text: [[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pcgang5s_1299.jpg]][[caption-width-right:350:The first five Historical Characters: Felicity, Kirsten, Addy, Samantha, and Molly.]]->''"Follow your Inner Star!"''The American Girls Collection -- generally referred to as "American Girl" -- is a collection of dolls and books that show history in various time periods ranging from Late Native America to TheSeventies -- all through the eyes of the average nine-year-old girl. They also have and have had a number of other lines.The historical line was first referred to as "The American Girls Collection", then "Historical Characters", and finally rebooted as "[=BeForever=]". Similarly, the non-GOTY modern line was first called "American Girl of Today" and has since been through "American Girl Today", "Just Like You", "My American Girl", and currently "Truly Me". Fandom simply refers to the lines as Historical and Modern.'''The main Historical Characters currently consist of:'''* '''Kaya'aton'my (1764):''' Nez Perce Native American in the Pacific Northwest, pre-European settlement. Tries to get rid of her EmbarrassingNickname 'Magpie' by proving to her tribe she isn't like the selfish bird. She has a CoolHorse.* '''Felicity Merriman (1774):''' Archived in 2011, then rereleased in 2017. FieryRedhead, daughter of a merchant family in Virginia as UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution approaches. Her series has a lot of plots focusing on the conflict of independence vs. loyalty to tradition. She also has a CoolHorse. Her creation led to Pleasant Company completely remaking their dolls to have flesh tone bodies, as Felicity's period clothing featured plunging necklines. Eventually her friend Elizabeth Cole was made into a Best Friend doll in '05.* '''Caroline Abbott (1812):''' The third historical character to be released whose story isn't officially set in a year ending in '4. Daughter of a Sackets Harbor shipbuilder who ended up getting caught by the British during the War of 1812. She was retired in Fall 2015, tying Cécile and Marie Grace for shortest availability. * '''Josefina Montoya (1824):''' ShrinkingViolet, daughter of a rancher in the Mexican-controlled Southwest. Her [[MissingMom mother died]] just before her series starts, leaving her, her three sisters, and their grieving father somewhat lost, until her aunt Dolores moves in and helps everyone discover their HiddenDepths. [[MyNameIsInigoMontoya No relation.]]* '''Cécile Rey and Marie-Grace Gardner (1853):''' Archived in 2014. Two very different girls (a French-speaking African American and an English-speaking Caucasian American, respectively) growing up and becoming friends during the boom of 19th century UsefulNotes/NewOrleans, Louisiana. The girls' stories involve embracing one another despite differences and cultural barriers, and giving aid to those in distress, most notably during [[ThePlague the breakout of yellow fever]] which struck New Orleans in 1853. The first of the main historical characters to be marketed as a duo (although each have their books, and their dolls can be purchased separately), and the first Historical Dolls not officially set in a year ending in '4 (Kit was 1932, Molly was 1943, Melody in 1963, and Julie was 1975, but their book covers still say '34, '44, '64, and '74). With the nuking of the Best Friends line, both dolls were retired, giving them the shortest availability for any Historical Character.* '''Kirsten Larson (1854):''' One of the original three, archived in 2010. Swedish immigrant to Minnesota in Pioneer Times. The series focuses on [[AnImmigrantsTale the difficulties of adapting to a new life in harsh surroundings]] and features many staples of "frontier" stories, such as scary weather, a strict {{schoolmarm}} and a [[BlackBestFriend secret Native American friend]].* '''Addy Walker (1864):''' The first non-white doll. First a slave in North Carolina, then escapes to Philadelphia, during UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar. Her family is separated and has to reunite, and stories focus on issues faced by former slaves, such as catching up on the education they'd been denied and the fact that "free" black people weren't all that free, even in the North.* '''Samantha Parkington (1904):''' One of the original three, she was archived in 2009 and rereleased in 2014. Marketed as Victorian Era despite 1904 being TheEdwardianEra. She's a rich orphan being raised by her conservative grandmother in upstate New York. She learns about the women's suffrage movement and the horrors of child labor. She fights to change conditions for the poor, and aspires to become the [[IronLady first woman president]]. In 2004, her friend Nellie O'Malley was made into the first Best Friend doll to coincide with the release of [[TheMovie Samantha's movie]].* '''Rebecca Rubin (1914):''' Russian Jewish immigrant living in the Lower East Side of Manhattan and aspires to be a movie actress, despite her parents and grandparents' more traditional views.* '''Kit Kittredge (1934):''' Cincinnati, Ohio, during TheGreatDepression. Kit's series focuses on learning to make-do without, and not taking things for granted. Her companion Ruthie was made into a Best Friend doll in '08 and retired with the rest of the Best Friends line in '14.* '''Nanea Mitchell (1940s):''' Hawaii during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Will be released in 2017.* '''Molly [=McIntire=] (1944):''' Archived in 2013. She lives in Illinois during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, while her father is serving in England as a doctor, and her books are largely about adapting to the changes brought on by war. Her family's English ward, Emily Bennett, was released as a Best Friend doll in '06.* '''Maryellen Larkin (1954):''' The first doll to be brand new to [=BeForever=], hailing from 1950s Daytona Beach, Florida. She's a polio survivor, the middle child in a large family, and struggling to have her big ideas heard.* '''Melody Ellison (1964):''' The second doll to be brand new to [=BeForever=], from 1960s Detroit. She is an aspiring singer, growing up during the Civil Rights Movement and with a brother who aspires to sing for Motown Records.* '''Julie Albright (1974):''' Lives in UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco during TheSeventies. She learns how to deal with the changes her parents' divorce caused to her life while navigating social upheavals like [[YouGoGirl second-wave feminism]], the environmentalist movement, and the changing rights of racial minorities as explored through her relationship with her Chinese best friend, Ivy Ling. Ivy was released alongside Julie as a Best Friend doll but retired with the rest of the Best Friends line in '14 (as much as "Julie Finds a Way" and "Julie Saves the Eagles").There is also a set of dolls, called "Truly Me", which offers multiple dolls of varying looks to make into a personal character. This can lead to [[MarySue some unusual characters]]. Since 2001, there has been a "Girl of the Year" (GOTY), a 9-to-10-year-old girl who would represent the year she came out. '''Girls of the Year so far include:'''* '''Lindsey Bergman''' in 2001. She was the first Jewish character to come out of American Girl and in her stories, she tried to help people with negative consequences. * '''Kailey Hopkins''' in 2003. A surfer girl who tries to save the California tide pools from development projects.* '''Marisol Luna''' in 2005. A Hispanic girl who loves to dance, yet has to move to the other side of town where they don't have dance lessons.* '''Jess Akiko [=McConnell=]''' in 2006. A half-Japanese, half-Irish girl who goes out to Belize with her archaeologist parents. * '''Nikki Fleming''' in 2007. A Colorado girl who trains a dog to be a service dog.* '''Mia St. Clair''' in 2008. An ice-skater who wants to pursue figure skating when her family is full of hockey players. (a video game is also released, hence the name "Mia Goes for Great")* '''Chrissa Maxwell, Sonali Matthews, and Gwen Thompson''' in 2009. Chrissa is the new girl who has to deal with bullying from the [[GirlPosse mean bees]]. Sonali is a former member of the bees, and Gwen is the (literally) poor girl they used to harass. The first Girl of the Year to receive a movie.* '''Lanie Holland''' in 2010. An adventurous girl who loves the outdoors living with a family who prefers the indoors. * '''Kanani Akina''' in 2011. A Hawaiian girl who introduces her cousin to her homeland. The line appears to be trying to avoid HulaAndLuaus, but there are some spots...* '''[=McKenna=] Brooks''' in 2012. A girl who struggles to balance her struggle with her schoolwork with her love of and focus on gymnastics. The second to have a Girl of the Year movie.* '''Saige Copeland''' in 2013. An artist who wants the subject to return to her school fully, instead of the every-other-year situation going on due to budget cuts. Saige was the third Girl of the Year with a movie.* '''Isabelle Palmer''' in 2014. She's a ballet dancer who attends the fictional Anna Hart School of Arts in Washington, DC. Also got a movie.* '''Grace Thomas''' in 2015. A cook and aspiring entrepreneur whose stepfamily takes her to France, making her the first Girl of the Year since Jess whose story takes place partially outside of America (though her second and third books take place in Massachusetts). Grace also got a movie, which tied in with ''Series/MasterChefJunior''.* '''Lea Clark''' in 2016. A photographer who goes on a trip to Brazil to visit her older brother and shows interest in wildlife preservation. Also received a movie.* '''Gabriela [=McBride=]''' in 2017. An African-American spoken-word poet and dancer, whose mission is to save the Liberty Arts Center her mom directs from destruction. She also has a stutter, making her the first main American Girl or Girl of the Year to have a disability of any kind.Starting in 2017, American Girl started a "Contemporary line". While similar to the Girl of the Year Line, the idea is that characters introduced will not be given a strict "one year" availability. They are also older than the 10 year limit on most characters. * '''Tenney Grant''': A musician from Nashville, TN, who is starting on a burgeoning music career. Her collection includes the first official male doll, Logan Everett. * '''Z Yang''': A hopeful film director, focusing on online vlogging and stop-motion. The character was [[AscendedExtra initially created]] to promote the rise of stop-motion videos in the fandom with her own [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOhRWwSyTfGhmo6p0mo1dzVenLV13dV-e series of YouTube videos]]. She was released in Spring 2017 as a full character with her own collection. Starting in 2016, American Girl released the WellieWishers, a line aimed at the previously overlooked 5-7 year old demographic. While the dolls are targeted towards the 8-12 year old age range, most of the fandom will be found to be [[PeripheryDemographic over the age of eighteen]]. This is because much of the fandom around the dolls consists of people who got or wanted the dolls young and grew up. (The dolls are expensive and can only be mail-ordered or purchased at specialty stores found in very large American cities, so many people wanted them and couldn't have them as kids.) There is also a large demographic of middle-aged women, many of whom have children who have or had the dolls.The company used to publish the ''Literature/AmeliasNotebook'' and ''Literature/AngelinaBallerina'' series, along with ''Girls of Many Lands'' and ''Historical Mysteries'' for older girls.Compare to ''Literature/DearAmerica'', another series of historical fiction books starring girls, but aimed at an older demographic. (Also, no dolls for the most part, though there were some made by Madame Alexander at one point.)