A review by panda_incognito
Meet Felicity: An American Girl by Valerie Tripp
3.0
"Ah, yes! Felicity the horse thief!"
That is how my brother refers to this American Girl, and it's fair. There is far more nuance to the story than that, but Felicity behaves in very disobedient and unwise ways in this story, and I've never been impressed with that element of it. I also was scared of Jiggy Nye as a child. Thus, this book has never been one of my favorites, but because it was the only one that we had at home, I read it more than the other Felicity books.
Thanks to COVID-19, I am limited to reading the books that I have at home, and most of my unread books are dense and thoughtful. Since I was in the mood for something relaxing and comforting at the end of March, I reread the Molly series, and this inspired me to undertake a Great American Girl Reread of 2020. I started the Felicity series again with this in mind, and was shocked to later realize just how long it has been since I read this series. I had assumed that I had reread it at some point during the lifetime of my Goodreads account, but no! I last read this in 2008.
It was very interesting to read this from an adult perspective. The author does a phenomenal job of setting up character elements, series story arcs, and the historical context of Colonial Williamsburg, and I would give this four stars if not for Felicity's poor behavior. The history is all excellently presented, and it made for the perfect comfort read, evoking memories of my family's trips to Williamsburg back in the day, of the stories that I made up inspired by Felicity, and the many conversations that I had about Felicity with various friends, especially during my horse girl phase.
That is how my brother refers to this American Girl, and it's fair. There is far more nuance to the story than that, but Felicity behaves in very disobedient and unwise ways in this story, and I've never been impressed with that element of it. I also was scared of Jiggy Nye as a child. Thus, this book has never been one of my favorites, but because it was the only one that we had at home, I read it more than the other Felicity books.
Thanks to COVID-19, I am limited to reading the books that I have at home, and most of my unread books are dense and thoughtful. Since I was in the mood for something relaxing and comforting at the end of March, I reread the Molly series, and this inspired me to undertake a Great American Girl Reread of 2020. I started the Felicity series again with this in mind, and was shocked to later realize just how long it has been since I read this series. I had assumed that I had reread it at some point during the lifetime of my Goodreads account, but no! I last read this in 2008.
It was very interesting to read this from an adult perspective. The author does a phenomenal job of setting up character elements, series story arcs, and the historical context of Colonial Williamsburg, and I would give this four stars if not for Felicity's poor behavior. The history is all excellently presented, and it made for the perfect comfort read, evoking memories of my family's trips to Williamsburg back in the day, of the stories that I made up inspired by Felicity, and the many conversations that I had about Felicity with various friends, especially during my horse girl phase.