Grace Stirs Up Success review

I reviewed Isabelle's movie about a year ago and I finally got around to watching Grace's movie recently so I thought I'd review it like I did Isabelle's.(Hopefully you can still watch Grace here). I'll try to follow the same format I used in Isabelle's review. Please remember that quite a bit of this is going to be opinion because it's a review.

Isabelle's movie was shown on Disney Channel in early August so AG may have plans to do the same with Grace's movie. I have not heard anything and could not find anything online to indicate that this will happen but I don't think there was much warning about Isabelle's movie showing on Disney Channel before it happened. Keep an eye out. I will try to post about any showings if I hear about them. 

The director was Vince Marcello who also did Isabelle's movie and the two Disney Channel "Teen Beach Movie". Olivia Rodrigo stars as Grace. Caitlin Carmichael who portrays one of Grace's best friends, is a recurring voice on Disney Jr's Doc McStuffens.

Plot - Grace Thomas plans to start a cupcake business with her two best friends so that they can raise money to pay for their new bikes for some bike race at the end of the summer. Then Grace's mother drops the news that she and Grace will be living in Paris for a while because Grace's aunt is too pregnant to work in her husband's bakery anymore. Grace and her cousin do not get along and find it difficult to relate to each other. Grace gets in the way at the bakery when she tried too hard to prove how good she is to her uncle. After the baby comes, Grace and her mother return to Massachusetts where Grace overhears that her grandparents' bakery is in too much debt to keep running. Grace puts her Paris bakery knowledge to use and everything is going great until the old oven finally breaks. Grace gets an email the next morning saying that she is a contestant on a baking competition/TV show and the prize is $100,000 (and a trophy). Grace goes to the competition in hopes of winning. 

Good points 

• The acting was a lot better than the Isabelle movie
• Most of the characters were fairly developed and had meaning
• Grace wasn't nearly as whiny and woe-is-me as Isabelle was 
• All of Grace's doll outfits and most of her accessories were in the movie (along with a few original outfits which would've been cute additions to her set)

Some not-so-good points

• In all honesty, it seemed really long. There were a lot points that I thought were nearing the end and then I'd see how much time was left or I remembered another scene I had seen when passing the TV in the store. There were a lot of subplots within the whole movie.
• It seemed odd that Grace's parents could afford to give her an iPhone, iPad and an Apple laptop but couldn't afford a new bike for her. I also thought it was a little ridiculous that a 9 or 10 year old would have all of those devices. Maybe I'm just old-fashioned but does an elementary schooler really need all of that? 
• Another thing I thought was odd was the fact that Grace had to go to Paris. Why couldn't she stay behind with her dad and brother or even her grandparents? She really only seemed to be in the way at the bakery for 95% of the movie so couldn't her mother just have gone? Or couldn't her uncle have just hired a temporary baker/worker?  
• Her dog (Bonbon) was practically pointless to include. He was only significant to one scene and it didn't even make sense how the dog knew where to go in that scene. (Without giving too much away, Bonbon is sent into a hotel with something around his neck for a specific person who he had never met before so I don't know how the heck he knew where he was going or who he was looking for.)

Personally, I wouldn't rewatch it as I didn't find it super entertaining but I think younger kids would like it. Supposedly the parents who went to the premier event at our store liked it a lot (in comparison to Isabelle's movie).

Things That Drive American Girl Employees Crazy!!

Disclaimer - this is all personal opinion and has nothing to do with what happens in the stockroom, manager’s office, etc. This is only about what we see/hear on the floor and what I or other employees have complained to each other about. Please do not take offense if you have done any of these.

This will be broken up by several sections as there are a couple categories that everything falls into.

Questions - As an employee we get asked a million questions a day, that most of the time we are happy to answer, but sometimes.... sometimes we wonder why people ask us these questions.

"Can you sell the display?" - Plain and simple, no. No. No. No. Sometimes we have to do things to the display dolls/items to get them to pose or hold something or whatever and there may be hot glue or tape on it that actually ruins the doll. Plus, all dolls say display in Sharpie on it somewhere. The Truly Me dolls all have "Display doll #__" on their butts. Do NOT offer to pay extra for it. We cannot sell it. Don't try to guilt us into it either (I have had a lot of people try this tactic).

"Where is ______?" - If you legitimately cannot find something, of course, ask. But please try to find it yourself first. I have had a lot of customers walk right past what they're looking to get because they didn't even try to find it before asking an employee.

"Do you have ______?" when the sign says we are out of it. -  The signs says right there "_______ is out of stock. We apologize for the inconvenience." 99 times out of 100, we truly are out of it. 

"Do you work here?" - This is such a dumb question. I get asked all the time while I'm working. Obviously I work here. I'm fixing things, wearing all black, in an American Girl apron, with a name tag and an ID badge. Don't ask us. The worst that can happen is you ask another customer (and unless they magically have an AG apron and ID, they don't work here!). All AG workers get asked this and we just don't understand why. We are very identifiable and very uniform. 

"Who is the new Girl of the Year (GOTY)?" before we release it. - We cannot answer this. It's a company secret. I know it gets leaked months in advanced but we can't tell you. The internet is usually right, Just google "GOTY [year]" and you'll get a pretty accurate answer. I knew who the 2015 GOTY was before we were told in December. Of course we know by December, but we will never be able to tell you. Even if it is released on Good Morning America or something like that, we are told not to say anything until January 1st. 