----!!The ''American Girl'' series, toy line, and fandom show examples of:* AdaptedOut: Several minor characters get AdaptedOut of the three historical movies, notably:** Agatha and Agnes, Hawkins the butler, and Elsa the maid from ''Samantha: An American Girl Holiday.'' (Agatha's name is used for Alice, a minor character from a short story.) Admiral Beemis is mentioned but [[TheGhost never seen.]] Nellie's mother suffers DeathByAdaptation; in the books, she was alive until ''Changes for Samantha'', in the movie Nellie and her sisters are raised by a single dad.** Brad from ''Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front''. The same goes for the Camp Gowonagin cast, as that book was not part of the movie.** In Kit's movie, Charlie and Aunt Millie both function as TheGhost; they're referred to, but you only see Charlie in a photograph in the background. Other characters have their significance cut down (Uncle Hendrick and Roger each only have a scene or two) but remain in the story.** All of the pets except Kit's dog Grace are AdaptedOut.* AdaptationDyeJob: In the original Felicity books, Felicity's best friend Elizabeth is a brunette, but in the movie (and later, for her doll) she's a blonde.* AdaptationalVillainy: More like antagonism, but in Molly's books Allison Hargate was mostly SpoiledSweet and occasionally a little bossy. In the movie, she's more snobbish and condescending towards others.* AffectionateNickname: Felicity's family and close friends call her "Lissie."** "Kit" is not actually her real name. It's Margaret Mildred Kittredge. Dad used to sing her a song with the lyrics "Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile," and she loved the song so much the nickname stuck.** Molly's dad occasionally calls her "Olly Molly." ** Maryellen's family often calls her "Ellie"; her older sister amends this with rhymes, such as "Ellie-jelly."* AllGirlsLikePonies: Felicity, Kaya, and a big chunk of the modern collection.* AlliterativeName: Rebecca Rubin, Molly [=McIntire=], and Zig Zagged with Kit Kittredge; Kit is just a nickname and her real name is Margaret, but her full name is Margaret Mildred Kittredge. * AlphaBitch: Harriet Davis in Addy's series; Lavinia Halsworth in Cécile and Marie-Grace's series; Annabelle, Elizabeth's older sister in Felicity's stories; Edith Eddleton and Elsie Van Sicklen in Samantha's stories; the Water Fountain Girls (and gender inverted with Mark) in Julie's series, and Blair in Lindsey's story with Missy as her [[TheDragon Dragon]].* AlwaysIdenticalTwins: Wing Feather and Sparrow, Kaya's younger brothers, Agnes and Agatha Pitt in Samantha's series, and Rebecca's twin older sisters Sadie and Sophie.* AmbiguouslyBrown: None of the "tan" modern dolls are given a specific race, and can generally be whatever the purchaser chooses. The tan dolls now actually have more facial diversity than the light ones.* AmbiguouslyJewish: Molly's friend Susan Shapiro.* AmericanTitle: The franchise name, albeit not any of the individual books.* AmicablyDivorced: Julie's parents, especially when Ms. Albright scolds Tracy for her BrattyTeenageDaughter behavior towards Mr. Albright.* AnImmigrantsTale: The main focus of Kirsten's series, a pretty big factor in Nellie's series (especially ''Nellie's Promise''), and touched on with Rebecca's cousin Ana's journey from Russia.* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Sometimes Wing Feather and Sparrow to Kaya, sometimes Nan and William to Felicity, Ethan to Lindsey, Molly's older siblings view her as this trope, Maryellen's younger sister and brothers to herself, and Danny to the reader insert in ''A New Beginning''.* ArtisticLicenseSports: A ten-year-old [=McKenna=] in 2012 would be aiming not for the 2016 Olympics, but the 2020 Olympics -- all gymnasts who compete in the Olympic Games must turn at least 16 in the Olympic year. [=McKenna=] would be two or three years too young, depending on her birthdate. Likely artistic license by the narrators, as the film was also released in an Olympic year and the Rio Olympics are on every gymnast's mind.* AscendedExtra: Emily was originally a minor character who stayed with Molly's family for two weeks. She was later made into a doll, given her own book and starred prominently in the movie.** Elizabeth, Nellie, Ruthie, and Ivy eventually got their own doll and book, best friends to Felicity, Samantha, Kit, and Julie, respectively. All of the Best Friends were eventually retired.* AudienceShift: The remarketing of [=BeForever=] and Truly Me--as well as the lack of illustrations and denser texts--are meant to try and avert this and keep the 8-12 target demographic interested in the dolls instead of the demographic shifting towards younger kids who can't read the books, won't take care of the dolls, and may injure themselves with small accessories. This also was part of the drive behind the creation of the WellieWishers line. * AluminumChristmasTrees: Many people complained that Samantha's [=BeForever=] collection had too much emphasis on pink colored clothing. However, the availability of coal dyes starting in the mid-1800s made bright pink (among other colors) a very widespread fashion choice and highly popular. * BathroomBreakOut: Kit pulls this off with a window.* BearsAreBadNews: [[MemeticMutation Kirsten gets eaten by a bear]], of course. (No, actually, she doesn't. But it's a close thing!)* BewareTheNiceOnes: Josefina is suddenly a lot less of a ShrinkingViolet when you piss her off.* [[BigLittleBrother Big Little Sister]]: Tia Dolores is taller than her older sister, Josefina's late mother, something Josefina had observed upon meeting her aunt the first time.* BittersweetEnding: Kaya's mystery ''The Silent Stranger''. While [[spoiler:giving away her beloved pet dog Tatlo to the titular stranger]] is great character development for Kaya, it's a bitter pill for many readers to swallow.** ''Changes for Addy''. Yes, Addy's whole family is reunited once more, but [[spoiler: Uncle Solomon dies before he can reunite with the Walkers and Auntie Lula dies a few days after returning Esther to the family]].** ''Meet Kirsten''. The final chapter shows Kirsten arriving in Minnesota and becoming friends with her cousins. The previous chapter [[spoiler: has Kirsten dealing with the death of her best friend Marta]].** Most of the Kaya books. Some endings involve:*** [[spoiler: Kaya's adopted little sister Speaking Rain, who is blind, left behind as an enemy captive and slave because she could not make a rigorous escape.]]*** [[spoiler: Kaya's adult friend and potential mentor Swan Circling's death after a fall from her horse.]]*** [[spoiler: Kaya giving up her animal friend Lone Dog.]]* BlackBestFriend: With different races. Julie's best friend Ivy Ling is the only Asian Historical, and Kirsten has a Native Best Friend in Singing Bird. Josefina, who may be mestiza, also has a Pueblo Indian friend, Mariana. ''Happy Birthday, Felicity!'' features a young black militiaman whom Felicity and Ben hang out with.** While not black, Chrissa's close friend Sonali (who is at least part South Asian) can be seen as this; she along with the white Gwen was released in doll form with Chrissa. Grace Thomas of 2015, has Ella, who is seen on the book but as the Best Friends Line was now discontinued she was never released in doll form.* BlitheSpirit: Julie. Heck, her first book is about Julie trying to have her new school accept girls onto the boys-only basketball team.* BlitzEvacuees: Emily Bennett.* BraidsBeadsAndBuckskins: The only Native American doll, Kaya, is set in 1764. Guess what she wears. * {{Bridezilla}}: Of a Mother of the Bride sort in Maryellen's story. Mrs. Larkin is planning to go out for a fancy wedding with home-tailored dresses and a fancy church wedding for oldest sister Joan since Mr. and Mrs. Larkin didn't have the wedding they wanted because of [[TheThirties the Depression]], Joan wants and succeeds in getting a nice but simple backyard affair.* BritishStuffiness: Emily Bennett from Molly's story fits this at first, and the trope is also mentioned by Molly's mother.** The Admiral from Samantha's story averts this trope, being more cheerful and easygoing than his friend and later wife, the American Grandmary.* ButNotTooBlack: The dolls of color in the modern collection. The first Asian one, #4, looks like a pale white girl with black hair and "almond" eyes, the company added several new dark skin models in 2010 (some even with the new Sonali mold), and the tan dolls are all racially ambiguous. They later toned down the "textured" hair of the black dolls so the hair is less "natural" and more like chemically straightened hair, and the dark skin tone has gotten noticeably lighter. Some people will even purchase the Truly Me #26 doll and put her in Addy's clothes.** In an interesting aversion, the Sonali doll actually has ''darker'' skin than the original character.** [[http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2016/09/the_making_of_addy_walker_american_girl_s_first_black_doll.html One article]] shares that some executives first wanted to give Addy straighter hair to make it "easier" for white girls unaccustomed to textured hair to play with. The advisory board finally said that, while some children born into slavery did have straight hair and other "white" features, giving these to the character would necessitate explaining [[ChildByRape exactly why that was]]. The matter was promptly dropped.* CallForward: In Samantha's My Journey book, which is set the summer before her Meet book, Uncle Gard tells her that [[spoiler:Grandmary would never send her away if she finally married the Admiral, and if she did, Gard would have to go with Samantha]]. In the series itself, [[spoiler:Grandmary finally does accept the Admiral's latest proposal and Uncle Gard takes Samantha in]].* TheCaseOf: One History Mystery (not to be confused with the ''Historical'' Mysteries) was entitled ''The Strange Case of Baby H''.* CatchYourDeathOfCold: Samantha gets stuck in long underwear most of the time to prevent this.* CelebrityLie: In Molly's movie, Emily pretends to be nobility, pressured into it because she doesn't want to let down the American kids who built up high expectations for her.* CharacterizationTags: A similar practice is used to denote MAG dolls who [[{{Expy}} look a bit too much like]] retired dolls (e.g. "Not!Mia").* CharacterNameAndTheNounPhrase: Some of the Short Story titles, like ''Kirsten and the New Girl'' or ''Samantha and the Missing Pearls''.* ChekhovsGun: In "Danger at the Zoo, A Kit Mystery", Kit's friend Stirling is leading a Zoo Guide tour and introduces the crowd to Rascal the baboon, who, [[FaceOfAThug despite his scary looks]], [[FriendToAllChildren is so fond of children]] that [[PapaWolf he throws things when he sees children being roughly handled]]. Later in the story, one of the zoo policemen grabs Kit, who he thinks is up to no good, preventing her from chasing the thieves who have been breaking into the zoo; as luck would have it, he does this in front of Rascal's cage and the baboon beans him in the head with a thrown ball, causing him to release Kit.