pandal0vesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Hilarious and light-hearted book that educates readers about the realities of marriage in colonial times
disconightwing's review against another edition
4.0
The book came with the doll.
It was cute! A very sweet little standalone story.
It was cute! A very sweet little standalone story.
thewordwitch's review against another edition
1.0
This book is wildly out of pocket. It's as if Val Tripp was trying to create a Jane Austen novel for children, and decided the best way to do that was to make it incredibly campy.
I'm baffled by the complete change in character Elizabeth has gone through, as if a dye job would change her entire personality as well. Once the reserved rule-follower, she has become more rambunctious and thoughtless than Felicity herself.
She even gaslights Felicity, telling her that the pranks she is pulling on Annabelle aren't harmful, but are instead meant to teach her a lesson. This couldn't be further from the truth. Also, the things she pulled while they had visitors should have wound up in some sort of punishment, but it seems as if there are no consequences for her actions.
Appallingly bad.
I'm baffled by the complete change in character Elizabeth has gone through, as if a dye job would change her entire personality as well. Once the reserved rule-follower, she has become more rambunctious and thoughtless than Felicity herself.
She even gaslights Felicity, telling her that the pranks she is pulling on Annabelle aren't harmful, but are instead meant to teach her a lesson. This couldn't be further from the truth. Also, the things she pulled while they had visitors should have wound up in some sort of punishment, but it seems as if there are no consequences for her actions.
Appallingly bad.
sashaychantea's review against another edition
2.0
True rating 2.5
The ending saved it. I felt this book was kind of out of character for Elizabeth.
The ending saved it. I felt this book was kind of out of character for Elizabeth.
panda_incognito's review against another edition
1.0
This addition to the Felicity series, which came out after the movie, is over-the-top, farcical, and completely unrealistic. When it came out, my sister and I borrowed the book from some friends, and I was unimpressed and uneasy with it. Now that I have read it again, I see how valid that was. I had very good taste! But then again, this book is so monumentally bad that I'm not sure I get any credit for my discernment.
From the beginning of this book, there are glaring continuity issues, because Elizabeth has a different hair color, a wildly different personality, and a different friendship dynamic with Felicity than in any of the other books. The hair color issue is explained easily enough, since the movie actress for Elizabeth had blond hair, but the rest of the differences are mystifying. Valerie Tripp, the original series author, engaged in random and inexplicable character assassination in this book, turning Elizabeth into an immature, impulsive, and mean-spirited prankster who behaves in ways that no Colonial child could ever imagine getting away with.
Elizabeth also has a completely different friendship dynamic with Felicity than she did in the other books. Previously, Elizabeth was the reserved, level-headed counterpart to Felicity's feisty nature, but in this book, to borrow a phrase from a friend, "they egg each other on to dastardly deeds against humanity." These girls suddenly become pranksters devoted to making Elizabeth's older sister's life miserable, and even though they claim that they have agreed to never do anything truly hurtful to Annabelle, their behavior is excessive and wrong.
Also, for whatever reason, Elizabeth and Felicity have developed a random code where they will hit their feet together under tables to communicate what they are current thinking about regarding Annabelle. This is RIDICULOUS, and it gets even worse. In one scene, when Elizabeth goes to visit Felicity and share some news, the scene ends with them tapping their feet together under the table, and I was jarred and surprised, because I hadn't realized that they had sat down together. I went back to the beginning of the scene and read it again to find what I had missed, but it never even said that they had sat down at a table, and I was right to imagine them standing during this conversation! Also, why tap your feet together if you're in private, and not trying to communicate without Annabelle noticing? The writing is so lazy and terrible that I don't even know what to say about it.
This book is designed to teach about Colonial courtship dynamics, and it does that tolerably well, but the only real value of the book comes from the "peek into the past" section, not the farcical story of a suitor and his sister coming from England to pursue Annabelle's hand in marriage. Elizabeth's behavior during this process is embarrassing to twenty-first century eyes, and it is unimaginable that she would have behaved this way as a well-bred Colonial child from a high-class family. Similarly, it is unimaginable that the suitor's sister would behave in the way that she did.
I cringed and suffered through these scenes, and couldn't even begin to imagine why a successful, talented author like Valerie Tripp would write something this clunky, unrealistic, and farcical. The only way to deal with this book is to pretend that it's someone's horrible fan fiction, or that the author is lampooning history through a ridiculous comedy. It is impossible to believe that any of these characters are real people who take themselves seriously. Also, the book concludes absurdly.