Questions that can easily be answered online or by looking at something in the store. Questions like “How much are dolls?” You might want to know about the product you’re about to buy. “What year is Kit from?” Take a quick look above her display or look at her page on the AG website. 

Thing People Do - People do a lot of things in our store, some are rude or annoying.

Leaving their trash wherever they want. There is a bistro on the top floor of the DC store and sometimes people take their drinks when they leave. Nothing unusual when the cups are plastic and transportable. What is unusual, however is the fact that people seem to think it is ok to leave their trash wherever they feel like. There are trashcans all over the store. There is NO reason that a customer could not find a trashcan and throw whatever away. I find the cups from the bistro in the most random places. My job is not to clean up after you. 

People who leave the items on a different store level. The top floor and bottom floor have differently colored boxes. Employees can spot boxes from a different level a mile away. I understand not wanting to go back up/down a level to put something away but please hand it off to an employee and don't just throw it on another shelf for us to find. 

People who leave boxes in a completely wrong area. The boxes having writing on them and anyone can read what the item is called. Leaving Caroline's Winter Coat and Cap in the stack of Kaya's Pow Wow Dress of Today is obvious. We notice. Really, we do. Every section has a different color scheme, even Bitty Baby and Bitty Twins have discernible colors that I can see from wherever I am. Again, give it to an employee instead of ditching it wherever you want.

People who bring their sick kids to the store. We understand that leaving kids at home isn't really  an option, but when your child is coughing and sneezing all over the store and the other stuff anyone can touch, it's pretty gross. People can touch everything and it's a very germy practice of AG's. Please try keep your sick child's touching to a minimum (especially during cold and flu season). This may sound petty, but your sick child literally can make every employee sick if your child unnecessarily touches things in the store.

People who allow their child to have a meltdowns in the store, especially parents who don't try to stop or prevent it. Although that may be the only meltdown of your child that day, the employees have to hear multiple a day. No one likes to hear kids crying. We know kids will throw fits, but please exit the store. It's not fun for anyone and it makes other customers' trips unpleasant. 

People who come up to employees and expect the employees to be servants. Customers come up, say something to the effect of "Hey, help me find this stuff." but when workers try to hand them their boxes, they walk away and expect the workers to follow them around with the stuff they want. One man made me follow him around, and when he was done, he turned to me and demanded while pointing at the register, "Now ring me up." Excuse me?? Bossing me around does not make me want to help you. It angers me and I fume about it after you leave. I won't change my demeanor or facial expression but I sure do not want to help you. Treat the employees with respect. 

Customers who allow their kid(s) to wreck the store. It is amazing how badly parents allow their kids to act. Shelves look like they've kicked around when I've been gone for only a minute. I see so many kids knock stuff to the floor and don't pick it up. Even when parents see their child knock stuff over, they don't tell them to pick it up. What are you teaching your kids?? That it's ok to mess stuff up and not fix it? That it's someone else's job to clean up after them? Parents and kids who knock stuff over and make eye contact with me but still don't pick it up are the worst offenders. People never cease to amaze me. 

Another thing is that we have the Bitty strollers and dolls that we allow the kids to play with and every so often I realize that one is missing so I go look for it. I find them in the strangest places. Sometimes kids take the dolls off of the stands and carry them around the store. This really is not ok. Leave it where you find it. We cannot risk your kid taking a doll from the store and we don't have time to waste, tracking down missing displays.

Being rude in general. I understand being disappointed that we don't have an item you want, especially if you've driven for hours to get to the store. It does NOT excuse being rude. The employees are humans who should be treated with respect. Some customers act like employees are garbage, uneducated, etc. Many of us have some kind of college degree or working to get one. People treat us like we're nothing and it drives us crazy. The child almost always takes the disappointment better than the parents. 

People who are racist or try to make something into a race issue. (Did you expect this one?) One day a coworker told me that he offered to help someone and she replied with "I don't need your kind of help." Now, this is rude in general, but it was a white woman who responded like that to a black man (the employee). Racism is alive and well, unfortunately. I told someone we were out of Addy but there were other dolls that looked kind of like Addy downstairs and she replied angrily "Oh, so all the black dolls are downstairs??" Um, no. That is not what I said at all. Get over yourself and stop trying to make a problem where there isn't.

Also people who need to get over themselves are people who try to argue with employees over things related to AG. We work here, and most of us have a pretty vast knowledge of the company/items. People try to question things I say and it annoys me because I can nearly guarantee that I know a lot more than you do about AG. I have to be polite about you being wrong too, because I don’t want any manager to overhear me being rude to a customer, even if they deserve it. I personally despise that dumb saying “The customer is always right".

Customers who ask for something and walk away from where I left them. This is especially annoying and frustrating on the weekend and other busy days. I can see hundreds of people over the day, I don’t have the time, nor the ability, to memorize who asked what question. Stay where I leave you, because I am not going to run around trying to find you. Also, don’t ask for a manager and walk away. I told a lady who asked for a manager that it might take a minute or two for a manager to arrive because it was very busy and she rolled her eyes and walked away even though I had already called for a manager. I’m trying to help, don’t walk away/be rude. You waste everyone’s time when you do that.