* TheChewToy: Lindsey is just ''never'' allowed to be happy or succeed at anything, is she?** Sarah Moore from the Addy series hardly seems to catch a break. She is the daughter of impoverished parents who often has to put off her studies and laundering her clothing just to help her Mother with the laundry orders, the rich girls snicker at the fact that she attends school in stained dresses, she is falling far behind in her reading and spelling compared to her formerly illiterate friend Addy, she is often more self-conscious and has acquired a pair of JadeColoredGlasses as a result of segregation and the social hierarchy in school, and she finally has to drop out of school just to help her family earn more money to get by; Addy offers to come over and help her catch up on schoolwork.* ChildHater: Mrs. Schumacher from Lindsey's story comes across this way.* ChooseYourOwnAdventure: The "My Journey" books, launched with the [=BeForever=] reimagining of the historical line, involve a female protagonist going back to the Historical Character's time and having several adventures with her. However, as the books are aimed towards younger readers (late elementary to middle school), no endings result in death or major injury and he protagonist is always assumed to return home safely to her own time; thus it is more like a FieldTripToThePast.* TheCobblersChildrenHaveNoShoes: Sarah Moore in the Addy series, is the daughter of a washerwoman and helps her Mother with the wash, they often get so much to wash that they can't clean a lot of her school clothing. So Sarah goes to school in shabby or stained dresses with wealthier girls that make fun of her.** Discussed in ''Meet Rebecca'' where a poor woman comes with her son to get his ill-fitting shoes adjusted. She comments that one would think her son would have more shoes since his father works in a shoe factory, Rebecca's father (a shoemaker and owner of his shop) comments he used to work in one and had to use cardboard to walk about.* ColorCodedCharacters: Each historical girl has her own theme colour that decorates her book covers. The colours changed dramatically with the [=BeForever=] revamp. For example, Samantha, once associated with burgundy, is now a soft pink, and in Molly's absence, Addy has gone from a copper colour to Molly's dark blue.* ComingOfAgeStory: The center of the historical dolls' stories.* CompanionCube: The first five girls (Felicity, Kirsten, Addy, Samantha, Molly) all have a doll that they treasure, usually received as a gift during the Christmas books. Josefina, Kit, and Julie each had one as well, but they were discussed to a lesser extent.* ContinuityNod: All over the place. Newer stories like the Historical Mysteries and My Journey books even reference side stories that are long out of print.* CoolBigSis: Some of the older sisters have their moments, like Francisca in ''Josefina Saves the Day'' when she's the one to accompany Josefina into Santa Fe in the middle of the night to get the stuff Patrick O'Toole left for them and Melody's older sister Yvonne, who is a college student involved in the Civil Rights protests and wears an afro... [[TheSixties in 1964]].** Maryellen's older sister Carolyn gets along great with her, as opposed to their older sister Joan.** Many of the girls themselves serve this role as well, like Josefina with her nephew.** Many of the girls' big brothers or older male relatives serve as a SpearCounterpart in this role: Kirsten's big brother Lars is an easygoing guy that is fond of his little sister's wilderness knowledge and their younger brother Peter cuddles the youngest Britta, Addy's brother Sam swaps riddles with her and later fights in the Civil War, Rebecca's older cousin Max (her Mother's cousin) encourages her acting ambitions and [[MiddleChildSyndrome doesn't ignore her in favor of her other siblings]], Melody's older brother Dwayne becomes a traveling Motown singer and even invites his sister to the studio, and Kit's older brother Charlie is open and honest with his sister about what their family is going through.* CoolTeacher: Addy's teacher Miss Dunn is one. She's a black female teacher, unusual for her time even in the North. What makes her cooler is that she's quite perceptive and progressive for her time. For example, she never shames Addy for poor reading skills as some teachers would, and she catches on to Harriet Davis' mean girl agenda quickly.** Samantha's teacher Miss Stevens qualifies because she allows Samantha to take home school materials to help teach Nellie, who is struggling under a SternTeacher in public school.* CoolToy: Though Julie's Chinese doll Yue Yan is far more important to the story (read: actually appears), the doll that actually got merchandised as part of her Christmas collection was her Barbie styling head, due to it having been a real-life Cool Toy. Before it was retired, ads in the catalogue tried to use this to play on parents' nostalgia -- did ''your'' mom have a Quick Curl Barbie Beauty Centre as a kid?** Molly and Samantha's Christmas stories have variants of these. Samantha really wants a special doll that looks a lot like Lydia, the doll she [[spoiler: received as a gift in the first book but gave to Nellie as a sign of friendship]]. While the doll doesn't move or do anything cool, she has a beautiful dress and comes with a tiny wooden nutcracker. [[spoiler: Cornelia, Uncle Gard's then-fiancée, gives Samantha the doll at the end.]]** Molly does not want a ''specific'' doll, but makes the distinction that she wants one she can "have adventures with" instead of a baby doll, which is presumably what she had been given for Christmas before. [[spoiler: She gets her wish, thanks to Dad, who sends Christmas presents for the whole family. Molly's present is Katherine, a doll representing a WWII nurse.]]* CosmeticallyAdvancedPrequel: Some of the collections released after the first three but set before have this effect, especially in relation to the very first items released. (If decent shoes were invented by Felicity's time, why did Samantha's meet shoes suck so bad?) Averted with new items released for older characters keeping the same quality as those for newer ones.* CoverIdentityAnomaly: The My Journey protagonists are flying the seats of their historically accurate dresses trying to act like they belong, especially when they're impersonating an offscreen person. The past characters usually either find them suspicious or chalk it up to the protagonist being a NaiveNewcomer.* DadTheVeteran: Many of the fathers fall under this trope.** Felicity's Father mentions being in a war when he chides Ben about being excited by a war with England.** Caroline's Father gets involved in the Militia for a while.** Kit's Father was in World War I.** Molly's Father is an Army Captain.** Both Maryellen and Melody have fathers who fought in World War II, with Melody's father being a mechanic in the Tuskegee Airmen.* DaddysGirl: Molly [=McIntire=] and Kit Kittredge.** To a lesser extent, Rebecca Rubin.* DanceOfRomance: Josefina first realizes that her father and Tia Dolores are in love when she sees them dance a waltz together at a fiesta.* DarkerAndEdgier: The Girls of Many Lands book and doll line and the History Mysteries book series (both discontinued). Both series had slightly older protagonists than the historical dolls, and both touched on some of the darker and sadder parts of history the main historical series tend to play down.** The History Mysteries line had this as well. The protagonists were older, around 12-13, and some storylines were quite dark. ** ''Circle of Fire,'' for instance, dealt with Ku Klux Klan activity and how it targets the protagonist's family. ** ''Voices at Whisper Bend,'' which takes place during WWII, had a student of German descent bullied because of her ancestry, including the time some classmates [[spoiler: dumped a whole can of sauerkraut in her desk.]] The book also deals with any character of German or Italian descent being treated with disdain and suspected for the central crime.** ''Secrets on 26th Street'' dealt with the disappearance of the protagonist's mother. It turns out she [[spoiler: was jailed for participation in the suffrage movement]], appropriate to the book's 1914 setting. Other cases of MissingMom or DisappearedDad were common throughout the series as well.* DeadGuyJunior: Addy is named after her great-grandmother, Aduke.** After [[spoiler: Swan Circling dies]], Kaya is given her name--the greatest gift a Nez Perce can give. She makes it her goal to grow into the name (she's still called Kaya throughout the rest of the series).* DeathByChildbirth: Florecita, one of the goats on the ranch where Josefina lives, in ''Happy Birthday, Josefina!''* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Many of these characters are discriminated against in-story in line with the values of the time. They usually have a more "progressive" older relative or friend to drive the point home that this wasn't okay then or now.** A big case in ''Meet Kaya.'' Kaya gets her EmbarrassingNickname "Magpie" because she rushed off to race her horse Steps High instead of looking after her little brothers. The tribe's response is to call in Whipwoman to switch Kaya, but what makes it worse is that ''all the other children'' are punished, too. Whipwoman also shames Kaya publicly, saying a selfish magpie would take better care of Wing Feather and Sparrow than Kaya did. While this was acceptable for the time and community, it may make readers--and plenty of adults--cringe. The DeliberateValuesDissonance continues throughout the rest of the series, as the adults seem to consider it acceptable for Kaya's EmbarrassingNickname to continue, and never chastise others for teasing her.** This is also the case in Felicity's series, though is not as overt. Felicity's family own two slaves--Rose and Marcus--and her grandfather owns a large plantation and thus, owns several slaves. Felicity almost never acknowledges the issues with owning people (she finds time on the plantation to be pleasant) and considers Rose and Marcus part of her family. In the [[ChooseYourOwnAdventure Journey book]], the time-traveling protagonist is extremely unnerved by the prospect of seeing slaves at work while touring the land, and an encounter with two slaves that were "night-walking" to another plantation to visit makes her worry that Felicity will turn them in. (Felicity doesn't, but she does make them go back to the slave quarters.)* DeniedFoodAsPunishment: In ''Changes For Samantha'', Samantha's friend Nellie is regularly punished by the cold headmistress and given little to no food during her stay at [[OrphanageOfFear Coldrock House]].* DiggingToChina: Davy and some of Maryellen's siblings start digging a hole to China at the beach in her first story.* DirtyCommunists: Maryellen's school story talks about the Cold War and centers around an allegory for the same. Also, in Melody's first book, when she hears that there's been a bombing in Alabama, she asks if it's the Russians (it's the KKK).* DisappearedDad: Stirling's dad from Kit's series (and Kit's dad himself in the movie, but not in the books), Molly's dad until the end of ''Changes for Molly'', and Gwen's dad from Chrissa's series.