his pregnant wife, two daughters and a son. Harriet's mom dies of childbirth fever a few weeks after the baby and she's at the mercy of the people in the fort. One is a family that wants to take her younger sister and brother, but not her and the bitchy wife's reasoning is basically because she's ugly.

Harriet disguises herself as a boy and goes along with a group of men (and one woman) to gold rush territory, so she can find her father.

It's a somewhat boring journey, but it is different than the other trips thanks to what Harriet goes through as a "boy." Thankfully, the book is pretty short and after many more adventures off the trail, Harriet is finally reunited with her dad. In the epilogue, he sails back to get the two younger children and everyone lives a pretty happy life.

I think this is a better trail book than some of the ones overly laden with drama and sorrow, but I'm just so tired of trails still!

DEAR AMERICA: Civil War Round 1

My plan for these big topics is to lump all the books together as much as I can, but due to my need to read the books chronologically, that gets thrown off. The next one is a Dear Canada about the gold rush set in 1862, so I figured I'd review this one first, then the Dear Canada, then start lumping the Civl War ones together, although glancing down the titles, it's going to be a broken up series of entries anyway!

It's been months since I've done a Dear America. I took a break from them to try to get through some of my other piles of books, but I'm itching for some historical, so I'd like to get all these done. Although I'm sure I'll still be taking breaks along the way. I do intend to finish the most recent Goddess Girls book and review it soon, but it's good and I want to drag it out a bit.

Amelia has a lot on her plate. This book isn't about the Civil War so much as how it affected her family as it started up. Amelia's father is an assistant lighthouse keeper on an island and Amelia does about a third of the lighthouse work. Her mother suffers from I believe arthritis and who even knows what else. She's a wreck. The mother and grandmother are rather nasty pro-slavery characters, while the father is on the side of abolition, but he's not a great character either, as he's very distant and only comes around at the end. So at home, Amelia has her lighthouse duties and basic household duties, since her mother is useless 90% of the time. She also rows into town and goes to school, but also teaches younger kids, helps her grandmother and visits her uncle, who runs a shop in town. Her uncle's the smart one in the family, an abolitionist whose wife is a former slave.

Early on in the book, Amelia loses her prospective love interest to an accident, but his brother steps up later on.

The book is like half weather reports and half annoying family drama with a smidge of "oh, hey, the Civil War" thrown in. No wonder I put it down and strayed from DA for so long! And yet it was one of the ones chosen for the new cover reissue. Who knows? Maybe others liked it more than I did. It's a very light beginning to the heavier Civil War stuff to come.

And now, the Gold Rush. Even after such a long break, I cannot escape these trail books!

GODDESS GIRLS 21

I have been terribly lazy about my reviews, because I keep getting so distracted by other things! Pallas the Pal has been sitting in my book pile since December when it came out.

Pallas the Pal alternates chapters between Pallas and Athena. Pallas is Athena's old friend from the very first Goddess Girls book. Athena lived with her family before being summoned to MOA and learning she was a goddessgirl.

Each girl has specific struggles to overcome. Pallas misses her old friend and wonders why she hasn't written her lately. She's also on the "Cheer Blades" team for her school, a sport that combines sword-fighting and cheering sort of. She's part of two sword events throughout the book. Athena meanwhile has a surprise baby sister, Hebe. Hebe has a very magical birth, so it's not like Athena had the normal nine months to get in the big sister mindset, so she's dealing with a case of sibling rivalry. And both girls are a bit jealous of the other's new friends and take awhile to figure out how to move forward in their friendship.

Add in the fountain that Hebe appeared in turning out to be the Fountain of Youth and causing all the grown-ups to act like children, and Pallas and her friend Eurynome being trained for the big sword-fighting competition by Achilles and Agamemnon and you've got a book jam-packed with stuff.

I'm never really happy with how the books treat the Trojan War characters. I think Athena's Hero-ology Odysseus was an adult, but Achilles and Agamemnon are both kids. And Achilles is definitely the one from the war, because that's acknowledged, so it's odd that he's a) young and b) alive.

But the first rule of Goddess Girls is to forget everything you know about Greek mythology. It's kind of odd, but I really do try not to think about it. I just get hung up on wondering how their decision-making process works though, because so many adults are seemingly arbitrarily kids.

Eurynome is an odd choice for Pallas's best friend's name. Eurynome is multiple figures in mythology, but none of them are anything like the one from this book.

The story of Pallas and Athena is actually mirrored fairly well in the book. Pallas is a daughter of Triton, which is reflected in the story by her town being called Triton. Both girls were raised together. And the story of Pallas fighting Athena in a friendly battle and Zeus interfering with the Aegis is also myth accurate. Except that Pallas was killed in the real myth, but obviously, that's not gonna happen here. They even have a bit in the book about Athena and the palladium, which is nice.