Girl of the Year – Here are things, mostly questions, that relate to GOTY that get annoying.

Asking us who the new GOTY will be before she is released. As mentioned above, we CANNOT and WILL NOT tell you.

Asking us for previous GOTY items. I am constantly asked for Makenna and Saige. We don’t have their stuff and even if for some reason we did, we can’t sell it. We do, however, continue to sell both of their movies and books. 

People who don’t understand the blasted Girl of the YEAR concept. YEAR, not yearS. One year. That is all. One year.January 1st - December 31st. 365 days and then she's gone forever (except for ebay or something like that).

People who wait until the last week to get the GOTY stuff. The items are all mostly gone and you’ll be left with nothing. American Girl stops producing stuff and sending it within the last two or so weeks.

On the flip-side of the late-comers, there are the people who storm the doors on January 1^st, when they have over 300 other days to get the new GOTY. There is plenty of the GOTY to last. It isn't a one-day deal. Your kid doesn't have to get her the first day. It won’t make her a loser at school.

People who say the GOTY’s name wrong. Please know who you are talking about when you want to buy her. 

So quite frankly, this was a bit of a rant. I am not exempt from asking stupid questions in stores, but those employees can write their own blog post about it ;)

Review of AG's "Isabelle Dances Into The Spotlight"

I was able to find the latest American Girl Girl of the Year (GOTY) movie on YouTube. "Isabelle Dances Into the Spotlight" is 2014 GOTY Isabelle's movie.

Disney Channel is showing the movie on Saturday August 9th at 7/6c if you want to watch or TiVo it.

Plot - The movie is about Isabelle's struggle to shine at her performing arts school. She loves ballet but feels stuck in her older sister Jade's shadow and is bullied by a classmate. Isabelle has very low self-esteem and has basically no faith in herself. When she takes a part in the Nutcracker she has to face both her bully and feeling like she'll never compare to Jade. When the big dance number becomes harder will she be able to land the final turn sequence or mess up in front of everyone? Will she be good enough to get the New York Ballet summer program?

Good points:

• The acting wasn't bad, especially for the number of child/teen actors
• The dancing/choreography was great (I have no experience dancing so I'm not the greatest judge on this). 
•  The costumes were nice although only two looked like the Isabelle doll outfits. 

(I realize that it looks like I have far more complaints than compliments but that does not mean I thought it was a bad movie. It's easier to find flaws than good points.)

Some things I noticed that were off or not quite right to me:

• Isabelle's pink hair seem to disappear on and off throughout the movie
• The girl who played Isabelle's sister Jade (Grace Davidson) is obviously not close to Jade's age (which I believe is about 13 because there is a New York ballet program for 4-7th grade spots and most kids are 12 or 13 in 7th grade). Jade could easily pass for a 18 year old. I wasn't able to find Grace Davidson's age but I'm sure she is a legal adult (18+). Isabelle is a 9 year old played by a 14 year old so I'm sure Grace is several years older than Jade which isn't uncommon. 
• There are very few kids that look to be Jade's age or any other age besides Isabelle/Renata's age despite the fact that the school spans several grades/ages.
• The movie is set in DC but quite a few people have noticeable Canadian accents.
• The movie can be painfully slow and predictable. Maybe it's less predictable for younger viewers but I was definitely able to guess what was about to happen most of the time. 
• The music wasn't very good. Mediocre singing and lyrics were (unsurprisingly) pretty cheesy. 
• Isabelle constantly put herself down, to the point where I didn't even feel sorry for her. 
• Renata's bullying went undetected in places where adults weren't out of ear-shot. The bullying seemed off in a way I don't think I can quite describe. It just seemed like too much I guess.
• (Spoiler alert!) It ended the same way every AG movie ends - everyone gets along and everything is perfect. 

American Girl Facebook Chat with Erin Pitt

On July 29 2014, American Girl held a chat on their official Facebook page with Isabelle Dances Into the Spotlight star Erin Pitt (who played Girl of the Year Isabelle Palmer). Erin stated in the chat that she was doing it from her home in Canada.