* DiscreetDiningDisposal: When Molly complains about her vegetables, her mom confesses to having done this as a child.* DontSplitUsUp: In ''Changes for Samantha'', when the orphaned Nellie was to be sent on the orphan train without her sisters, Samantha helps the three sisters to run away and hide out in her attic so they could be together.* DoubleMeaningTitle: All the ''Girls of Many Lands'' book titles are supposed to sound poetic and evoke the setting, like ''The Black Tulip, The Last Flower'', or ''Gates of Gold''. When you read the books, those items are all literally present and important to the characters.* DramatisPersonae: At the front of every book, the protagonist's family and friends are depicted in a historically accurate way - individual portraits for the well-to-do Colonial Merrimans, but a group family daguerreotype for Kirsten's family, and so on. (Later books tend to stick with individual portraits for all the stories, Kirsten's group daguerreotypes being replaced with single portraits. The frames do reflect either the character's time period and culture, however.) Current books have no illustrations at all and don't have this section.* DreamingOfAWhiteChristmas: In Maryellen's story, she wishes for a "real" Christmas with snow like she's seen in ''{{Film}}/WhiteChristmas'' and some tv shows, unlike the one in Florida where they have an artificial Christmas tree and go have a picnic on the beach. She takes a trip to Georgia where her maternal grandparents live to achieve this goal, later she and her grandparents drive down to Daytona Beach to spend Christmas with the family [[spoiler: and see Joan get engaged]].** Josefina's story mentions how chilly it gets this time of year and the snow isn't treated as unusual; the Winter story only expects snow to be an inconvenience for their Three Kings Day party.** When Molly's Christmas story begins (set in Illinois) it hasn't snowed until way into the middle of the story where Molly excitedly jumps in with her hooded coat, pajamas, boots, mittens, and hat.** Avoided in Julie's story (set in San Francisco).* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first three dolls--Samantha, Kirsten, and Molly--were originally released with white muslin bodies that sharply contrasted with the body. All clothing was made high to the throat and with sleeves and skirts (and underpants) long enough to cover this up, which was historically accurate for the eras. When Felicity was released in 1991, the historically accurate lower necklines of the Revolutionary/Colonial Period resulted in the company changing the main cloth bodies to better match the skin tone of the limbs. * EarnYourHappyEnding: Lindsey's story.* EdibleThemeNaming: The Coconut pets were originally named after various food items.* EmotionsVsStoicism: Part of ''Meet Addy'', prior to the events of the book, Sam had ran away and was caught and was whipped in front of Addy and their parents. Addy was bawling while her parents looked on with barely a trace of emotion, she tells them how upsetting it was to see they didn't look sad and her father told her that it's only because they aren't free to express their emotions and its only on the inside that they're free.%%* EnglishRose: What Molly and her friends assume Emily will be like before they meet her. Well, except for Susan, who expects a starving waif instead.* EvenTheDogIsAshamed: From Lindsey's book ---->It didn't get any better when I got home, either. Mom met me at the door with her own version of the asparagus face. Even my dog, Mr. Tiny, the most loyal and fabulous wiener dog in the history of the world, lowered his tail and slunk down to the basement at the sight of me.* EverythingsBetterWithLlamas: Chrissa, the girl of the year in 2009, has a pet llama named Starburst. * EveryProperLadyShouldCurtsy: In ''Happy Birthday, Molly!'', one of Molly's friends tries to curtsy while wearing pants when she meets the English girl Emily, and she says that she thought English girls always did that. Felicity and her peers have to learn for real.* FakeBrit: [[invoked]] Molly and her friends fake British accents while anticipating the arrival of [[ShrinkingViolet Emily]].* FanFiction: In-universe, Maryellen makes up her own stories about Radio/TheLoneRanger with a more idealized self in the co-starring role.* FantasyHelmetEnforcement: All modern bike, roller skate, and equestrian sets have helmets and safety gear. Julie's and Samantha's skate and bike items don't, but the catalogues post disclaimers saying that their exclusion is ''only'' for the sake of historical accuracy and reminding modern kids to please wear their helmets.* FashionHurts: In Molly's last book, she's obsessed with curling her hair so she'll be more likely to get picked for the lead role in a patriotic dance for her tap class. After trying various increasingly uncomfortable methods, she resorts to one that involves sleeping with soaking-wet hair, which causes her to catch a cold and not be able to perform at all. ** Many of the other girls complain of impediments caused by the outfits they wear: Felicity would like to run around freely without stays (a type of corset), Josefina was gifted her late Mother's childhood skirt and it was a tad snug, Kirsten's Swedish clothes are unsuitable for a New York Summer, Addy's Mother gave her these rag curls that disappeared when Addy started swimming, and Grandmary's rule for Samantha was to wear long underwear from September to June and is considered passe by Agnes and Agatha.* FearOfThunder: Josefina (although it's actually lightning she's afraid of).* FeaturelessProtagonist: Averted with the protagonists of the My Journey books, even though they're supposed to be reader inserts. It makes for better emotional impact, since they're developed characters. For example, the one in Addy's book is a black girl from Tennessee with [[OverprotectiveDad overprotective]] but [[ParentalAbandonment absentee]] parents (one's always working, the other works in another state), she lives with her grandparents and annoying younger brother, her family is apparently well-off enough to get her a tablet for her birthday, and her great-great-granduncle fought in the Civil War.* FeudEpisode: Kit and Ruthie, Molly and Emily...it's a common plot for a couple of the books, though the friends always make up in the end.* FirstLove: This trope is alluded to in Josefina's stories; her [[MissingMom mother has died]] before the series began. A poem about first love was a favorite of hers (even though she could not read). Her literate aunt wrote the poem down at some point (and uses it to encourage Josefina to read); it is implied that the poem is unique for Josefina's late mother through the series as it takes Josefina's father some time to grow to [[SecondLove love her aunt, Tia Dolores]].* FlowerInHerHair: Kanani's meet outfit included a hibiscus to go in her hair, Samantha's birthday dress had a flower crown, and the modern Flower Girl Outfit also had a white flower circlet.* FluffyFashionFeathers: Addy's snood from her birthday outfit and some of Kaya's outfits have feathers on them, though they're downplayed.* ForbiddenFriendship: Kirsten and Singing Bird. While the latter's father doesn't care, Mrs. Larson bans Kirsten from seeing Singing Bird when she finds out about them and only relents when Singing Bird saves one of her other children. Samantha is also looked at oddly for befriending Nellie, a servant.* FriendToAllLivingThings: Most of the doll collections come with a pet of some kind. Some of these are perfectly reasonable, like Marisol's cat or Addy's canary. But then you get Kanani's harp seal (not a pet, but saved by Kanani and her cousin), or Chrissa's mail-delivering llama...* ForceFeeding: Addy's first book, when the slave driver forces Addy to eat slugs off the tobacco plants.* FourGirlEnsemble: The Montoya sisters: Ana, the oldest and the TeamMom (almost literally, since their mother is dead and she's already married with two kids); Francisca, the beautiful, fashionable, rebellious one; Clara, the diligent, prudent, preachy one; and Josefina, the youngest and the main character, who's chirpy and cheerful and tries to keep the peace between Francisca and Clara when Ana's not around.* GenreShift: Kit's movie is mostly a historical drama, but detours into a kid-power mystery adventure with villains [[CanonForeigner not present in the books]].* GirlinessUpgrade: Kit states that she doesn't like pink, and her collection originally reflected this with no pink outfits and items. Once her movie came out, [[OutofCharacterMoment Kit got a batch of pink outfits and a pink blanket]].* GirlsLoveStuffedAnimals: Samantha's teddy bear, which was originally the "pet" in her birthday collection.* GorgeousPeriodDress: Much of Felicity's redesigned collection looked to have been made to evoke this.* GracefulLadiesLikePurple: The image given off by Caroline's Holiday Gown, despite Caroline being an adventurous and not-so-girly type. Also likely the reason for Felicity's meet outfit to change to what had once been a minor outfit from a side story.* GrayEyes: Molly and Ruthie, but only for their dolls; the illustrations gave them brown eyes. Also, Stirling in Kit's stories is said to have extremely pale gray eyes..* TheGreatDepression: The setting for Kit's books and [[TheMovie her movie.]]* TheGreatestHistoryNeverTold: Caroline (War of 1812), Cécile/Marie-Grace (yellow fever in the 1850s), Josefina (New Mexico pre-Mexican-American War), and many of the Girls of Many Lands.* GrumpyOldMan: Uncle Hendrick.* HappyHolidaysDress: Almost every Historical Character has a holiday dress, and every year a new holiday dress and accessory ensemble is released.* HaveAGayOldTime: In the Rebecca mystery "The Crystal Ball", one paragraph mentions "the gay crowds". Since this story takes place in the 1910's, the language is accurate for describing a cheerful group of people. On the other hand, the story was published in 2012 - and today's average tween and young teen reading this book is likelier to be much more familiar with a very different meaning for the word "gay".** Also pops up semi-frequently in the main Rebecca series for the same reason. * HelloNurse: Josefina's sister Francisca can count as one. The "Saves the Day" book noted this one Americano guest of Josefina's grandfather who is fluent in Spanish and an all around NiceGuy, but he forgets to say "Gracias" when Francisca serves drinks. Josefina notes that Francisca's looks tend to provoke that reaction in even men who spoke perfect Spanish. * HeroesWantRedheads: Arguably, part of the justification for the Ben/Felicity pairing. * HMTheQueen: Molly and friends fangirl the then-''Princess'' Elizabeth.* HollywoodHistory: History gets (somewhat) prettied up when making it palatable for children. The worst abuses of Edwardian Era workhouses are left out (except in the movie), but it's still pretty clear that they're rotten, awful places. Also, although it makes a lovely story, it's unlikely that a society as class-driven as Samantha's would have seen a rich couple adopting immigrant street orphans.** Considering how liberal Uncle Gard and Aunt Cornelia are for the Edwardian era, it's not exactly out of character for them to say, [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight "Screw Society, we're taking the kids."]]