Traitor in the Shipyard review

Andrew, my littlest brother, got me this book with his reading club form. (Can you say AWWW?) This is probably one of the best AG mysteries. It keeps you guessing until the very end.

• The American Girl: Caroline Abbot, from Sackets Harbor, New York.
• The plot: It's 1812, and Caroline's father's shipyard is frantically building ships to keep up with the British. When Papa's old friend arrives penniless, it's the least the the Abbots can do to give him a job. After all, he helped Papa escape from a British prison! Life is beginning to look up for Caroline. She even has time for sewing lessons at Miss Lucy's. But when things go missing around the shipyard, sails are slashed, and fires are started, Caroline soon realizes there's a British spy afoot- and it's someone who knows the shipyard well. Is it one of Abbott's trusted workers, whom she has known all her life, or could it be Papa's dear friend? It's up to Caroline to discover what's really going on.
• What I especially liked: Just when all the evidence pointed to a character you were SO sure was the spy, new clues and hidden pasts would come to light.  I loved that the plot wasn't easily guessable or boring. I also always enjoy the 'looking back' section, which told all about real-life spies in the War of 1812.

This was a very enjoyable and interesting  read, although I finished it quite quickly. It would be perfect for  ages 9-12, and was packed with facts about the war of 1812, which is an often overlooked part of our country's history.

A trip to the doll store...

 I have been to American Girl place a few times,  but both the American Girl places in my state are far from my home. So I was super excited to find a store called My Best Friend that sells ALL sorts of doll items, mainly American Girl things, in Tyler, Texas! They had retired items and dolls, like Nellie and Samantha, Jess, Kailey, Lanie and her camper, Chrissa's picnic table ,and tons of other rare items! Guys, Jess is really pretty. And brand-new! I'm thinking about saving up.. who knows! :-) They also repair
 "hurt" (broken) dolls. Twilight fans: They have Twilight costumes and shirts in doll sizes! There were also a lot of new/newer things, like Caroline and her bed, Kit's tree house, Marie Grace, and clothes for girls and dolls. I like the option of getting dolls (especially the hard-to-find retired dolls!) instead of buying them online from an unknown person. In my opinion, this was almost as good as an American Girl Place, because although it wasn't large and didn't have a restaurant, it has many of the rare items. I did notice that some dolls ( Addy, Rebecca,and some girl of the years)weren't there, but maybe they had been sold. So if you're trying to collect a certain rare or back ordered (like Caroline!) doll in time for Christmas, I would go here!

 So, what's your favorite doll shop? Is it an AG Place. or a little doll store? Comment and let me know! 

I <3 love <3 comments!

Here is the store's website. There are directions on it! : http://www.mybestfrienddolls.com/

They had Lanie's camper!!

  

                           

Nellie!

Doll scrubs!

A Bitty Baby.

A nurse doll!

Can you believe they had Caroline?!!

Jess(Girl Of The Year 2006)

Kailey (Girl Of The Year 2003)

I love the apron and pot holder!

Doll Computer.

Kit's treehouse!

Thanks to Christopher for loaning me his camera! 

American Girl Book GIVEAWAY!

Josefina, a New Mexican girl living on a rancho in 1826, has heard stories and legends all her life: priceless gold and silver buried in the hills, tales of La Lorna, a sad woman, who haunts the countryside. But she never thought that the tales might be true--until one day a mysterious stranger arrives at her rancho. At first, she thinks the the stranger is simply an interesting person. But when things begin to go wrong.... Can Josefina find the treasure before it's too late?!

To enter the giveaway:
You must be a follower of my blog! I can't count entries if not.
Only open to U.S followers.(sorry!)
Leave a comment with your e-mail. I won't give your e-mail out.
I'll draw a name out of a hat and e-mail the winner!
You have 10 days-till October 10th.
One entry per person, please.
Bonus entry:
Do a blog post on this giveaway and leave a link to it for one bonus entry!
Good Luck!

The Tangled web- a Julie Mystery

It's 1974, and Julie meets a new girl, Carla, and the two become fast friends. But why is Carla saying such strange things? And how can Julie help the sad young man at the Vietnam Veteran's Center? Is the woman at the farmer's market really who Carla says she is? All of Carla's stories don't add up, and Julie becomes suspicious. As she investigates, she learns lies really are a tangled web. On top of all this, Julie must give up her room to the eccentric Ms. Joyce, her mother's friend. Lies, an unwelcome visitor, a mysterious young soldier....maybe Julie's week won't be so boring after all!!

This book was AMAZING. It was super suspenseful, and really kept me guessing. I loved how the author worked different elements in with the story-quotes,little details, sayings from 1974, etc. The book teaches a little about the Vietnam war through the view point of a 10-11 year old American girl growing up in 1974.

 The Julie and Ivy(her best friend) dolls...

Doll Photo Shoot

So, Last night Andrew and I decided to play photographer. Thanks to Kanani and Kasandra Natalie for letting us take their pics!:)

* Most didn't turn out too well-I probably should've waited till the next day to take these, as it was really dark and the sunset didn't look as pretty as I'd expected. It didn't help that someone (Andrew!) was running around shooting my models with Nerf guns!:-)

The Hidden Gold book review

    Marie-Grace is traveling on a steamboat to St. Louis from New Orleans with her doctor father in the 1850's. She misses her friend Cecile and her pet dog Argos but is thrilled to be riding on a steamboat. When Wilhelmina, a strange, hungry girl in need of a friend, tells Marie-Grace she needs help. Marie-Grace offers to help her. Wilhelmina tells Marie-Grace that she (Wilhelmina) is carrying gold-she just doesn't know where it is and she's searched her trunk. If she can't find the gold her father left her, her little brothers and mother will go hungry. Wanting to help the family who are in desperate need, Marie-Grace agrees to help search for the gold-but is she putting her life in danger??!!

What I liked about the book:                                                    
I'd read the other Marie -Grace books and the American Girl mysteries, so I really enjoyed reading this one. I also liked that it taught about steamboats and the 1850's. I found especial pleasure in reading about the characters and how Marie-Grace interacted with them as she is different from some of the other American Girls.

   What I didn't like about the book:
It was rather short, being a voracious reader I devoured it in less than an hour, but for someone slightly younger- maybe 9 or 10- I'd say it would be perfect. I also found that I could guess the plot by the time I was halfway finished.

4 stars!

However, overall I really liked it. It was believable and I liked the author's descriptive language. I'd give the book  4 stars.