The questions began at 8pm and Erin started answering them quickly. Here are some of the questions she answered and her answers to them. This is only about half of the questions. The answers are written exactly how she wrote them however the questions may have been edited to correct English grammar or shorten them to get to the point.
Q: How long have you been a dancer?
A: I've been dancing since I was 2 years old - 13 years!
Q: What state are you from?
A: I'm not from a state, I'm from Toronto, Canada!
Q: Do you have a pet?
A: I do have a pet - a water frog Lellow and a dog named Chanel!
Q: How long have you been dancing and do you really enjoy sewing?
A: I do enjoy sewing? I make a lot of my clothes actually!
Q: What have you made and do you plan on learning how to quilt?
A: I would love to learn how to quilt!
Q: What was the hardest part of the movie?
A: The hardest part of the movie - messing up my pirouettes.
Q: What was your favorite scene?
A: My favorite scene - the dance off!
Q: Do you like Miley Cyrus?
A: Miley Cyrus is a very talented artist!
Q: How do you like inspiring little girls everywhere to be confident and follow their dreams?
A: I love inspiring girls by being a role model for the,!
Q: What level dancer are you?
A: I'm in Level Elle in Vaganova Ballet
Q: Do you sing?
A: I do know how to sing. I take lessons and am trained classically/
Q: Can anyone take ballet and any suggestions about beginning lessons?
A: Anyone can take ballet, as long as you love it because it's hard work!
Q: What is your favorite style of dance?
A: My favorite style of dance is contemporary, but I love all styles!
Q: Do you have an Isabelle doll?
A: I do have an Isabelle doll!
Q: Do you do any other sports?
A: No, I don't do any other sports. I'd love to try lacrosse, but I'm too busy!
Q: How long did it take to film the movie?
A: It took 6 weeks to film the movie, including 2 weeks of rehearsals.
Q: What is your favorite AG film?
A: My favorite AG film - I like them all!
Q: It that your real hair in the movie?
A: In the movie, it's mostly my real hair but I did get extensions to make it look fuller!
Q: How many brothers and sisters do you have?
A: I have 3 brothers and 2 sisters!
Q: What are your favorite colors?
A: My favorite colors are turquoise, pink and yellow!
Q: Are you close with your movie family?
A: Yes, I'm very close with my movie family. I talk to them almost every day!
Q: Do you like One Direction?
A: I do like One Direction! I'm going to their concert on Friday :)
Q: Have you been in the Nutcracker?
A: I have been in the Nutcracker! I was Clara.
Q: Was it fun leaning the BFF jam?
A: It was super fun learning the BFF jam!
Q: Did you really dye your hair pink?
A: My hair is naturally blonde, but the pink highlights were extensions.
Q: What was your favorite outfit?
A: My favorite outfit would have to be the dance off outfit and I also loved the snowflake costume!
Q: When is your birthday?
A: My birthday is September 22, 1999. I'll be 15!
Q: Do you ever feel like Isabelle?
A: I do sometimes feel like Isabelle and unconfident, but then I pull myself together!
Q: Do you have an interest in acting or did you do it just because it was a dance movie?
A: I have an interest in acting - I've wanted to be an actress since I was 6.
Q: Do you do gymnastics?
A: I don't do gymnastics. Dance is my true love!
Q: Do you have any AG dolls?
A: I only have Isabelle, but if I could have another American Girl doll, it would be another GOTY!
Q: Do you think you pass as a 9 year old?
A: I think I passed as a 9-year-old... a lot of people ask me if I'm that young.
Q: Where did you learn to dance?
A: I learned to dance at many different studio in Canada.
Q: Was it easy to play Isabelle?
A: It was easy to play Isabelle because I could relate to her in many ways.
Q: What other actress or actor would you want to work with and why?
A: I would love to work with Rachel McAdams, she's a great actress!
Q: I know you do ballet but are you on pointe?
A: Yes, I've been on pointe for 5 years!
Q: What is your favorite school subject?
A: My favorite subject in school is science. My least favorite is history.
Q: Who is your role model?
A: My role model is my mom!
Q: Have you been on a tv show?
A: I've been in Camp Rock 2 [as a junior rocker] and another movie called Against the Wild, as well as many Canadian tv shows.
Q: What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
A: Favorite ice cream flavor... I can't have dairy so I love lemon sorbet. If I could eat it, probably mint chocolate chip!
Q: What do you like to do in your free time?
A: In my free time, I love hanging out with my friends and sewing.
Q: When did you first hear of American Girl?
A: I first heard of American Girl when I was 11 and started watching the movies.
Q: How long have you been acting?
A: I've been a professional actor since I was 9.
Q: Were the dances hard to learn?
A: The dance moves weren't hard for me to learn because I had such great choreographers.
Q: What is your favorite song from the movie?
A: My favorite song from the movie is You Are Your Own Star!
Q: What is your favorite holiday?
A: My favorite holiday is Christmas!
Q: Do you like Broadway?
A: I love Broadway musicals... my favorite is Mama Mia
Q: What is your favorite thing about Isabelle?
A: I loved how Isabelle pulled herself together to achieve great things and found her own way to shine!
Q: What is your favorite Isabelle doll outfit?
A: My favorite outfit for Isabelle is the one she comes in.
Q: Do you have any of the McDonalds set?
A: I don't have the McDonald's set, but AG is going to send them to me!
Q: Is it fun to go to a performing arts school?
A: Going to a performing arts school is fun! Everything revolves around the arts.
Q: Did you get to keep your outfits from the movie?
A: No, I didn't get to keep the Isabelle outfits I wore in the movie.

Many of the questions were repeated over and over by people who obviously weren't seeing what other people were asking. Questions like how old she was or if she liked Isabelle were asked constantly despite Erin already answering them. Another thing was people asking questions that could easily be googled, like where she is from, how old she is, how many siblings she has, etc. Chats like this should be used to ask questions that can't be easily found on the internet.

On the bright-side, Erin seemed to answer more freely than the author Lawrence Yep who had a chat several months ago. Even though she seemed less controlled, her answers to questions were pretty typical and weren't very interesting. Honestly the most interesting thing I learned was that she can't have dairy and that's not exactly super interesting or exciting to learn.