* {{Hypocrite}}: Annabelle thinks it's perfectly alright to call Elizabeth [[EmbarrassingNickname "Bitsy",]] but hits the roof when she finds Felicity mocking her with the name "Bananabelle".* IJustWantToBeFree: The Walker family.* ImaginaryFriend: Molly and Emily briefly have imaginary ''dogs''.* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: In ''Changes for Josefina'', Tía Dolores feels that despite her feelings for Josefina's Papá, she has to leave the ranch so he can find a new wife. Ironically, Papá ''does'' love Tía Dolores, but [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy he wants his beloved to be happy]] and let her go where she wants to go. [[spoiler: Fortunately they end up HappilyMarried with each other when Josefina clears up the situation with her Papá.]]* IconicItem: As part of the [[StrictlyFormula strict formula]], each girl has a necklace and gets a doll at Christmas. Sometimes these have some plot significance, and sometimes they don't -- e.g., Josefina's necklace is a gold cross with a garnet that's never mentioned at all in-story, whereas Addy's is a cowrie shell her grandmother brought from Africa strung on one of her brother's shoelaces to remind her of her family; but Josefina's doll is part of a family Christmas tradition from before her mother died, and Addy's just happens to be her Christmas present.* [[IllGirl Ill Boy]]: Stirling.* InfantImmortality: If you're young enough to be considered a child in whatever time period you're in and the main character knows you by name, then you're pretty much guaranteed to live in the historical series. Averted with [[spoiler:Marta in Kirsten's series]], though, and Marie-Grace is stated to have a younger brother who died in a cholera epidemic.* InformedFlaw: Brad is described as a 'little pest' to Molly, but he never does anything in the books to antagonize or even annoy Molly.* {{Jerkass}}: Uncle Hendrick in Kit's series. He thinks less of his niece's husband for paying his workers with his own money, and hates Roosevelt out of a belief that poor people are lazy and don't deserve his help.* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Annabelle has her moments.* KarmaHoudini: [[AlphaBitch Blair]] and [[TheDragon Missy]] in Lindsey's story get away with [[KickTheDog everything they do to April.]] Blair even wins the Perfect World Collage contest.* KindlyHousekeeper: Samantha's and Felicity's servants (despite the fact that Felicity's were probably ''[[ValuesDissonance slaves]] and in some of the mysteries, are outright stated to be this'') and Molly's neighbour all tend to have shades of this, though some are stricter than others.* LateArrivalSpoiler: Nellie's collection when her doll was out looked way too nice for a poor servant, serving to spoil the ending of ''Changes for Samantha'', where [[spoiler:Samantha's aunt and uncle adopt her and her sisters]].* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: Think of ''all'' the notable characters in ''all'' of the girls' series that you could apply tropes to. [[YourHeadASplode Your head just exploded.]] As for dolls, there are 14 historical dolls (3 of whom were only available for a 3-year window), 5 historical best friend dolls, 15 GOTY dolls[[note]]Gwen and Sonali were released along with Chrissa[[/note]] and counting, and ''64 Truly Me dolls.'' Most fans just try to buy the ones they really like instead of getting them all.* LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading: Some website games, specifically on Innerstar.* LiveActionAdaptation: Some of the Historicals, namely Samantha, Felicity, Molly and Kit got to appear in their very own films. As for the contemporary girls, Chrissa Maxwell, [=McKenna Brooks=], Saige Copeland, and Isabelle Palmer have made it in front of the camera so far.* LongRunningBookSeries: Since 1986!* LuddWasRight: Samantha's grandmother believes this, anyway.* MatryoshkaObject: In the introductory [=BeForever=] commercial, Rebecca, being Russian, plays with a matryoshka doll and hands it off to the modern girl. She also has a set of the dolls mentioned in her stories and included in an accessory set.* MayDecemberRomance: Fandom seems to center on three main pairings as favorites: Felicity/Ben, Josefina/Patrick, and Kit/Will. The first two pairings have an age disparity of six years whereas Kit/Will has five, but the May December Romance inherent in the pairings causes some fans to love these pairings even more, and Felicity/Ben is ''extremely'' popular within the fandom.* MeaningfulName: The name of Felicity's horse, Penny, is actually short for Independence. Similarly, the Title IX-ignoring basketball coach in Julie's books? Coach Manley.** Rebecca's teacher who says things like "Christmas is a holiday everybody celebrates" to her students, who include some Jewish children. Her name is Miss Maloney, which rhymes with Baloney, something that's lampshaded on an online board game from the website.** The main girls also have this: Felicity means "happiness" which derives from the Latin "felicitas" meaning "good luck" and she is a lucky and happy girl, Addy is short for "Aduke" meaning "much loved" and her family bonds are the core of the story, and Kit's middle name is "Mildred" meaning "gentle strength" and she is as big-hearted as she's strong and determined. Then there's Melody, the music-themed girl...* MeeknessIsWeakness: Felicity envies "lads" because they're allowed to do more, so she finds stitching and tea ceremonies stifling and the people who like them dull and vapid.* MementoMacGuffin: A handmade doll named Niña fulfills this purpose in ''Josefina's Surprise.'' She is both a valuable part of a family tradition and a keepsake from the sisters' mother. The tradition in question is to for the sister with the doll to hand it down to the next youngest sister when she turns eight years old, [[spoiler:but Clara breaks the pattern by hanging onto Niña after their mother dies. She completes her CharacterDevelopment when she learns to let go of her mother and finally gives the doll to Josefina.]]** In the My Journey books, the time-travel device is sometimes a family heirloom.* MerchandiseDriven: You think?* MiddleChildSyndrome: Rebecca Rubin suffers shades of this. Her older twin sisters Sadie and Sophie always leave her out. Victor gets more attention than she does because he's at bar mitzvah age, and little brother Benny is coddled as the baby of the family. Ana's arrival helps somewhat but Rebecca maintains the struggle to get her share of attention.** Kirsten, Addy, and Molly are all middle kids too, but don't display classic MiddleChildSyndrome traits as much as Rebecca does. With Addy, this may actually be because [[spoiler: she is separated from her older brother and younger sister in ''Meet Addy,'' and effectively spends half her series as an only child.]]** Maryellen is also a middle child (two older siblings and three younger) and her story features her cry for attention.* MissingMom: Josefina's mom died a year prior to the first book. This becomes a plot point in ''Josefina's Surprise.'' Marie-Grace's mother has been dead for four years at the start of Marie-Grace's first book. Samantha is an orphan but certainly misses her mother more, and up until halfway through Addy's series, everyone in her family is missing ''but'' her mom.* MrFanservice: Why Kevin Zegers was cast as Ben Davidson in ''Felicity: An American Girl Adventure'' and likewise for Max Thieriot as Will Shepherd when the AG movies went theatrical in 2008 with ''Kit Kittredge: An American Girl''. This trope also appears in the books, where readers have admitted to crushing on male characters drawn beguilingly handsome such as Kit's older brother Charlie from her books.* MultipleEndings: The My Journey books. Most don't have a True End, but one of Maryellen's branches leads to a StableTimeLoop, implying that one of the two endings that it leads to is canon.* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Although Nellie and her sisters had no choice in the matter, the name ''Coldrock House'' implies anything going on there won't be good. [[spoiler: The girls actually do run later, with Samantha's help.]]* NeverTrustATitle: Addy doesn't have a little brother. "Addy's Little Brother" is about her friend's cousin. It was originally titled just "The Little Brother", which makes more sense but didn't fit the [[IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming title theme]].* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Lindsey, [[UnwantedAssistance over and over and over again]]. Although it's not just Lindsey -- April indirectly gives her the idea to put smiley-face stickers on the neighbors' trash cans, which lands her in hot water with them, her mother, and the ''police.''* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed / DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything / MeaningfulName: The class bully in the Melody movie is a tall blond blue-eyed boy named Donald. * NoEqualOpportunityTimeTravel: Addy's My Journey book has a middle-class modern black girl travel to 1864. All the book's endings are happy, of course, but running into segregation, poorly funded schools, and even slave-catchers gives her major culture shock.* NoHuggingNoKissing: A key note of the brand is that none of the leads end up in or even consider romantic relationships. Doesn't prevent shipping, of course.** It doesn't even prevent shipping based around the idea of a RomanticTwoGirlFriendship; Felicity/Elizabeth, Samantha/Nelly and Molly/Emily in particular (in both their books and movies) can easily be viewed as the first steps in a romantic relationship between the lead girl and her best friend (although specifically in Samantha's case, she and Nelly become adoptive sisters in the end...)* NothingIsTheSameAnymore: Usually happens once during the Meet book and once during the Changes book. For example, Kirsten ends her first book living in a new country, befriending her cousins, and [[spoiler:mourning her best friend]], and she ends her last book [[spoiler:in a new house again after the previous one burned down]].* OfficialCosplayGear: There were girl-sized outfits and accessories that matched the outfits available for the Historical Characters. Now this is generally only applied to their nightclothes and the modern outfits. When the historical line was revamped into [=BeForever=], the characters all got new human-sized clothes "inspired by" their characters instead, which could be worn in modern everyday life.* OffToBoardingSchool: Samantha fears this will happen to her in one of the paths of her My Journey book. [[spoiler:Actually, the conversation she overheard was about Agnes and Agatha going to boarding school.]]* OhGodWithTheVerbing: A bit in the Rebecca series from her grandparents. Sometimes the verb is a noun.* OneSteveLimit: Averted with Cécile Rey (of the Historical line) and Cécile Revel (of the Girls of Many Lands line). They were released nine years apart and one was retired long before the other came out, minimizing any confusion. Then there's Samantha "Sam" Parkington and Sam Walker, Ruthie Smithens and Ruth Walker, Emily Bennett and Emily Holland, the Larson family from Kirsten's stories and Kit's neighbour Mrs. Larson... all of which fit with an unwritten rule that you could only share your name with a character from a different era. Maryellen's stories threw that out the window, having two Karens, two [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Skips]], and two minor characters called Betty.