"Saige" by Jessie Haas

I was pretty excited when I found out about the 2013 American Girl of the Year, Saige, is from my home state of New Mexico.  She lives in Albuquerque, loves to paint and ride horses, and spends much of her time at her grandmother, Mimi's ranch.  But when the she realizes that her school alternates art and music classes because the budget isn't enough to give each student both classes every year, she gets the help of her friends to make a difference and raise the funds to change this.  But then Mimi gets hurt, will Saige be able to be there for Mimi and accomplish her goal?

For the most part, I really enjoyed Jessie Haas' book.  However, there was one thing that bugged me, and it took me awhile to figure out what it was.  I realized  that the book didn't feel like it was set in New Mexico.  Sure, the descriptions of the scenery were pretty accurate.  But I felt like it was missing the influence of the area's culture.  While I don't live in the Albuquerque area, I have spent a decent amount of time there.  Because of this, I was expecting this book to be similar to the Josefina series and include a good mix of Spanish words. Maybe it's because there has been quite a bit of hype because the book is set in my state and so that was very much in my mind as I was reading, but it felt like the book could have been set just about anywhere.  Overall, this is a small thing.  The book doesn't focus much on location (other than physical description) so this shouldn't detour you from wanting to read the book.  This book fits with the rest of the Girl of the Year books quite well.  Saige is strong, passionate, and energetic.  She is certainly a great role model for young girls.

Happy Reading!
-Melly

"McKenna" by Mary Casanova

I must say, I enjoyed reading McKenna far more than I enjoyed reading Chrissa (which surprised me, since both are written by Mary Casanova).  McKenna is usually a good student, but she's not quite sure what to do when her grades begin to slip and she finds that she just can't keep up.  She is finally assigned a tutor but doesn't know how to react when she finds out her new tutor is in a wheelchair.  On top of this, McKenna is practicing her gymnastics routine in hopes of joining a competitive team- but what will happen when she gets injured?  I liked that this book compacted quite a bit in a short amount of time.  McKenna learns how to better manage her school work with the rest of her life, how to accept people that are different from her and how even when you work hard, things don't always go as planned.  I felt that this book is what American Girl should be about- learning about the world around you and becoming a better person for it.  I think McKenna is a wonderful role model for young girls (and really wish that there were more than two in the series). Out of the "Girl of the Year" books I have read so far, this is the one I recommend the most!



Happy Reading!
-Melly

"Caroline" series by Kathleen Ernst

I'm not sure how I feel about the Caroline series by Kathleen Ernst.  While it was nice to once again immerse myself in a historical American Girl book, I felt like something was lacking.  Now, it could just be that I am older and more mature as a reader and therefore I need more substance to keep me entertained.  But I really felt like each of the books rambled on a little too much and there wasn't quite enough subject matter to hold my attention.  In some ways, it almost felt like the historical element (this set of books takes place during the war of 1812) wasn't as important as it is in some of the other books (even the ones that don't take place during big events in American history seemed to focus on the era quite a bit).  I felt like the reader doesn't get to see much of Caroline's world and how her life changes when the war begins.  I'm a little sad because I wanted to like these books but they just didn't do it for me. 

The more I look at it, the more I enjoy the older American Girls (Kit and the other girls that were released before her).  I've noticed that I tend to direct young girls to Molly, Kirsten and Addy well before I recommend Rebecca or Kaya.  Maybe I'm just stuck on the books that I read when I was younger, but those truly are my preference.  I wouldn't quite say I don't recommend these books.  If you know a young girl, she will very likely enjoy this series.  And if she doesn't there is (thankfully) a large variety of other books in the AG world.

Happy Reading!
-Melly

"Chrissa" by Mary Casanova

I'm a little sad that I didn't enjoy this book very much.  Typically the words American Girl on the cover of a book means that I am in for a quality reading experience, but it felt like this book dropped the ball.  Mary Casanova's Chrissa starts on Chrissa's first day at her new school.  It is also Valentine's day, her favorite day of the year.  She gets assigned to sit at the same seat cluster as the "Mean Bees" and her day goes downhill from there.  The worst is when she only receives one Valentine- and she's certain that the rest have been stolen.  The rest of the book focuses around the Mean Bees bulling Chrissa and how she over comes the mean things they say and do to her.  

Now, don't get me wrong.  Bullying is certainly an important issue and one that should be taken very seriously.  However, I felt like this book was written to cover a topic that was not yet discussed in the American Girls world.  There didn't seem to be a lot of motivation for why the girls acted the way they did.  At one point the Mean Bees convince Chrissa's brother to pick on her as well.  That moment in the book seemed so out of character and it took me out of the story.  The writing came across as a little false, like the author either didn't care about what she was writing or that she isn't a strong writer (which is odd as I just finished the McKenna books and thought that the writing in those was just fine and they are by the same author).  There were also some subplots that could have been really interesting, but had little focus, especially Gwen's story (I would really like to see a separate book or two about her).  Since this book focuses on such an important issue, it's sad that I didn't think this book was well written.  I plan on reading Chrissa Stands Strong and really hope that it has a better focus and feels more realistic. 

Happy Reading!

-Melly

"Aloha, Kanani" by Lisa Yee

This is not my first novel by  Lisa Yee, but Aloha, Kanani is the first American Girl book that Yee has penned that I have read (if that makes sense).  I have loved, loved, loved the American Girls for many years.  As I went from one era to another I discovered more about history that I think I ever would have learned otherwise.  I still get a thrill when I find a new book has been published.

Kanani is such an inspiration.  She comes across as a real girl.  She tries to do the right thing, but sometimes doesn't know how to go about this.  In the book, Kanani is trying to make her cousin Rachel's visit to Hawaii as wonderful as possible, but struggles when it's clear that Rachel isn't having the grand trip Kanani planned.  Also featured in the book are the  Hawaiian Monk Seals, an endangered species that Kanani and Rachel learn about and work to save.  

If there was anything that I didn't like was the lack of illustrations I am accustomed to in other AG books.  But I did love that the last few pages were dedicated to the stories of real girls and what they are doing to help animals in their community.  These books truly can help girls become the best people they can be.  I am anxious to read the sequel, Good Job, Kanani!  I really appreciate this book.

Happy Reading!

-Melly