American Girl Authors Summer Book Tours

This summer many of the AG authors will be doing tours to many of the AG stores to promote their book series. Each author will be listed with their schedules and what girl(s) they wrote for below. All events are at the AG stores in the cities listed. Also, the DC store is actually in Virginia (just an FYI).

Most events are from 11am-1pm or 11:30am-1:30pm but check the AG website here to double check. Some places are also offering brunch with the offer so check to see if that is available too. I wish Valerie Tripp was coming to the DC store but I think I'm going to try to go to Lawrence Yep's and maybe Sarah Masters Buckley, too.

Sarah Masters Buckley (Maire-Grace books)
Atlanta - June 22
Washington DC - June 26
NYC - June 27
Boston - June 28

Kathleen Ernst (Caroline books)
NYC - June 6

Jacqueline Dembar Greene (Rebecca books)
Columbus - June 19
Chicago - June 20
Minneapolis - June 21
Kansas City - June 22

Megan McDonald (Julie books)
Minneapolis - June 8

Denise Lewis Patrick (Cecile books)
Denver - June 7

Valerie Tripp (Molly, Kit, Josefina, Felicity, and Samantha)
San Fransico - June 29
Seattle - June 30

Lawrence Yep (Mia and Isabelle)
Washington DC - June 13
Dallas - June 19
Houston - June 20

American Girl Online Chat with Author

On Wednesday May 22, 2014 at 8/7c American Girl hosted a "chat" with author Lawrence Yep who wrote both Girl of the Year Mia and Isabelle's book series.

AG held the chat on their Facebook page. It was not very clear prior to the beginning of the chat how we would be able to chat with Mr. Yep. I got on and went to the the AG page, hoping they had clearer directions for the chat. A few minutes after 8pm, AG began the chat.

You just posted a comment on this picture and Lawrence Yep answered from the AG account. People generally asked the same Isabelle-related questions. I eventually figured out that refreshing the page every few minutes was more beneficial than every few seconds; the chat was pretty slow. 

My biggest complaint was that it seemed like AG was controlling which questions Yep did or did not answer. Several people asked how he felt about AG getting rid of the only historical Asian doll (Yep is of Asian descent) and Yep never answered those questions. He also ignored another question about on of Isabelle's friend's original nationality. Several people (including myself) asked how to become AG authors and he ignored those questions. 

Yep will be doing a AG book tour this summer, as will many other AG authors (I will make a separate post for their information). I am considering attending the one at the DC store (the store is really in Virginia, just FYI)

Yep's schedule -

NYC store - May 30

DC store - June 13

Dallas store - June 19
Houston store - June 20

American Girl Doll Face Molds

Author's note: I am only identifying each mold and which historical/Girl of the Year each mold was used for. If you have a Look Like Me/My AG doll, feel free to post a description or email me (americangirlemployee@gmail.com) a picture/description and I will tell you which mold was used!

American Girl dolls don't just have different hair colors and styles/eye color, their faces are actually molded in different ways. In total there are eight face molds. I have written a little description below the pictures of each version. The historical dolls are posted with each explanation and the GOTYs are at the end of the post.

The Classic face mold was used on the historical dolls Felicity, Caroline, Kirsten, Samantha, Kit, Ruthie, Molly and Emily. This mold is the most often used on the Girl of the Year dolls (Lindsey, Kailey, Nicki, Mia, Gwen, Lanie, Saige and Isabelle). The doll is considered to have "Caucasian characteristics" so it has never been used on a doll with dark skin, although it was used on Sonali who is of Indian descent. Some of the characteristics are the nose is upturned and thin, chubby cheeks and thin lips.

The Addy face mold has only been used for Addy, no GOTYs. Her nose is wider and she has fuller cheeks to fit with "African characteristics". This mold has never been used on dolls with light skin.

The Asian mold was only used for the doll Just Like You 4. She was supposed to look "East Asian" with thin, titled eyes and a slightly wider nose than the Classic but not as wide as the Addy or Sonali molds. This is the only mold to be "retired" from the American Girl face molds.

The Josefina mold's nose was different, again thinner than the Addy mold but wider than the Classic. Her lips are also fuller and her eyes are more oval than the other face molds. Josefina mold's chin is different than the other molds too; it is longer and sharper. Her head is actually a different shape too, so some glasses do not fit on her head correctly. The historical dolls with Josefina mold are Josefina, Nellie, Elizabeth, Julie and Rebecca. The GOTYs are Marisol, Chrissa and McKenna.

Kaya's face mold is the only one not to show her teeth. According to the Nez Perce (Nimipuu) Indians believe that showing teeth shows agression, so Kaya does not show her teeth. She is the only American Girl doll with this feature; there are not any other historical, GOTY, or Look Like Me/MyAG dolls without teeth. Kaya's nose is the second widest (after Addy) and in general, is very similar to the Josefina mold. Kaya had a little dimple in her chin.

The Jess mold was used for Ivy (but her eyes were specially altered for her version) and the GOTYs Jess and Kanani. The Jess mold has almond shaped eyes, the mouth is opened slightly wider and the face is a little shorter and rounder than the other molds. The chin is more pointed as well.