* OnlyChildSyndrome: Strongly averted, with most of the characters having siblings save for Caroline, Marie-Grace (who had one, [[PosthumousCharacter once]]), and Samantha. It only seems that way because everyone remembers cash-cow and perennial favourite Samantha.* OnlyInMiami: Averted with Maryellen Larkin. She and her family live in Daytona Beach, which is in the central part of Florida.* OrphanageOfFear: Nellie and her sisters get sent to one of these. Thank goodness Samantha helps them escape and they all end up [[HappilyAdopted adopted by Samantha's rich family]].* OutdoorsyGal: Most girls get outdoor hobbies or excursions at one point, with clothing and accessories to match, and one Girl of the Year was specifically designed to try to get kids outside and active.* ParentalAbandonment: A few, like Samantha, the orphan. Addy is also a partial case of this, as only she and her mother make the initial journey north. In ''Addy's Surprise,'' she is reunited with her father. ** Marie-Grace's father is still alive, but he gets so busy with his doctor work that she only sees him in the evenings. At one point he tries to send Marie-Grace to live with her relatives due to the yellow fever epidemic keeping him away from home so often.* PassFail: Is behind Addy's family's troubles in "Shadows on Society Hill"; Uncle Solomon's niece was passing as white and feared Addy and her family would expose her. Addy ultimately does do this but in defending her family rather than any malice and a part of her understands why the woman did it; the "Looking Back" section discusses this phenomenon and its aftereffects.* PetTheDog: Off-page, Annabelle assists Elizabeth and their mother in sewing Felicity's blue ballgown when Mrs. Merriman is too ill to do it herself.* PimpedOutDress: The holiday dresses, since these are supposed to be formal outfits.* PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure: In ''Kit's Surprise'', Kit and Ruthie fight because Ruthie's attempt to cheer Kit up and save their Christmas tradition by giving her a hand-me-down dress makes things worse, with Kit finding the gesture short-sighted and patronizing. ''Addy Learns a Lesson'' has Sarah drift away from Addy when the latter is taken in by Harriet's tricks. Both of these cases have the friends reconcile by the end of the book.* PluckyGirl: All the protagonists by default.* PrincessPhase: The GirlinessUpgrade of Felicity's collection, which was criticized for putting frills and jewels before everyday practicality and occasionally historical accuracy, is suspected to be aimed at grabbing the younger end of the 8-12 range just as they're coming out of their Franchise/DisneyPrincess doll collecting.** Ruthie, Kit's best girl friend, loves princesses, fairy tales, and glamorous movie stars.** Molly and her friends have an active interest in the Princesses of England and want to emulate them.** Maryellen's little sister Beverly, is not going through a Princess phase, she's going through a Queen phase.* PutOnABus: The Retirement of various Historical Characters through the years. While books originally stayed in publication, this has been slimmer with the recent [=BeForever=] launch.** With the destruction of the Best Friends Line, Cécile, Marie-Grace, Ivy (Julie's Best Friend), and Ruthie (Kit's Best Friend) were all retired from the line.* PragmaticAdaptation: The first three historical movies, instead of trying to adapt the character's entire central series, focused on one book for the main plot, one or two books for a major subplot, and one short story for a minor subplot, with others filling things in. For example, Molly's movie focused on ''Changes for Molly'' with major elements from ''Happy Birthday, Molly!'' (namely Emily, who was given a much larger role in the story as a result) and Aunt Eleanor's scene from "Molly Takes Flight," with the occasional thing from another book (Dad going overseas, Christmas, the turnip scenes from ''Meet Molly''). Kit's movie took a different approach: elements of ''Meet Kit, Kit Learns a Lesson, Happy Birthday, Kit!, Kit Saves the Day'', and ''Changes for Kit'' are mixed with an original plot.* PrettyInMink: Some of Samantha's outfits. In "Changes for Samantha", she wears a white fur hat with a puffball at the top, and a white fur muff.* ProductPromotionParade: Each main-series book and the odd side story has merchandise associated with it, and sometimes scenes are dedicated just to showing it all off. The birthday books are especially guilty, and it becomes [[TheArtifact awkward when the items get retired]].* ProperLady: Elizabeth. This is also how Grandmary is trying to raise Samantha.* PursuingParentalPerils: Samantha, who decides, "Oh, my parents died boating to this island in a storm? Guess what I'm going to do!".* RaisedByGrandparents: Samantha.** This seemed to be the case with Josefina's friend Mariana as well. She lives with her grandparents and no parents are mentioned.* RedheadInGreen: Felicity usually avoided this, but her riding outfit was ''very'' green and two minor outfits were partially green as well (the work gown and the limited-edition Town Fair Outfit).* RedOniBlueOni: Impulsive FieryRedhead Felicity and Cooler headed Elizabeth, especially in "Very Funny, Elizabeth!" when the girls were discussing plans on how to prevent Elizabeth from being moved to England, Felicity discussed them running away to the Kentucky Frontier while Elizabeth comes up with a more convenient and hilarious plan.** "Chatterbox" and impulsive American Molly and the reserved and thoughtful Emily.** Several, though not all, of the main protagonists are [[RedOni Red Onis]] to BlueOni best friends. Examples:*** RedOni Kaya and BlueOni Speaking Rain.*** RedOni Kit and BlueOni Ruthie.*** RedOni Samantha and BlueOni Nellie, although Samantha's RedOni traits are less pronounced than usual (justified because of expectations placed on girls in the Edwardian Era).*** RedOni Cecile and BlueOni Marie Grace, although this is somewhat subverted/averted. Both girls share a main protagonist role, in addition to being best friends.* RegalRinglets: Molly wants curls like Shirley Temple's instead of her own straight hair.* ReimaginingTheArtifact: Samantha's ice cream maker remained in the active collection after she was archived; it was rebranded as belonging to Addy. (It [[OlderThanTheyThink was Addy's to begin with, anyway.]]) Now that Samantha is back and Cécile and Marie-Grace have been archived in her place, Samantha got their parasol, Addy got their ''underwear'', and the ice cream maker, still Addy's, was soon retired.* {{Retcon}}: This is dramatically seen with Elizabeth Cole -- Felicity's best friend -- being changed from a brown-eyed brunette to a blue-eyed blonde. All the images and text of Felicity's stories were updated to make it like she'd always been blonde.** A more minor example is Emily. She was originally portrayed as having a bob-like hairstyle, she was later reillustrated to have shoulder-length hair following Molly's movie.** Another minor example is Felicity's original meet gown. The original books and dolls showed her in a rose-print gown. It's pretty, but the pattern manages not to be overly girly. Later editions give her a lavender gown with multicolored flowers and white flourishes, looking much cuter and stereotypically girlier.** With the launch of [=BeForever=], lines in original stories were modified to align to new looks; Addy was originally given a cinnamon-pink dress by Miss Caroline and this was her meet outfit, but the text now describes her new blue meet dress. The same can be seen in Rebecca's description of her purple dress over the old maroon one. * RiddleMeThis: Though he doesn't use them to block anyone's path, Sam Walker loves riddles and is often telling them.* RiteOfPassage: Josefina inheriting her family doll and Kaya's MeaningfulRename. Out-of-universe, you'll often find people citing the act of poring over the catalogues, pining after their doll of choice, and either receiving her on Christmas morning (or some other gift-giving holiday), spending ages saving up the money to buy her themselves, or resigning themselves to the fact that they'll never have her as a rite of passage for girls over the last thirty years.* RuleOfThree: The first three girls were released together: Samantha, Kirsten, and Molly.* ScarsAreForever: Kaya's grandmother has pockmarks on her face from a plague brought by white settlers when she was a little girl.* SecondPlaceIsForLosers: Harriet when she loses to Addy in the spelling competition.* SeriesMascot: Samantha used to be it -- she was even in the company logo!* ServileSnarker: Elsa, Samantha's maid, is harsh (though she loves her family, for whose sake she's working) and is fed up with Samantha's antics.* ShadowArchetype: ** Edith Eddleton to Samantha. They are both wealthy, upper-class girls, but Samantha befriends Nellie and her sisters while Edith looks down on them for being servants.** Blair and Missy to Lindsey in a similar fashion -- Lindsey is a good friend to April and helps her feel better, but Blair and Missy get their kicks out of bullying her.* ShownTheirWork: At the end of each historical book is a "Looking Back" section that goes into some detail about the time period, and helps to place the character in the time. Kaya and Josefina had cultural panels involved in their creation as well, which is why Kaya is the only doll with a closed mouth (showing one's teeth is considered offensive to Nez Perce).** Author Lisa Yee [[https://www.facebook.com/lisayee.1/posts/10206154042582756 took the effort of doing research]] at the Amazon Rainforest for her Lea Clark books, taking part in river raft rides while mingling with wildlife and the locals for her and the readers to better immerse with the setting and to add authenticity to the story.* ShrinkingViolet: Sort-of deconstructed in ''Felicity Learns a Lesson.'' Felicity becomes angry with Elizabeth for not speaking up when Annabelle lied about and insulted her father; however, it is resolved when Elizabeth decides to grow a spine and stand up to her abrasive older sister.-->'''Elizabeth:''' I ''hate'' being called Bitsy. From now on, call me ''Elizabeth.'' Or I will call you Bananabelle in front of everyone. Annabelle, Bananabelle.** Josefina is very quiet and shy, mostly opens up to her family and close friends.** Molly noted that before World War II, her mother was a pretty shy person and now [[TookALevelInBadass she's making a speech on behalf of the Red Cross]].* SignificantGreenEyedRedhead: Felicity, the line's first and most important redhead. Birdy, the reader insert in Josefina's My Journey book, is also implied to be one; she's mistaken for a Spanish captive, Francisca says her party outfit makes her eyes look very green, and she was cast as the lead in ''Theatre/{{Annie}}''.* SpannerInTheWorks: In the game of Color War played in ''Molly Saves the Day,'' the Red Team captures every member of the Blue Team except for Molly and Susan, who didn't follow the group because Susan is bad at canoeing and wound up in the wrong spot. [[spoiler:Molly is ultimately the player who devises a plan to free her entire team, capture the flag and return home, victorious.]]