Samantha Saves the Day

Author: Valerie Tripp
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: American Girl Publishing, Inc., 1988
Pages: 61
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Samantha Parkington is a bright Victorian beauty being raised by her wealthy grandmother in 1904. Samantha's stories describe her life during this important period of change. Her own world is filled with frills and finery, parties and play. But Samantha sees that times are not good for everybody. That's why she tries to make a difference in the life of her friend, Nellie, a servant girl whose world is nothing like Samantha's. 

Review: This book may seem like a copout, but I promise that it isn't. Fiona Davis has a new book coming out on October 13, 2026 called Samantha: The Next Chapter. Written for adult fans in honor of the 40th anniversary of the American Girl dolls debut. Should Kiersten and Molly's stories also be continued, I'm here for them.

In preparation for the book launch, I wanted to reacquaint myself with Samantha. I was aging out of dolls in 1986, but the historical fiction nature of the series captured my imagination. My sister and I used to browse the catalogs, but neither of us ever received a doll.

Happy Birthday, Samantha!

Author: Valerie Tripp
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: American Girl Publishing, Inc., 1987
Pages: 61
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Samantha Parkington is a bright Victorian beauty being raised by her wealthy grandmother in 1904. Samantha's stories describe her life during this important period of change. Her own world is filled with frills and finery, parties and play. But Samantha sees that times are not good for everybody. That's why she tries to make a difference in the life of her friend, Nellie, a servant girl whose world is nothing like Samantha's. 

Review: This book may seem like a copout, but I promise that it isn't. Fiona Davis has a new book coming out on October 13, 2026 called Samantha: The Next Chapter. Written for adult fans in honor of the 40th anniversary of the American Girl dolls debut. Should Kiersten and Molly's stories also be continued, I'm here for them.

In preparation for the book launch, I wanted to reacquaint myself with Samantha. I was aging out of dolls in 1986, but the historical fiction nature of the series captured my imagination. My sister and I used to browse the catalogs, but neither of us ever received a doll.

Samantha's Surprise

Author: Maxine Rose Schur
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: American Girl Publishing, Inc., 1986
Pages: 61
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Samantha Parkington is a bright Victorian beauty being raised by her wealthy grandmother in 1904. Samantha's stories describe her life during this important period of change. Her own world is filled with frills and finery, parties and play. But Samantha sees that times are not good for everybody. That's why she tries to make a difference in the life of her friend, Nellie, a servant girl whose world is nothing like Samantha's. 

Review: This book may seem like a copout, but I promise that it isn't. Fiona Davis has a new book coming out on October 13, 2026 called Samantha: The Next Chapter. Written for adult fans in honor of the 40th anniversary of the American Girl dolls debut. Should Kiersten and Molly's stories also be continued, I'm here for them.

In preparation for the book launch, I wanted to reacquaint myself with Samantha. I was aging out of dolls in 1986, but the historical fiction nature of the series captured my imagination. My sister and I used to browse the catalogs, but neither of us ever received a doll.

Samantha Learns a Lesson

Author: Susan Adler
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: American Girl Publishing, Inc., 1986
Pages: 61
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Samantha Parkington is a bright Victorian beauty being raised by her wealthy grandmother in 1904. Samantha's stories describe her life during this important period of change. Her own world is filled with frills and finery, parties and play. But Samantha sees that times are not good for everybody. That's why she tries to make a difference in the life of her friend, Nellie, a servant girl whose world is nothing like Samantha's. 

Review: This book may seem like a copout, but I promise that it isn't. Fiona Davis has a new book coming out on October 13, 2026 called Samantha: The Next Chapter. Written for adult fans in honor of the 40th anniversary of the American Girl dolls debut. Should Kiersten and Molly's stories also be continued, I'm here for them.

In preparation for the book launch, I wanted to reacquaint myself with Samantha. I was aging out of dolls in 1986, but the historical fiction nature of the series captured my imagination. My sister and I used to browse the catalogs, but neither of us ever received a doll.

Meet Samantha

Author: Susan Adler
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: American Girl Publishing, Inc., 1986
Pages: 61
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Samantha Parkington is a bright Victorian beauty being raised by her wealthy grandmother in 1904. Samantha's stories describe her life during this important period of change. Her own world is filled with frills and finery, parties and play. But Samantha sees that times are not good for everybody. That's why she tries to make a difference in the life of her friend, Nellie, a servant girl whose world is nothing like Samantha's. 

Review: This book may seem like a copout, but I promise that it isn't. Fiona Davis has a new book coming out on October 13, 2026 called Samantha: The Next Chapter. Written for adult fans in honor of the 40th anniversary of the American Girl dolls debut. Should Kiersten and Molly's stories also be continued, I'm here for them.

In preparation for the book launch, I wanted to reacquaint myself with Samantha. I was aging out of dolls in 1986, but the historical fiction nature of the series captured my imagination. My sister and I used to browse the catalogs, but neither of us ever received a doll.

The Girl in the Glass

Author: Susan Meissner
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: PRH Christian Publishing, 2012
Pages: 352
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Since she was a child, Meg has dreamed of taking a promised trip to Florence, Italy and being abler to finally step into the place captured in a picture at her grandmother's house. But after her grandmother passes away and it falls to her less-than-reliable father to take her instead, Meg's long-anticipated travel plans seem permanently on hold.

When her dad finally tells Meg to book the trip, she prays that the experience will heal the fissures left on her life by her parents' divorce. But when Meg arrives in Florence, her father is nowhere to be found, leaving aspiring memoir-writer Sofia Borelli to introduce Meg to the rich beauty of the ancient city. Sofia claims to be one of the last surviving members of the Medici family and that a long-ago Medici princess, Nora Orsini, communicates with her from within the great masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance.

Review: Susan Meissner is one of my favorite historical fiction authors so I decided to give one of her older books a try. I have to say that I'm happy she found a home (and her groove) with historical fiction. This was good, not great. In fact, it seemed Meissner struggled to advance the story at times. That said, I want to travel to Florence, so she did something right. If you're reading Meissner for the first time, start with her historical fiction novels.

Susan Meissner Novels
A Bridge Across the Ocean
As Bright as Heaven
Map to Paradise
Only the Beautiful

A Bridge Across the Ocean

Author: Susan Meissner
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2017
Pages: 384
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: February, 1946. World War II is over, but the recovery from the most intimate of its horrors have only just begun for Annaliese Lange, a German ballerina desperate to escape her past, and Simone Deveraux, the wronged daughter of a French Resistance spy.

Now the two women are joining hundreds of other European war brides aboard the renowned RMS Queen Mary to cross the Atlantic and be reunited with their American husbands. Their new lives in the United States brightly beckon until their tightly-held secrets are laid bare in their shared stateroom. When the voyage ends at New York Harbor, only one of them will disembark.

Present Day. Facing a crossroads in her own life, Brette Caslake visits the famously haunted Queen Mary at the request of an old friend. What she finds will set her on a course to solve a seventy-year-old tragedy that will draw her into the heartaches and triumphs of the courageous war brides - and will ultimately lead her to reconsider what she has to sacrifice to achieve her own deepest longings.

Review: Meissner is one of my favorite historical fiction authors. Her characters speak to me and the time period comes alive. There's a supernatural element in this novel, but I bought into it. I picked this novel up intending to read a few chapters before I took a shower, and ended up finishing it one night.

My grandparents were the Greatest Generation and I often think of my grandmothers when I read books set during this time period. The 1940s was a decade of both the worst of humanity and the best.

Susan Meissner Novels
As Bright as Heaven
Map to Paradise
Only the Beautiful
The Girl in the Glass