The Sonali mold was used first for Sonail, then the historical girl Cecile. The mold is shaped very similiarly to the Josefina mold and the nose is wider than the Classic, but smaller than the Addy. The ears on the doll are different than the other molds. The ears are flatter and less defined. Originally, this mold was going to be used for GOTY Mia.

The most recent mold created is Marie-Grace's. Like Kaya, she is the only one out of all the dolls with this face. She has a more shallow and rounded jaw line. Again, it is very similar to the Josefina mold.

GOTY pictures
Classic -

Josefina -

Jess -

Sonali -

Every Girl of the Year

Quick history:
American Girl began creating Girl of the Year (GOTY) in 2001. The first GOTY was Lindsey Bergman. She began selling in mid-2001 and was retired in mid-2002. Unfortunately, there was a lack of sales for Lindsey and there was not a new GOTY for 2002. American Girl tried reintroducing GOTY again in 2003 with Kailey Hopkins. She was sold from 2003 to mid-2004, with no replacement GOTY in 2004. After Kailey, all GOTYs sell for their one year, beginning on New Year's day and going until supplies run out or New Year's Eve (whichever comes first).

2001 - Lindsey Bergman
Lindsey is a Jewish girl who loves to help but sometimes helping others can get her into trouble. Her book includes her brother's Bar Mitzvah and her attempts to help others. Lindsey didn't have much of a collection, mainly just a laptop and scooter. Lindsey was the only Jewish American Girl until Rebecca Rubin in 2009. Due to Lindsey's lack of sales, it is difficult to find her for sale.

2003 - Kailey Hopkins
Kailey lives in California and loves to swim and surf. Kailey and her friends fight to save the tide-pools near her house from developers. Kailey had a little more of a collection than Lindsey. Kailey had a wet suit and bikini set, dog (named Sandy), boogie board, and a snorkel set.

2005 - Marisol Luna
Marisol is an avid dancer who moves to a suburb without a dance studio. Her book caused a little controversy when a passage from her book painted a real town as an "unsafe" place and upset the residents. Marisol was the first GOTY to have a starter collection. She had four dance outfits: tap, ballet, spotlight, and jazz. Her accessories are a stage and tiara, her dance duffel bag including her cat, and her silver trunk.

2006 -  Jess McConnell
Jess goes to Belize with her parents who are archaeologists. She is home schooled and is in 4th grade. Jess goes on adventures with her new friend from Belize and they foster a parrot. Together the girls find historical treasure. Jess is the first multiracial doll (Scottish-Irish and Japanese-American parents). She is also the first doll whose story takes place outside of the US. Jess is also the first GOTY doll to have an official middle name (Akiko). Jess' collection includes a 2-in-1 kayak outfit, pajamas, travel accessories, kayak, motor scooter, and a tree swing.

2007 - Nicki Fleming
Nicki lives with her parents and brother but her mom is pregnant with twins so Nicki has to help out a lot more around the house and ranch where they raise pigs. Nicki has to train a service dog that her mother was supposed to train before becoming pregnant. Nicki must learn to balance school, family, chores, planning a gala, and training a dog. She also enjoys art and skiing. When Nicki's mom finally has the twins, Nicki gets to name them and she chooses Rebecca and Kristine (after her two best friends). Nicki is the first GOTY to have more than one book. She also had a lot of items in her collection: ski outift, ranch outfit, tie top and shorts, gala outfit, ski gear, straw hat, horse tack box, Jackson the horse, and a dog-in-training.

2008 - Mia St. Clair
Mia is the youngest in her family of four kids and has three older brothers who all play hockey. Mia used to play hockey but really wants to be a figure skater even though her brothers tease her endlessly about it. She must learn to be herself and get along with her "enemy" Vanessa who is also a figure skater. Most of Mia's collection is skating related. She has a silver skate dress, practice outifit (comes with skates), performance outfit, 2-in-1 skate outfit, pajamas, accessories, hair clips and case, purple skates, bedroom accessories, bedroom furniture, and an ice rink. Mia was the only doll to get her own PC game. Like Nicki, Mia has two books. Almost all of Mia's collection had sold out by mid-December of 2008.

2009 - Chrissa Maxwell
Chrissa deals with bullying. She moves to be closer to her grandmother who raises mini-llamas and spins their hair into yarn. Chrissa has two "companion dolls" and is the only GOTY to have companion dolls. They are her two friends, Gwen (a homeless classmate) and Sonali (a former class bully). One of Chrissa's gtandmother's llamas give birth and Chrissa names the new baby llama "Starburst". Chrissa was the first GOTY to get a movie (direct to DVD). She has a large collection consisting of a warm-up set, swim team gear, sundress, pajamas, snow outfit, pet llama, party treats, party table, craft studio, and snow gear. Chrissa had a device called the "Chrissa's IM-Me for Girls" which was a keyboard and base that allowed instant messaging. The device was owned by Mattel (parent company of American Girl).

2010 - Lanie Holland
Lanie loves nature and self-proclaimed scientist, keeping a notebook full of facts and notes. She likes to incorporate scientific words into her everyday vocabulary. When she grows up, Lanie would like to research deep in jungles and being an expert scientist. Lanie's collection had a lot of outfits; she had a butterfly outfit, garden outfit, nightgown and stuffed orangutan, red tee, blue tee, green tee. white tee, and nature outfit. She also had accessories, a camper and gear, hammock, raccoon and can, wildlife set, and a nature set.

