American Girl Talk

Ye Olde Merry Christmas Season hath abounded, and Felicity has been invited to the governor's ball! It's delicious, she's excited, we're excited, and Mama's so excited she nearly works herself to death trying to ensure that Felicity has everything she needs to have the most fabulous Christmas of all time. But will Christmas even be fun if your mom is on her deathbed?  It turns out—no! We follow Fe...

We're back with another school story , ladies! Join Celia, Caroline, and a special guest as we SPILL THE TEA—ever so politely, of course. Felicity is off to finishing school, where lessons for girls include snacking, gossiping, and perfecting the art of becoming a well-mannered woman of leisure. But when politics creeps into the parlor, our favorite 9-year-old must choose between keeping the peace...

We’re so back, babes—back in time, that is! The year is 1774, and all of Celia’s horse-girl, fan-shipping fantasies are about to come true with Meet Felicity . Our heroine is a spunky nine-year-old living in colonial Williamsburg, and her heart is set on yearning. She yearns for everything —horses, britches, apprentices...independence? And she’ll stop at nothing to get what she wants. Join us as w...

This week, we're taking a break from reading and getting straight to yapping as we compare and contrast the OG 3 Girls - Kirsten, Samantha, and Molly. Join us for historical ponderings, undeserved superlatives, and some potential fan fiction about the series so far, and stay tuned next week for our next girl, Felicity! This podcast is for entertainment purposes only. Characters mentioned from the...

The end of the war is near as Molly experiences the universal girl-sperience of feeling ugly! With Dad coming home and the position of Miss Victory all but hers, Molly goes on a hair-raising mission to be a new Molly. But! Will she lose herself along the way? We wrap up the Molly books with some of the bleak realities of war, girlhood, and facing our own inner demons that we relate to Molly someti...

Molly's on a warpath and taking no prisoners as she and her two best friends (citation needed) go to Camp Gowanagin for their very first summer camp extravaganza.  When a Color War splits the dynamic trio up, Molly must decide if she chooses friendship or betrayal. You will be shocked by her choice. We can't emphasize enough how much of a monster Molly is in this book, so you'll just have to tune...

It's a birthday battle royale between Britain and the USA when Emily, a very disappointing British girl, comes to say at Molly's house during her birthday. Will Molly be an accommodating host, or will her inner monster rear it's ugly head?  Meanwhile, Caroline and Celia wonder if there is some infighting at the American Girl HQ's publishing room. Chapters 10:58 - Chapter One: Guess What? 28:23 - C...

It's Christmas for Molly, and she's very worried it will be too realistic! With Dad away and Mom silently crashing out in the background, it's up to Molly and her siblings to string together a Christmas surprise. Will they pull of the surprise? Should they even be surprising Mom, a woman currently on the verge? Join Caroline and Celia as they ponder this, as well as Molly's sudden interest in doll...

This week, Molly definitely doesn’t learn a lesson—but Caroline and Celia do: just because a girl looks like a total nerd doesn’t mean she isn’t a total jerk! Molly completely loses it at the thought of not being her teacher’s favorite, going full WWII-era Regina George in a truly unhinged display of elementary school dominance . It’s weird, it’s mean, and—spoiler alert—it backfires spectacularly...

New girl just dropped! It's time for Celia and Caroline to Meet Molly, and boy, is she kind of the worst! Turns out there is more to this WWII girl than meets the four-eyes, and she is a bit of a bully when it comes to her friends, family, acquaintances, and mad lust for Halloween-costume-dominancy! Tune in to hear us discuss Molly, American Girls, World Wars II and III, and see just how many war...

Bonus alert! To stave off having to cover Molly for juuuuust a little longer, we're doing a look back at the gals we've covered so far - Kirsten and Samantha!  We compare, contrast, and predict the lives of our favorite historical 9-year-olds, and Celia drops some fan-fiction teasers that are sure to titillate your senses (they are about adults, FYI).  Tune in for a little less structure but all t...

It's a Coldrock life, for Nellie! Samantha's life continues to be a Victorian dream, while Nellie's slowly becomes a Dickensian nightmare. Luckily, Samantha has a not-so-foolproof plan to save her friend. On our final adventure with our favorite woke brat, Caroline and Celia say goodbye to Samantha and reflect on what it means to be an uncle-father.  Chapters (0:00) It's Wintertime for us, and Sam...

Orphan lore finally drops as Samantha heads back to the site of her parents' tragic demise—for a fun summer getaway! Meanwhile, Grandmary is deep in a full-blown romance, leaving Caroline and Celia absolutely gagged at the idea of old love. Chapters 0:00) Welcome back! American Girl Getaways, Samantha's TikTok, and random gabbing (10:16) Chapter One - Piney Point! (The longest chapter ever written...