* SpecialGuest: ''[=McKenna=] Shoots for the Stars'' features Cathy Rigby, the first female American gymnast to medal at the World Championships, as [=McKenna=]'s coach.* SpicyLatina: Josefina is an aversion but her beautiful, hot-tempered sister Francisca is a straight example.* StarCrossedLovers: Of all people, [[spoiler:Uncle Hendrick]] and [[spoiler:Elsie Mundis]] in Kit's mystery ''Intruders at Rivermead Manor''. [[spoiler:When Hendrick and Elsie were teenagers, Elsie's parents forbade her from hanging out with other young men. Elsie also turned down Hendrick's marriage proposal since she couldn't marry without her parents' blessings, resulting in Hendrick's {{Jerkass}} nature as an elderly man.]]* StayInTheKitchen: The Historical Series features several situations that lampshade the trope and show what it means for the girls.** Felicity, Addy (to a lesser extent), Samantha, and Kit (to a lesser extent) are expected to be "ladylike" and are often trained in how to act like one.** Josefina and her sisters are shocked when Tia Dolores (politely) makes business suggestions to Papa on how to replace the sheep the family lost in a recent flood; Josefina muses on how their father never discussed business with his wife [[SiblingYinYang and Tia Dolores's sister]] and while she admits the idea was good, she isn't sure it was proper of Dolores to interject. Francisca later accuses Dolores of acting like "the patrona" (Spanish for a woman boss).** The Gardner Family's cook Mrs. Curtis [[RefugeInAudacity makes it known to her employer]], Marie-Grace's Father, that girls learn all they need to know at home and that schooling fills a girl's head with "useless nonsense".** Lars's friend John didn't want Kirsten following them on their trapping trip, expecting her to stay home with the "women and children", Lars argues that Kirsten has keen sense for animals and knows her way around a forest along with possessing extra hands to carry the pelts. Kirsten is puzzled by John's objections.** Molly's series is set in World War II and features many women working outside the home (Mom as a nurse) and even in traditionally male jobs (her Aunt Eleanor). But when the books get to the ending of the war, she witnesses propaganda telling women to give the men "their jobs back" and her friend's Mom is upset about how the factory she's working at is laying off women who've been devoted to the job and loved it.** Two instances in the [[TheFifties Maryellen stories]]: When part of her mostly-male science group, Maryellen is made secretary without question and her mother stated she quit what would've been a great job in aircraft because her fellow Rosie the Riveters were being fired to "make way for the men" and she wouldn't stay if that happened.** Lampshaded in Julie's series: her parents divorce since her Dad wanted a housewife while her Mom wanted to start a business and Julie has a hard time joining the basketball team because she's a girl.* SternTeacher: Several American Girls have these:** Kirsten has Miss Winston, who at first seems to expect her to learn English too quickly. She mellows out when, like many pioneer teachers who boarded with students' families, she comes to live with the Larsons and gets to know Kirsten better.** Julie has Ms. Duncan, who is extremely fond of traditional, sentence-writing detention and gives out said detentions like lottery tickets.** Rebecca has Miss Maloney, who isn't extremely strict but conservative to the point of intimidation, especially when she asks the class to make Christmas decorations because Christmas is an "American holiday that everyone celebrates." Whether she understands why this would disturb Rebecca is debatable.* StockAnimalName: Kirsten's horse Blackie.* StockYuck: Turnips for Molly.* StrangerInAStrangeSchool: A mundane variant. In ''Nellie's Promise'', [[spoiler:Nellie may be HappilyAdopted by a rich family, but she's completely out of place at a fancy school that doesn't teach anything practical.]]* StrictlyFormula: The central books always followed a pattern of 'Meet ____' (introduction), '___ Learns a Lesson' (school), '___'s Surprise' ({{Christmas|Episode}}), 'Happy Birthday, ___!' (self-explanatory), '___ Saves the Day!' (adventure), and 'Changes for ___' (winter, New Year's, or some sort of closure to the story). The books broke the pattern with Kaya because Native Americans pre-contact obviously didn't have things like schoolhouses or Christmas, and all dolls released after her have followed a similarly loose formula.** This also counts as IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming.* TakeAThirdOption: Done by the company when pushing Molly for a movie and new collection. Molly has ''two'' best friends in the book, so rather than choosing between making a Susan doll or a Linda doll, they instead made one-book character Emily an AscendedExtra, made the movie focus on the time when she was in town with Molly, put her in a new mystery, and gave her her own book.* TechnologyMarchesOn: The early PC games were like this, ending up being unplayable on modern operating systems unless the user [[http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/The_American_Girls:_Dress_Designer tweaks]] it.** In-universe, it's pretty much the case with medicine and other technologies available at the time each of the characters' stories take place. Even more so during the turn of the century i.e. Samantha's era, where inventions like bicycles, motorbikes and electricity are gaining widespread use.* TeenPregnancy: Implied with Ana, Josefina's oldest sister. Ana is 20 years old and already a married mother to two young boys aged 5 and 3 years old. Given that Josefina's stories are set in a time period where girls were eligible for marriage after having their quinceañera, it's justified.* TextileWorkIsFeminine: ** Addy's mother works as a seamstress in a dress shop.** Felicity and her peers have to learn to sew samplers as part of their lessons on how to be a ProperLady. Elizabeth also helps sew Felicity's blue ballgown. ** A major plot point in Josefina's Christmas book is the Montoya sisters, with the help of their aunt, repairing the Las Posadas altar cloth that their mother made, using a special type of embroidery called ''colcha''. Josefina notes that Clara is especially good at it, [[spoiler:even sewing a new dress for [[MementoMacGuffin Niña the doll]] when she's ready to hand her down to Josefina at last]]. In different books, the sisters learn to make dresses of their own and weave blankets from sheep's wool to sell.* ThemeTwinNaming: Agnes and Agatha, Sadie and Sophie.* ThreeMonthOldNewborn: Averted (no, seriously). Kirsten's mother tells her that when she was born, she was "a red-faced little thing with white fuzz for hair".* TitleDrop: Occurs in the last line of ''Really, Truly Ruthie''. * TokenMinority: Josefina, Ivy, and Kaya all have unique ethnicities. Also seen in people's collections when people will have one or two minority dolls. This mostly consist of limited edition dolls or [[ButNotTooBlack Just Like You #26, who appears biracial black.]] There have only been two Jewish dolls: Lindsey (who was only available for a short time) and Rebecca.* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Felicity and Elizabeth, Kit and Ruthie, Julie and Ivy. Note that [[RealWomenDontWearDresses the tomboy is always the star of the series]].** Maryellen and her older sister Joan: Maryellen plays with boys and has an interest in Westerns and rockets while Joan is prim and is more of a literature nerd, and is getting married out of high school. Both love fashion though and Maryellen can fulfill the Tomboy trope with her girl friends at school.** Molly's friends Linda and Susan, with Molly as TheKirk.** Felicity and her little sister, Nan, fill this role as well. As do Agnes and Agatha in the Samantha series, with Agnes being more prim than her sister (not that it lasts long).* ToylessToyLineCharacter: When the Best Friends line was still around, a number of characters did not get best friend dolls. ''Which'' best friends were not made [[UnfortunateImplications has a bit of a troubling pattern]], but [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment let's leave it at that]].* TreasureHuntEpisode: Some of the Historical Mysteries are this. For example, Julie's ''The Puzzle of the Paper Daughter'' has Julie and Ivy searching for a doll Ivy's grandma once owned, racing against an unknown third party who wants it for the valuable treasure hidden inside.* UpdatedRerelease: The [=BeForever=] revamp rereleased the books as compilations and brought some retired products back in an updated format (for example, Addy's school lunch returns with the food slightly altered, Josefina's new meet outfit is extremely close to her old one, and Samantha's back but everything in her collection has been replaced) along with brand new items.* VillainyFreeVillain: Alison Hargate in Molly's series is probably ''supposed'' to look like a SpoiledBrat (and comes off that way in the movie), but is more of a LonelyRichKid set apart because people like Molly think she's bragging whenever she so much as speaks honestly about her life.* WeNamedTheMonkeyJack: Molly and Emily name their dogs after each other.* WhamLine: When Kit goes to the soup kitchen and serves soup to a man [[spoiler:who turns out to be her father]].** Combined with MeaningfulEcho and BrickJoke in ''Addy Saves the Day''. In the first book, Addy's brother Sam teaches her a riddle, so in ''Saves the Day''...-->'''Addy:''' ''(doing a puppet show)'' What's smaller than a dog, but can send a bear on the run?-->'''Soldier in Crowd:''' That's an easy riddle! [[spoiler:Even my little sister knows that one! It's a skunk!]]* WoundedGazelleGambit: Lindsey stops Blair from tormenting April, so Blair pretends that Lindsey attacked her on the way to school. It only partially works.* YouMeanXmas: Up until they created Kaya, each of the American Girl characters had a Christmas story as a part of her book series. Since Kaya obviously wouldn't have celebrated Christmas, living before the Nez Perce had much contact with Europeans, they gave her a story about a "giving" ceremony as her obligatory "holiday" book.** [[TheFundamentalist A certain subset of fans and parents]] has called PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad on the switch from pushing "Christmas" to pushing "holidays", despite the fact that Christmas is still celebrated by most of the characters and inclusiveness is never a bad thing -- and some of the earliest modern sets celebrated non-Christmas winter holidays too. (Though there's still only been one modern Kwanzaa set back in the nineties, Julie's holiday book centered more on Chinese New Year than Christmas (but its collection was still just Christmas stuff), Rebecca's on Hanukkah, and Kaya's, as mentioned, on native spirituality.)* YouGoGirl: Julie's efforts to join the basketball team serve as a kid-friendly representation of second-wave feminism.** Later on, her campaign for student body president and willingness to stick up for deaf classmate Joy serve as both a kid-friendly version of politics and a way to explain the disability rights movements that began in the 1970s. ----


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Home › Forums › Gear Forums › Make Your Own Gear › seam seal formerly seam taped tent fly?