2011 - Kanani Akina
Kanani is a native of Hawaii who loves to share the aloha spirit. She is an animal lover and has several pets. Her parents own a shaved ice shop which Kanani helps out at. Kanani is the second GOTY to be multiracial (her parents are Japanese-Hawaiian and French-German). Unlike previous American Girl books, Kanani's books are written in third person. She has the longest hair of any American Girl doll (it goes down to her to her mid-thigh but has some curls and waves so it's actually longer than it looks!). Like Kailey who lived near the ocean too, most of Kanani's clothes and accessories are beach/island-related. She has a beach outfit, aloha outfit, a luau set, pajamas, party outfit, accessories which includes her pet dog, paddleboard, monk seal, shaved ice stand, lounge chair, and ukulele.

2012 - McKenna Brooks
McKenna is a gymnast in Seattle, WA who really wants to become an Olympic gymnast. She struggles in school and has two younger twin sisters (Mara and Maisey). McKenna had a movie called "McKenna Shoots for the Stars" which was released July 3, 2012. McKenna is the only doll to have something that was not generally available; her warm-up outfit was only available with purchase of her starter collection. Understandably, a lot of McKenna's items were related to gymnastics. She had a practice wardrobe, pajamas, school outfit, fancy outfit, performance outfit, accessories, her dog Cooper, rain gear, cast and crutches, gymnastics beam and bar, bed, and team gear.

2013 - Saige Copeland
Saige loves art and horseback riding and is very upset when her school decides to cut the art program due to lack of funding. She is creative and full of ideas but hates public speaking which is what she needs to do to find funds for the art program. Saige must also learn how to deal with her friend's new friends who she doesn't really get along with. She is the first GOTY to get a mini doll (like the Historical American Girls). Saige also had a movie called "Saige Paints the Sky" which is also the name of her second book. Saige had a sparkly dress, parade outfit, pajamas, sweater outfit, tunic outfit, accessories, dog, hot air balloon, horse, parade saddle, parade hat and helmet, painting set, and a picnic set.

2014 - Isabelle Palmer
Isabelle is a ballerina who lives in Washington DC and goes to Anna Hart School of the Arts with her older sister. Isabelle likes to make dance costumes and has a lot of anxiety during her first year at her new dance school. She is the first GOTY to have three books and is also the first to have an app. She also has a movie although is hasn't been released yet or been given a release date. Its title is "Isabelle Dances into the Spotlight" and is supposed to be based on her three books. Isabelle's collection is extremely different from an American Girl doll, GOTY or Historical or My AG, in the fact most of her clothes are sold in single pieces to mix and match. She has pajamas, a performance set, coral sweater, rosette leotard, wrap sweater, purple leotard, practice top, dance skirt, funky leggings, sparkly skort, scrunch pants, tutu, legwarmers, accessories, kitten, dance case, studio (when it's open, it's where she makes her clothes and when you close it, it looks like a dance studio wall with mirrors and barre), and a dance barre.

Girl of the Year 2014 movie

The new Girl of the Year (GOTY) Isabelle will have a movie that is set to be released sometime in Summer 2014. It is directed by Vince Marcello (2012's GOTY movie "McKenna Shoots for the Stars" and Disney Channel's original movie "Teen Beach Movie"). It was written by Jessica O'Toole and Amy Rardin. The movie was filmed from May - June 2013 and the girl playing Isabelle is 14 year old Erin Pitt. 

Pitt was considered for the role of Renesmee from the final Twilight franchise movie. She is one of six children and is from Ontario. She played on of the little campers (Junior Rocker "Audrey") in the Disney Channel original movie "Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam" that was released in 2010. Pitt had three roles in a 2012 horror film "Silent Hill: Revelation 3D" as Dark Alessa, Alessa Gillespie and the younger version of Sharon DaSilva. She dances and plays violin. Most recently, Pitt was in the movie "Against the Wild" where she and her brother must survive after a plane crash in the wild. She looks a lot like a young Hayden Panettiere in "Against the Wild". 

More of the released cast:

• Jade (Isabelle's sister) - Grace Davidson
• Chloe - Saara Chaudry
• Luisa (one of Isabelle's best friends) - Devyn Nekoda
• Gabriel (listed on IMDb as "tap dancer") - Matthew Edmondson

I'm not sure why the movie isn't being released with the doll (I was asked by many costumers if we had them), but my guess is that it is a marketing strategy to bring people back to the stores in the summer/fall to get them to buy more. 

The plot of the movie is not known but will be related to the three books Isabelle has. The first book, titled simply Isabelle, is about Isabelle being excited to start her first year at her new dance school (Anna Hart School of the Arts) and how she begins to doubt her talent when she meets the other students. The second book, Designs by Isabelle, Isabelle again struggles with how she compares to other students but begins to focus on the costumes of the plays and helps her sister. The third and final book, To the Stars, Isabelle, Isabelle is invited by her dance idol (Jackie Sanchez) to go on tour which Isabelle eagerly agrees to but learns that her classmates, Reneta, who isn't very nice, was also invited. The show begins to fall apart so Isabelle tries to her Jackie and ends up learning a lot about her dance idol and learns how she, herself, can inspire others around her. All of Isabelle's books are by Laurence Yep, who wrote 2008's GOTY Mia St. Clair's books. 