The multi-page historical section in the back is well-written and highly educational, and I appreciate the photo and artwork reproductions, primary source quotations, and explanations of courtship and marriage dynamics from this era. One interesting thing that I learned was that pressures to marry did not only exist for women at this time, but that unmarried men were also considered unsuccessful and lazy, and were rarely elected to public office. Also, in the Colony of Maryland, bachelors were required to pay higher taxes. That's interesting, and the fact that even I learned something from this historical note shows that it's very substantial, not just comparing basic cultural details to the present. This is the one good thing about the book.
Last year, I got a used copy of this book very cheaply when a friend's parents were downsizing, because even though I remembered not liking it, I wanted to complete my set and was curious to read it again. It's fun to have a copy that belonged to my friend, and I'll keep this around to have a complete set and to have access to this out-of-print book, but it is genuinely so much more terrible than I had remembered. It was worth reading again for the entertainment value of hating it, and the historical section is great, but I would never encourage someone to read this unless they're either committed to reading all of the American Girl books or want to pretend that this is a comedy skit making fun of the Felicity series.
From the beginning of this book, there are glaring continuity issues, because Elizabeth has a different hair color, a wildly different personality, and a different friendship dynamic with Felicity than in any of the other books. The hair color issue is explained easily enough, since the movie actress for Elizabeth had blond hair, but the rest of the differences are mystifying. Valerie Tripp, the original series author, engaged in random and inexplicable character assassination in this book, turning Elizabeth into an immature, impulsive, and mean-spirited prankster who behaves in ways that no Colonial child could ever imagine getting away with.
Elizabeth also has a completely different friendship dynamic with Felicity than she did in the other books. Previously, Elizabeth was the reserved, level-headed counterpart to Felicity's feisty nature, but in this book, to borrow a phrase from a friend, "they egg each other on to dastardly deeds against humanity." These girls suddenly become pranksters devoted to making Elizabeth's older sister's life miserable, and even though they claim that they have agreed to never do anything truly hurtful to Annabelle, their behavior is excessive and wrong.
Also, for whatever reason, Elizabeth and Felicity have developed a random code where they will hit their feet together under tables to communicate what they are current thinking about regarding Annabelle. This is RIDICULOUS, and it gets even worse. In one scene, when Elizabeth goes to visit Felicity and share some news, the scene ends with them tapping their feet together under the table, and I was jarred and surprised, because I hadn't realized that they had sat down together. I went back to the beginning of the scene and read it again to find what I had missed, but it never even said that they had sat down at a table, and I was right to imagine them standing during this conversation! Also, why tap your feet together if you're in private, and not trying to communicate without Annabelle noticing? The writing is so lazy and terrible that I don't even know what to say about it.
This book is designed to teach about Colonial courtship dynamics, and it does that tolerably well, but the only real value of the book comes from the "peek into the past" section, not the farcical story of a suitor and his sister coming from England to pursue Annabelle's hand in marriage. Elizabeth's behavior during this process is embarrassing to twenty-first century eyes, and it is unimaginable that she would have behaved this way as a well-bred Colonial child from a high-class family. Similarly, it is unimaginable that the suitor's sister would behave in the way that she did.
I cringed and suffered through these scenes, and couldn't even begin to imagine why a successful, talented author like Valerie Tripp would write something this clunky, unrealistic, and farcical. The only way to deal with this book is to pretend that it's someone's horrible fan fiction, or that the author is lampooning history through a ridiculous comedy. It is impossible to believe that any of these characters are real people who take themselves seriously. Also, the book concludes absurdly.
Spoiler
Annabelle and her suitor call off their engagement, and everything returns to the status quo. Nothing changes; no one experiences character growth. Felicity and Elizabeth decide that there is nothing wrong with going back to where they were at the beginning, and they devise a new plan for tormenting Annabelle. That's it. That's the end of the book.The multi-page historical section in the back is well-written and highly educational, and I appreciate the photo and artwork reproductions, primary source quotations, and explanations of courtship and marriage dynamics from this era. One interesting thing that I learned was that pressures to marry did not only exist for women at this time, but that unmarried men were also considered unsuccessful and lazy, and were rarely elected to public office. Also, in the Colony of Maryland, bachelors were required to pay higher taxes. That's interesting, and the fact that even I learned something from this historical note shows that it's very substantial, not just comparing basic cultural details to the present. This is the one good thing about the book.
