This audiobook is not what I was expecting from the blurb. The authors do talk about how the beloved American Girl Dolls came to existence, the followers who adopted and loved these dolls, and their huge impact on American girls. I truly enjoyed that part, but I was hoping that there would be more of it. I recently read a similar book about Barbie, and I was expecting the same here. This doesn’t mean that this is not an enjoyable read, the authors Allison Horrocks and Mary Mahoney narrate the audiobook themselves, and they have pleasant, friendly voices. There are also parts with testimonials from real girls – women now - touched by the dolls, and their experiences with them. My problem is that I’m the wrong reader. I’d never listened to the podcast, so I wasn’t expecting part of the content. In short, instead of exploring many of the dolls, the authors focus on just a few of them (granted, probably the most iconic and the ones that mean the most to them), but the rest is devoted to exploring all the ways that the brand failed to be woke back in the day and all the issues that they consider “problematic” with American Girl. Their love for the dolls is evident, but it seems like they’re trying to change something that this Gen-Xer considers perfect. Younger readers will enjoy it more.
I chose to listen to this audiobook and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Macmillan Audio.

A fun and nostalgic look back at American girl from two historians.
Some parts were a little repetitive and I think they could have done a deeper dive, but it was still a fun listen. American girl and its books were a big part of growing up in the 90s and 2000s and examining their history and impact on girls’ lives and changing culture seems the perfect subject now that fans are all grown up.
Overall, it was like listening to two older sisters share their hilarious takes on the series and I will definitely check out the podcast!

The only negative was that the narration seemed super slow to me.