This book mostly made me realize my fond memories of American Girl dolls and books are nothing compared to these girls' obsession over this little universe. This book was nostalgic and informative without being boring.

This is the quintessential book for anyone that grew up in the 90s! It unlocked so many core memories of adventures with my American Girl doll, trying to figure out who was a Samantha or a Molly, and flipping through the catalog pages to pick out doll outfits to put on my Christmas list.

The authors did a fantastic job of combining nostalgic walks down memory lane with information about the background of Pleasant Company. I really appreciated the connections to other things going down on in the 90s (Dear America books, anyone?!) to contextualize what was happening with American Girls. It was interesting to learn that Pleasant created these dolls to fill a gap in the toy market and be anti-Barbie, as well as what went into creating the first historical dolls. I had no idea about the connection between American Girl and Colonial Williamsburg!

I cannot recommend this book enough for anyone that loved their original American Girl doll… and I think I now know how I ended up with a degree in history!

A fun exploration of the dolls who have transformed so many lives. I loved the formatting, the detail, and the history explored throughout this book. Definitely learned a lot and had a good time doing it.

This book was an excellent introduction to the podcast and a revisiting of the nostalgia of American Girl/the 90's. It's interesting to see what people who were in on the craze of the original 6 are doing with their passion and love for the brand now, as well as revisiting some of the ways the brands were created and the process of creating the dolls story. It felt a little "puff piece"-like at times, and maybe a rehashing of the podcast, though I do not listen so I don't know that for sure. It was a nice revisiting of times past (both good and bad) with a brand that is continuing to move forward in the future.

Every 30+ year old remembers. Dolls of our lives is so much more than a story about dolls. The nostalgia connects millennials and reminds us these were the first dolls to incorporate our love of reading into a non “baby” toy. The audio reads/listens like a podcast and tackles the problematic things with American girl doll too.

Dolls Of Our Lives is a mixture of history, biography, and pop culture, paying tribute to all who once (or still do) adore American Girl Dolls.

Mary and Allison are familiar with the world of audio, as this book draws inspiration from their podcast "Dolls Of Our Lives". This knowledge is evident in their narration skills, making the audiobook experience unique. Unlike other non-fiction audiobooks, both narrators have an ability to present their work in a way I have yet to see in an audio format.

I really enjoyed reading this book as it brought back so many memories. It was delightful to see how much love we all share for these dolls and their stories. Additionally, I found it fascinating to read the unique stories of other women who have also been touched by these dolls. The history behind the paper doll story was particularly incredible to hear!

While I found the book enjoyable, I felt that its focus on social justice issues overshadowed the stories of those who were impacted, both positively and negatively, by the brand's failures to represent diverse perspectives. In their effort to highlight underrepresented voices, the book seemed to have suppressed other important stories.

Overall, It was interesting to learn about the impact our childhood dolls had on our lives, but it was also disheartening to hear the negative views expressed about certain values these dolls once represented and the failure to capture the full range of perspectives on the topics this book covered.

I want to express my gratitude to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and the authors for giving me this opportunity to read and reflect on the book!

This is a very niche read and one that, if you were interested in American Girl Dolls as a child, has the ability to resonate. However, if you aren't drawn to historical fiction, millennial girl vibes, podcasty and conversational writing, I'm not sure it's going to be a winner for you. I do find myself interested in the background and historical information brought to light surrounding American Girl Doll and the attention that was paid to the phenomenon aspect of the dolls. For me, this was like listening to friends talk about nostalgic things from childhood.

For those who grew up with American Girl in the 90s and are ready to dive in to the pip culture of the millennial generation. A trip down memory lane, as seen through the lens of modern sensibilities, this book examines the development of American Girl and doesn’t shy away from the more challenging conversations about race and historical context. Thoughtful, heartwarming and humorous!

I grew up obsessed with American Girl! I was totally a Molly for similar reasons as the authors, it gave me something to talk about with my grandmother. I loved the deep dive into the history of American Girl and the founder and company behind it. I appreciate that the authors talked honestly about some of the problematic aspects of American Girl and the characters in the books. Listening to this book really made me wish I had not gotten rid of my 2 dolls. I had a Molly (of course) and one of the lookalike dolls. It was very nostalgic and made me long for the days of flipping through the magazine and circling allll the things I knew I would never get. I loved hearing that the authors and many others DIYed their own accessories and clothing, as that was something my mom and I did together. I can't wait to check out the podcast! Thank you for this wonderful trop down memory lane!