Last year, I got a used copy of this book very cheaply when a friend's parents were downsizing, because even though I remembered not liking it, I wanted to complete my set and was curious to read it again. It's fun to have a copy that belonged to my friend, and I'll keep this around to have a complete set and to have access to this out-of-print book, but it is genuinely so much more terrible than I had remembered. It was worth reading again for the entertainment value of hating it, and the historical section is great, but I would never encourage someone to read this unless they're either committed to reading all of the American Girl books or want to pretend that this is a comedy skit making fun of the Felicity series.
cmw119's review against another edition
3.0
This book was so-so. Felicity was never my favorite American Girl, nor was the colonial period a period in history that I enjoyed. There wasn't much to the plot of this story either; everything moved too quickly and there was no real issue or resolution.
12dejamoo's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This is a silly one in the grand scheme of American Girl books but I won't lie and say it didn't make me giggle
littleseal's review
Miss Priscilla is a bitch and the worst character from any of the AG books I have read (so far).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Classism, and Toxic relationship
piburnjones's review against another edition
1.0
Fair warning: I only just read this as an adult. No nostalgia bonus.
Where to start with this mess?
First, just as a flag, there's a scene where a new character chides Elizabeth and Annabelle for their healthy appetites, saying that fine ladies in England are dainty eaters. Priscilla is an absolute, unredeemed gorgon, but STILL - no other character disagrees with her - you have to make the leap from "Priscilla is awful" to "anything Priscilla says is garbage" all on your own. Valerie, you are writing for children, kindly do not encourage disordered eating.
Since we've introduced Priscilla, let's talk about one dimensional characters in Felicity and Elizabeth's world. In the original Felicity books, Annabelle is a very consistently drawn caricature who never gets the chance to breathe and be a real person. Here she breaks out of that for all of one scene. I would have hoped that Elizabeth might show us a more fully realized picture of her sister than this tiny flicker of sisterly support, but apparently it's too much fun to write Annabelle Bananabelle.
But if Annabelle is bad, Priscilla is Annabelle turned up to eleven. Through the Felicity books, Annabelle occasionally gets reminded by adults to be civil to the younger girls, but no adult here seems to bat an eye at Priscilla's awfulness. Are the Cole parents so cowed by an English title they never correct her about Annabelle's name? This all plays at the level of a farce, which is not usually the mode American Girl operates in.
Then there are all the tricks Elizabeth and Felicity play. The narrative wants you to feel okay about them because Annabelle - and later Priscilla - are so awful, but the whole thing makes me super uncomfortable. The girls justify it to themselves by insisting that they're trying to shake Annabelle out of being such a snob - and the narrative goes along with this rationale - but I can't imagine a person for whom that would actually work as presented. Plus, we're told that the girls have agreed on limits - nothing harmful or mean-spirited - but I'm not convinced that the tricks we see follow those rules. This feels a lot less ha-ha funny and a lot closer to bullying than this book is ready to grapple with.
Not funny, Elizabeth. Not funny at all.
Where to start with this mess?
First, just as a flag, there's a scene where a new character chides Elizabeth and Annabelle for their healthy appetites, saying that fine ladies in England are dainty eaters. Priscilla is an absolute, unredeemed gorgon, but STILL - no other character disagrees with her - you have to make the leap from "Priscilla is awful" to "anything Priscilla says is garbage" all on your own. Valerie, you are writing for children, kindly do not encourage disordered eating.
Since we've introduced Priscilla, let's talk about one dimensional characters in Felicity and Elizabeth's world. In the original Felicity books, Annabelle is a very consistently drawn caricature who never gets the chance to breathe and be a real person. Here she breaks out of that for all of one scene. I would have hoped that Elizabeth might show us a more fully realized picture of her sister than this tiny flicker of sisterly support, but apparently it's too much fun to write Annabelle Bananabelle.
But if Annabelle is bad, Priscilla is Annabelle turned up to eleven. Through the Felicity books, Annabelle occasionally gets reminded by adults to be civil to the younger girls, but no adult here seems to bat an eye at Priscilla's awfulness. Are the Cole parents so cowed by an English title they never correct her about Annabelle's name? This all plays at the level of a farce, which is not usually the mode American Girl operates in.
Then there are all the tricks Elizabeth and Felicity play. The narrative wants you to feel okay about them because Annabelle - and later Priscilla - are so awful, but the whole thing makes me super uncomfortable. The girls justify it to themselves by insisting that they're trying to shake Annabelle out of being such a snob - and the narrative goes along with this rationale - but I can't imagine a person for whom that would actually work as presented. Plus, we're told that the girls have agreed on limits - nothing harmful or mean-spirited - but I'm not convinced that the tricks we see follow those rules. This feels a lot less ha-ha funny and a lot closer to bullying than this book is ready to grapple with.
Not funny, Elizabeth. Not funny at all.