Pallas the Pal is a solid book in the Goddess Girls series. There are a lot of good characters and mythological nods. I feel it's almost got a little too much. I think they could have eliminated the silly Fountain of Youth plotline entirely and had an even tighter story. It's not one of my faves, but it is quite good.

MRS. PIGGLE-WIGGLE

Oh, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. My younger childhood had three major book series loves: Ramona, Berenstain Bears and Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. I still get massive enjoyment out of all of these, although Ramona will forever be my fave.

The first Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle book was written in 1947, one year before my mom was born! Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic followed in 1949, and then Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Farm in 1954 and Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle in 1957. These would be all the books we'd get from the original author, Betty MacDonald, who died in 1958.

I remember absolutely loving these and their hilarious illustrations and wonderfully-named characters. The basic premise is that the children in the neighborhood have some rather obnoxious failings and desperate parents soon learn to call up Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle for the cures. The kids all love her and hang out at her house (which is upside down) all the time.

The first book has cures that involve simple tricks and no magic whatsoever, but the second has the cures turning more magical. The third book has Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle moved to a farm at the edge of town, so the kids have to come stay with her to be cured. This is easily my least favorite of the lot and I think even the author herself realized her misstep, because the fourth book has Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle right back in town with no mention of the farm at all.

In 2007, I remember being in the Barnes & Noble on the next block over from my first NYU dorm in Brooklyn. I walked past the new releases and there was Happy Birthday, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle! I was shocked and bought it right away. The book was written by the author's daughter, working from one finished story and lots of notes left by her mother. The book makes a nice ending for the main Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series.

I can't remember how I stumbled across it, but just a few days ago, I learned about Missy Piggle-Wiggle. The original author's great-granddaughter teamed up with Ann M. Martin, most famous as the author of the Babysitters Club, and they created a new series. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle has left the upside-down house and the farm, now conveniently moved to right by the house, in the care of her great-niece. In the original series, Mr. Piggle-Wiggle was clearly deceased, but in the new series, they've got Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle on a search for him. He's a pirate, so he could be anywhere, you know. Missy grew up learning magic and the cures in this book are the most magical ones yet. She also has an invisible bag and the house has become sentient (and has a bit of a vendetta against Missy). This book is also the first to make the fact that they're being cured of something more obvious to the children and even to the town itself. There was a much more subtle approach before with the cures mostly taking place at home, but now we've got them happening during school hours and everything. I didn't mind this approach, but it's a very different feel than the original stories. The town scenes also smack of Martin, because they feel pulled right from her Main Street series. There's something about Ann M Martin describing small towns, I guess!

Anyway, the first Missy Piggle-Wiggle book came out last September and the second, shown in the third picture, is coming this September.

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle is a great series for all ages. Definitely loads of fun and even though the earlier stories are decidedly dated, they won't fail to amuse.

AMERICAN GIRL: Maryellen Mysteries

I read and reviewed Maryellen's two classic books way back in December 2015. If you go back to that review, you'll see I had pretty big issues with them. I got partway through Maryellen's first mystery, then decided to quick reread her classics as a refresher. This time around, I didn't feel the same level of animosity towards the books, although the polio issue and how poorly her friends and family treated her still rankles me a lot.

So I was in a decent frame of mind when I got back into The Finders-Keepers Rule, which is a story about sunken ships and treasure seekers. Definitely a unique topic and I liked the story quite a bit. Maryellen and Davy are the central characters, although Jerry and Joan both play larger roles, too. The story could almost be set in modern times, except I'm sure there are stricter rules about treasure finds these days.

Maryellen's second mystery, The Runaway, tackles a topic AG mysteries have already handled. Just as Maryellen on the cover is borrowing her hairstyle from Melody, she's also borrowing the dognapping theme from Kit. And Kit did it much better. Kit's story seemed much more believable in the days of the depression when people did desperate things for money. In Maryellen's book, the dogs are being stolen in broad daylight right from people's yards, and once there was even a kid right there, and they're being sold to a local pharmaceutical company. There's a climactic scene with Maryellen, Davy, Wayne, Angela and practically all the Larkins, minus Dad and Joan, crashing their way into the pharmaceutical lab and rescuing the dogs. The whole book is a combination of boring (I set it down for a couple days and forced myself to finish it tonight) and over the top.

So two thumbs up for The Finders-Keepers Rule and one thumb sorta sideways for The Runaway. Which isn't even a good title, because it's pretty quickly established that Scooter did not run away.

Still, I like Maryellen better having read these, so that's good anyway. Next up, Melody!

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!