Is there a better thrill for a reader than stepping into someone else’s world, while still being firmly planted in your own? Readers know the glow of looking at a beautifully bound friend who sits on the shelf, their whole life made just in the service of opening another world for you. What I do remember is the sensory thrill of this experience: the sound of my mom’s voice reading, holding the book open just a crack so as not to ruin the spine, inhaling the smell of the pages, dressing in matching plaid flannel nightgowns with our dolls and reading the stories aloud to my sister until we had memorized Meet Molly.

As Mahoney and Horrock assert, the only thing better than owning something from American Girl was dreaming about buying something from the American Girl catalog. Women of our generation can conjure an almost religious devotion to it. My sister and I spent hours pouring over the catalog pictures and descriptions –we see you, Kirsten’s cheery cherry red boots--until it was dog-eared and love-worn. And the Christmas we both received our first American Girls carefully nestled in the distinctive burgundy box with the Pleasant Company logo: magical.

Receiving a doll felt like participating in a rite-of-passage. A new arrival to our family born from a box with a new chapter filled with adventures, she contained multitudes–literally. Our dolls came accompanied by a six book packaged set tied with a burgundy ribbon in true American Girl tradition. These are some of the best memories of my childhood and sister-sister bonding reminiscent of the Icelandic tradition of Jolabokaflod, or book floods, at Christmas.

For me, the superpower of the American Girls was their invitation to make a playground of the past, and like Allison, I, too, drove an hour to check her out of a library, strap her into the front seat, weight limits to the wind, and settle in for a long drive against rush hour traffic. One American Girl Doll with accessories; in a zippered bag 54x24x16cm…ensconced in that bright pink case with a small plastic window through which to view the world. Because no matter how old you are, feeling pure, unadulterated joy while playing with dolls has no due date.

I wanted to like this so badly but the constant millennial references were so cringe. Couldn't make it past the first half hour.

The Samantha in me was cheesing hard reading this book of pure nostalgia!! Lots of praise for it. Loved going behind the scenes of one of my favorite childhood toys and learning about the creation process and history behind each doll. I also appreciated how the authors didn’t shy away from delving into the racial, LGBTQ, and socioeconomic factors that influenced the dolls themselves and the children who played with them. All in all - would recommend!!

This book has some bright spots, but it’s not really what it’s advertised to be; and contains entirely too much finger wagging and not nearly enough academic discussion about the cultural significance of the central subject.

The authors do a nice job on pop cultural references relevant to the time period, and they do an excellent job of discussing historical accuracy (particularly with regard to the American Girl doll books) and the treatment of nonwhite characters and, perhaps, nonwhite consumers.

I thought the academic considerations about historical misrepresentation were quite good, though the shouty anti-capitalist stuff if obnoxious, partly because a lot of it is built on economic misconceptions, but mostly because it’s pretty irritating to listen to someone rail about the evils of capitalism while selling you a book about $115 dolls.

More nostalgia and historical examination and less uninformed and out of place rants would have helped this book a lot. I also would have liked to see a greater proportion of the content dedicated to the dolls and other product as opposed to the books. Both are worth discussing, but better balance was needed.

It’s 2008 and I’m standing over my dad’s shoulder as he bids on a Josephina doll on EBay for me. We win, and I am ecstatic! My very own American Girl! We would repeat this process a couple time over the years as I scrounged up a collection of AG dolls and accessories. While we weren’t necessarily poor, American Girl was a little out of reach for me. I loved the thrill of finding a good deal and the hours I spent with my dad comparing listings and bidding on dolls. American Girl had been a part of my story since I was old enough to pull a Samantha book off the shelf at the library and have my mom read it to me. Revisiting this bulwark of my childhood through Dolls of Our Lives has been nostalgic while allowing me to view it through an adult’s perspective. I really enjoyed the history and insights into the brand’s past and the commentary on where the brand could still grow. Discussing this book with co-workers prompted conversations about our own girlhoods and how the library can empower girls. I had fun revisiting my favorite characters and found the authors to be humorous and insightful.

I absolutely loved this audiobook. I was a big fan of American Girl when I was younger and it was great to look back on it with adult insight. I also really liked how the authors narrated it. I highly recommend this for all millenial girls who grew up with the dolls and magazine.