One of the articles about the casting search read:

"Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Martin Chase Productions are currently in pre-production on the seventh film in the American Girl series, “American Girl 2014″. This is the current working title of the film. The award winning casting director, who was formerly the executive vice president of feature castings at Walt Disney Studios, is auditioning actors to fill the lead roles. Additional casting for supporting and day player roles will take place as soon as the main roles are cast. A few of the roles being cast are a 10 year old girl with exceptional ballet skills for the lead role, a 12-15 year old ballet dancer to play the second lead role, and another 10 year old girl. Also up for grabs is the role of an ethnically diverse adult actress between the ages of 24-40, who also has expert level ballet skills. Shooting will take place in May throughout June, 2013.

“American Girl 2014″ centers on Blanche Palmer, a lively and energized 10 year-old girl who is very happy and full of life. Blanche has a dream of being a professional ballet dancer, but she has a bit of stage fright when dancing. This performance anxiety prevents her from exhibiting her true amazing talent. Blanche has an older sister Jade who is considered the very best ballet dancer in her school. The two enjoy a close relationship with each other, however Blanche always feels like she is living and performing in the shadow of her sister’s talent. To complicate her life even more, Blanche has a competitor named Renata who is the same age and dances with perfection since her parents hired a private coach. Renata is very pretty and very testy, and she criticizes Blanche for small mistakes in her performances. Jackie Sanchez, a recently retired world class ballerina, then becomes a role model for Blanche and her sister."

On IMDb the movie is listed as "American Girl Blanche." This is not the real title of the movie and obviously is not the real name of the GOTY 2014. American Girl puts out fake names, especially when looking for actors so that the real name is not released. 

UPDATE: the American Girl website states that the movie will be released on DVD/Blu-Ray in July of 2014. 

New Girl of the Year!!

Today (January 1, 2014) was the first day people could purchase the 2014 Girl of the Year (GOTY) doll!!

Her name is Isabelle Palmer and she's a ten year old ballerina who has a hobby of making clothes. She has blonde hair with pink highlights and green eyes (they're really beautiful). She lives in Washington, D.C. and goes to a dance school (Anna Hart School of the Arts) with her older sister. She makes ballet costumes but struggles with adjusting to her new dance school. Isabelle also struggles with her self esteem as she compares herself to the other dance students. Her best friends are Luisa (a modern dancer) and Gabriel (a magician).

She has pink hair extensions which cause her to be more expensive doll at $120 (normally dolls are $110). The general hair extensions cost $14 so even though you're paying more, you're saving $4. Some people said that they had issues putting the hair extension in. I haven't tried to do it myself but there are directions that come with her hair extensions. 

The lines at the store (the Washington, D.C. one) were wrapping around the store, both upstairs and downstairs. Ironically, many people didn't even know that the new GOTY was being released today (they had just come on their day off). People waited in line for as long as an hour to buy Isabelle and her clothing and accessories. People who had lined up before the store opening all went directly to the Isabelle displays and started grabbing stuff.

Isabelle has a lot of clothing. Quite a bit of it is just single pieces of clothing like "sparkly scrunchy pants" or "practice top". I suppose it's like that because you can mix and match almost all of it. Unlike Saige (2013 GOTY), whose clothing cost $24+, a lot of Isabelle's clothes are $12 or $14 for one piece. On the website, there are about 14 single pieces of clothing or specific outfits that come together. There are 20 mix and match outfits in total for girls to create. Girls can match three of their dolls outfits with human sized clothes. The outfits are very interesting and many are asymmetrical and very different than past GOTY dolls. 

Isabelle has a cat and a dance case which comes with ballet slippers, hair accessories and stickers to decorate the case with. She also has a little studio where she makes her dance clothes. It consists of 24 pieces, some of which are a body (mannequin) display, sewing machine (needs 2 AAA batteries), a closet, stool, a table... It's a lot of stuff and is $275. She also has a barre which comes with several things as well (a water bottle, rubber/plastic mat, and a few other little things). She has some pretty cool things that girls will love.

Nearly everyone who came into American Girl today bought an Isabelle doll. I went into the stock room to check for something and overheard someone say that we had sold 275+ Isabelle's within the first two hours of the store opening [I can neither confirm or deny that this is true]!!

We did not anticipate the amount of sales and people for today but we still were well-stocked and didn't run out of anything. 

The store had some fun things as a celebration for the new GOTY. From 12-4pm we had crafts outside of the top level of the store and from 1-2pm we had a dance performance outside of the Macy's down the hall from the American Girl store. I wasn't able to go to the crafts but I did walk by the dance thing on my break and saw a lot of spectators. We also were giving out giftcards and free Isabelle tshirts for the American Girl dolls. We ran out of those pretty quickly, probably due to us not realizing how many people would come today. 

The store was unbelievably busy but the girls had a lot of fun and were always very excited for Isabelle. Many people asked us to open Isabelle for them at the register so that they could carry her home or around the rest of the mall.