Samantha kicks things off with a birthday party so prim and proper it could put a Victorian tea set to sleep—until the book suddenly swerves into an entirely different plot, like it just remembered it had somewhere way more interesting to be. Meanwhile, Caroline gets really into the suffragette movement and delivers a political rant so fiery, it might just make your MAGA uncle clutch his pearls. B...

Samantha Parkington had one wish for Christmas—a perfectly proper Victorian holiday. But when Uncle Gard shows up with his newfangled "special friend", Samantha does what any respectable 9-year-old would do—she crashes out. In this episode, we’re recapping Samantha’s Surprise , the American Girl Doll book that taught us all that holiday meltdowns are way more socially acceptable when you’re a kid....

Samantha gets schooled (!) about the negative side of the Industrial Revolution and gives the wokest speech anyone has ever heard in Mount Bedford. Meanwhile, Nellie crashes out at public school.    Chapters  (0:00) Oops no video! One last time.  (8:20) Chapter One - Notes and Knee Bends  (17:17) Chapter Two - Nellie  (22:11) Chapter Three - Mount Better School  (29:53) Chapter Four - The Contest ...

New Girl Alert! Celia and Caroline jump into the life of fabulous Victorian b r a t Samantha Parkington, and everyone learns a little bit about haunted dolls, classism, and babies who look like adults.  Chapters (0:00) A note from Caroline - Oops! No Video! (1:08) Girl Alert! Samantha Parkington (7:49) Chapter One - Jesse! (28:06) Chapter Two - New Girl (39:34) Chapter Three - The Tunnel (45:51) C...

Kirsten's outfit isn't the only thing to die for in this episode! Celia and Caroline wrap up the Kirsten books with a bleak outlook on prairie life and the sinister nature of finder's keepers. Chapters  (0:00) Welcome Back! Laura Ingalls vs Kirsten vs Childhood games  (6:04) Chapter One: On the Trap Line (14:00) Chapter Two: Fire!  (22:46) Chapter Three: Good News?  (29:52) Chapter Four: Old Jack ...

Kirsten saves the day! Or does she? Let's find out! Listen in as our girl gets LOCKED IN on a honey scheme and bears the weight of her obsession by learning almost nothing from the experience! Chapters (0:00) Kirsten's journey - a year in Minnesota (5:27) Chapter One: The Bee Tree (12:17) Chapter Two: In the Berry Patch (26:05) Chapter Three: Bears! (29:27) Chapter Four: Bringing Back the Bees! (3...

This book is all about chores! Kirsten is an elementary school dropout, mama gives birth to another mouth to feed, and our gal gets to wear a fancy dress exactly once before getting back to menial household labor. Chapters (0:00) Welcome Back! Celia explains a Reddit scandal (8:20) Chapter One: Tornado! (21:20) Chapter Two: New Babies (25:27) Chapter Three: Big Enough ;) (31:02) Chapter Four: Part...

Kirsten hyper-fixates on getting Trunk back, and Papa doesn't beat the allegations of being the worst. Caroline and Celia release a Christmas-themed episode they recorded on Halloween on New Year's Eve. Chapters  (0:00) Welcome back! Kirsten so far  (6:33) Chapter One: Pestering!  (14:35) Chapter Two: A Crown for a Queen!  (26:43) Chapter Three: To Town at Last (feat. a horse with an insane name) ...

Kirsten learns about girl crushes and manifest destiny but barely learns how to speak English.  Caroline and Celia learn that sometimes, kids' books are boring! Chapters  0:00 - Welcome back!  7:50 - Chapter 1: Miss Winston  29:56 - Chapter 2: A Secret Friend ;)  42:24 - Chapter 3: Visitors  48:28 - Chapter 4: Singing Bird and Yellow Hair  55:53 - Chapter 5: Belonging  1:00:13 - Peek Into the Past...

A lil' Swede named Kirsten Larson crosses the Atlantic with her sick mama and toxic papa to come to America! Along the way, she gets lost in New York City (relatable), discovers that cholera is deadly (tragic), and loses her doll (unforgivable). Listen in to hear how we feel about this! Not good! Chapters 0:00 - Welcome to American Girl Talk! 6:16 - Our connection to Kirsten (fragile) 7:53 - Chapt...

Introducing American Girl Talk - A show for silly women women who loved historical fiction as children, by silly women who loved historical fiction as children! This podcast is for entertainment purposes only. Characters mentioned from the American Girl Doll books are the property of the Pleasance Company.