I know of this podcast but had never listened, so I requested this book in hopes that it would be a good starting point for me. I think this may be a summary of podcast high points but I am not entirely sure. I thought this would be both more and less comprehensive...I'm not entirely sure how to explain it. I did go back and listen to a few of the early Felicity episodes in order to try and better establish the humor and tone of what was going on. The podcast is much more conversational, as you would expect, and the jokes and asides pop up more naturally. I think that was probably one of the major missteps was trying to shove some of the jokes that probably landed well in the episodes into really flat and frankly random occurrences in the book. The book was narrated by the authors - Allison Horrocks and Mary Mahoney - but they refer to themselves in third person while narrating and I thought that was an odd choice (just say I for the audiobook...?). The authors are both history PhDs so they have great historical facts and perspectives and make some really good literary observations. There were good details in the book and lots of facts and testimonials from people who lived the AG fandom. And I did enjoy the information about the creator and all of her influences and the importance she placed on girls being involved and feeling worthy. I don't even mind some of the modern criticism of certain problematic aspects of the AG franchise. I think I just expected them to mostly talk about each American Girl and their time period. This is more of a history of how American Girl came about and less about the history surrounding the individual AG doll characters. Also there is A LOT of individual testimony from the authors and that may have been another thing that worked better in podcast form because it felt unnecessary and repetitive. Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book, and I really did try. But this is the only 2 star read for me this year, if that says anything. The two stars are for the authors’ enthusiasm and well-researched history of the American Girl company, and how it helped shape a generation, both positively and negatively. But that was maybe generously about 40% of the book. The rest of the book was a hodgepodge of random stories, pop culture references, and politics. I’m all about reading viewpoints from all sides, and was very interested in hearing about what the company did wrong, and how it has been and still can be corrected, but it’s helpful to balance out opinions and facts, and the authors just didn’t even attempt to do that. They had an agenda for this book (which is completely fine as it’s every author’s prerogative what to write about) but unfortunately it wasn’t lined up with what was stated in the blurb, which can easily throw off a potential reader, thus can attract the wrong readers and throw off the ratings. Such is the case with me, I think. Ultimately, due to so much that I found irrelevant, it ended up making it very hard to stay engaged with the audiobook. It is also read by the authors, not professionals, so the tone and pacing varies. The first narrator is fantastic, and has a great voice that’s easy to listen to, but the second narrator was difficult to get through as her voice is much higher and almost childlike, which probably also distracted me from the content. Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Feiwel and Friends for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review

This book is for the kids that grew up loving American Girl Dolls and for the kids who lovingly perused the catalog wishing their families could afford them. Listening to the audiobooks of Dolls of Our Lives is like listening to your best friends host a podcast that brings the nostalgia of childhood in the our modern understandings of the world and patriarchy.

If you like these things, you'll love Dolls of Our Lives:
-The You're Wrong About Podcast
-Snarky and Witty Commentary about the weird stuff we just accepted in the 90s
-Laughing while you read a book
-Traveling through memory lane

I am so grateful that NetGalley and MacMillan Audio allowed me to listen to an advanced audio copy of Dolls of Our Lives which releases on November 7th. I highly recommend you get yourself a copy!

The nostalgia! Omg this was a fun read. Part historical, part memoir, part deep dive into the American Girl doll stories all while wrapped in 90s and early 00s pop culture.

This was a very fun read. I never had an American girl doll but I did read all the books (although don’t remember much lol) and would have loved a Samantha doll. It was interesting looking back on the history of the dolls and looking back with a different lens and seeing the more problematic sides of the stories and how all aspects connected girls across the country.

I am not a podcast person so I LOVE when podcasters write a book that combine things they have learned through their podcast and things they talk about on the podcast.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for an advanced listening copy.

Pros: American Girl Dolls were my favorite toy growing up, so I was thrilled to learn about this book that celebrates these dolls and their books and examines their history. I found the authors to be very relatable--we are elder millennials and all love our Molly dolls. I appreciated the authors' academic backgrounds (PhDs in History!) and how they treat pop culture as worthy of examination. I thought the structure of this book, which follows the structure of each doll's 6-book series, was clever. I also appreciate that the authors do not shy away from discussing some of the difficult aspects of the dolls (e.g., slavery) and how they encourage readers to approach the books with a mature reading through a modern lens. They also noted things about the dolls, their books, and the magazine that I had not considered--their focus on making children the center of the stories and encouraging reading, play, and friendship. I can't wait to share this books with my friends who also grew up loving American Girl Dolls. I'm also inspired to reread all of the AG books and listen to the authors' podcast.

Cons: None!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read this book.