@jakedatcLocale: Bristol,RI
I am wondering if you can seam seal a fly that used to be taped.. ie remove the bad sections of tape and seam seal it like usual?
i have a tent that has tape going across some velcro that is coming apart. seems that the tape does not stick very well to the velcro backing (grosgrain looking)
@francoLocale: Tarptent
If possible I would do it from the outside and leave the remaining tape where it is .
@dwambaughLocale: Pacific Northwest
+1 on sealing the other side. I got a tarp that someone used the wrong sealer on and it was flaking off. I was able to remove most of it but that little bit left made me wonder if it would start more trouble. I just sealed the other side with good stuff. Works fine.
@jakedatcLocale: Bristol,RI
Thanks guys. The rest of the fly could probably use a new coat anyway so can do it all at once.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
I didn't hear voices all the time. No. Only when I could've really done without it. Like the time we had nothing to do so we were just laying in the snow, talking.
Abbie sighed "Ahhh. Ben would've loved this" there was no sadness in her voice. But then, no happiness either.
"Yeah" I agreed "He always enjoyed snow"
"I just wish he was here to enjoy it now" she sighed again. Her voice was still emotionless.
"Hmm. I remember in year five, I think he was ten and I was nine, it snowed so much that they couldn't send us home because we were snowed into school. The teachers said that whatever we did we must not call our parents or try to get out. The first thing Ben did was go to the sports hall and open the door. The door opened. Then he called his parents. Then he made a snowman right in front of the spots hall door and when we opened the door he was gone and on the snowman's face said 'it was a bit stupid to only try one door'." I smiled. Abbie sighed again and I heard Max chuckle softly. "Abbie, what's wrong?"
"There's nothing wrong"
Please honey. Please...
"There is, I know there is" I said, hiding the shock when the voice came. The fact was more true for me than it was for Abbie.
"It's nothing. I guess I'm just jealous"
"Of all the time you had with him" the sigh was longer this time.
For us...
"Listen, it could've been any one of us. I don't think you're jealous, I think you miss him. A lot... I do" it was my turn to sigh.
Then Max, who hadn't spoken throughout the conversation, muttered "Hey, don't cry"
"Oh, no! Please. I didn't mean to make you cry. I'm sorry" I exclaimed quietly.
"No, it's fine, it's not your fault" Abbie whispered. She stood up, "I'm going to bed. Night"
"I do feel sorry for her" Max said when she was in her tent and out of earshot, taking my hand.
"I know... Maybe we should not talk about Ben while she's listening..."
"Hmm. And that'd be another thing to add to the list. No hugging, kissing, general displays of affection, and now talking about Ben"
"Don't exaggerate. Besides, you forget one: no secrets. We're not allowed to have secrets" I felt guilty as soon as I said that, because I was keeping a secret from him. I could tell him... but I didn't want to.


text:
Relay for Life provides opportunity to get involved with fight against cancer
Relay for Life enters its 20th year in Crow Wing County of remembering those who lost the battle with cancer, celebrating survivors and renewing the fight against the disease.
It's an event that doesn't single out any particular form of cancer but embraces all who have been affected by the disease in whatever form it takes.
From noon to midnight July 21 at Don Adamson Field by the Brainerd High School people will again take part in donating hours of their time to signal their commitment to friends, family or community.
The American Cancer Society reports more than 3.5 million Relay for Life supporters will take part in events this summer, including 38,000 Minnesotans.
Luminary bags highlight the lives snuffed out prematurely by cancer.
Relay for Life began in Tacoma, Wash., as a 24-hour run against cancer. The idea was for 24 hours people would continue to bring awareness and raise funds to fight cancer noting the disease wasn't taking a break for sleep either.
In Brainerd, the event was altered to begin at noon and end at midnight to encourage even greater participation. Volunteers assist with education and with games and entertainment.
There is no charge to attend.
Relay for Life reports "after dark, we honor people who have been touched by cancer and remember loved ones lost during the luminaria ceremony. Candles are lit inside bags filled with sand, each one bearing the name of a person touched by cancer."
People may camp around the track with team members taking turn walking around the track for the duration of the relay.
The event starts with a survivors lap — an inspirational time when survivors are invited to circle the track together and help everyone celebrate the victories we've achieved over cancer. "It's an emotional example of how relayers are ensuring that more lives are saved each year," Relay for Life reports.
"The fight back ceremony is where we make a personal commitment to save lives by pledging to do something simple. By taking action, you are personally taking steps to save lives," Relay for Life organization states on its website.
For those new to the event, the organization describes it as a "life-changing event that helps communities across the globe celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease."
How did it all start?
"In the mid-1980s, Dr. Gordy Klatt, a Tacoma colorectal surgeon, wanted to enhance the income of his local American Cancer Society office and to show support for all of his patients who had battled cancer," Relay for Life details in its history of the event. "He decided to personally raise money for the fight by doing something he enjoyed – running marathons.
"In May 1985, Klatt spent a grueling 24 hours circling the track at Baker Stadium at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. He ran for more than 83 miles. That first year, nearly 300 of Klatt's friends, family, and patients watched as he ran and walked the course. Throughout the night, friends donated $25 to run or walk with Klatt for 30 minutes. His efforts raised $27,000 to fight cancer.
"While circling the track those 24 hours, Klatt thought about how others could take part in his mission to fight cancer. He envisioned a 24-hour team relay event that could raise more money to fight cancer. Over the next few months, he pulled together a small committee to plan the first team relay event, known as the City of Destiny Classic 24-Hour Run Against Cancer.
"In 1986, with the help of Pat Flynn — now known as the "Mother of Relay" — 19 teams took part in the first team relay event on the track at the historic Stadium Bowl and raised $33,000."
Where does the money go? Funds go to help the American Cancer Society. The society's efforts include the Cancer Survivor College Scholarship Program, which was established in 2000 to provide assistance for young cancer patients and survivors as they look at higher education from an accredited school.
Other areas include the Reach to Recovery program, which matches volunteers with those who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. There are sessions bringing trained cosmetologists who volunteer to work with women coping with changes in their skin and with hair loss after cancer treatments. The Road to Recovery program provides drivers and rides for patients who have no other way to get to their cancer treatments. The Hope Lodge gives cancer patients and their caregivers a place to stay. There are 31 Hope Lodges in the U.S. The American Cancer Society reports: "No matter why you take part in Relay, however, one thing is clear: with every step you take, you are helping the American Cancer Society save lives."


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The 'Competitive Hardship' ExerciseMature
Welcome to the 'Competitive Hardship' Exercise
This is open to absolutely everyone, so please join in.
I'm sure most people have an acquaintance that tends to get a little competitive about any personal illness or injury that you tell them about. You know the type: you mention your headache and they'll tell you about their migraine which turned into a borderline aneurysm resulting in a three month hospitalisation; or perhaps you stub your toe and they'll tell you about the time their foot fell off while in a pedalo five miles out to sea. Don't have one of those friends? Well perhaps you should consider that the competitive illness person is, in fact, you; and if this is the case it makes you the perfect candidate to join in with this exercise!
Competitive hardship is very similar to competitive illness; it not only covers health problems but also living conditions and day to day life. This exercise is all about one-upmanship and trying to make your own story about childhood hardship sound more awful than everyone else's.
The guidelines are very simple.
- I will start us off below with a description of how things were tough in 'my' fictional childhood.
- Based on the previous post(s) write a chapter describing how much worse your own fictional experience was. Tell the other authors that what they went through was nothing compared to your experience.
- You are encouraged to exaggerate, to be very silly, use your imagination, make mountains out of mole hills, develop hypochondria and go to any lengths to ensure that the hardship described in your chapter thoroughly trounces anything anyone else has written.
- You are allowed to (politely) belittle other writer's chapters: tell them how their hardship was luxurious compared to what you went through, how you dreamed of living in their circumstances.
- If you need any more inspiration check out the wonderful 'Four Yorkshire men' skit.
- I will label this as mature just in case anyone wants to go down that route.
When I was a kid, things were tough.
We had nothing back then, nothing at all, used to live in a tiny house with all three of us children in one bedroom, the heating was only switched on once a week so in the winter we had to break the ice in the toilet every morning and be careful that we didn't get stuck to the frozen seat.
We had to get up at 6.30 everyday and walk half a mile to school, in the snow. The teachers were strict and if we misbehaved they would put us in detention, where we had to scrub the school floors with toothbrushes and scrape the chewing gum from under the desks with just our fingernails. For lunch we would have a slice of bread and if we were lucky a raw potato.
When we got home we had to do two hours of homework before doing our chores. We rarely got to bed before midnight. We didn't have a TV and the only toys we had were a half a brick and a dead woodlouse named Susan.
Yes, things were tough when I was young. Kids these days don't know how lucky they've got it!


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7789 Lasalle Court NE, Otsego, MN 55301
About the Listing
Completed new construction rambler. Maintenance free exterior. Large kitchen w/ walk in pantry, center island, and shaker style cabinets, over looking dining room with patio doors to future deck. Great views. Open floor plan w/large living room. Master bedroom with private bath and walk-in closet. 2 Additional main floor bedrooms with a full bath. Huge open basement for future finishing! 3 car garage. Sodded yard. Wonderful lot overlooking wetlands. End of the road is a cul-de-sac.
Chris Long
Ron Long
RE/MAX Results
Share Listing
Property Details for 7789 Lasalle Court NE, Otsego, MN 55301
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 1 Full | 1 Three-Qtr
Lot Size: 0.46 Acres
Lot Dimensions: 75x252x79x270
Year Built: 2016
Garage Dimensions: 3 car
Garage: Attached Garage
Style: (SF) One Story
Neighborhood: Arbor Creek
Water: City Water/Connected
Sewer: City Sewer/Connected
Square Feet: 1509
Above Ground Sq Ft: 1509
Room Information for 7789 Lasalle Court NE, Otsego, MN 55301
Main Floor
Living Room: 14x15
Dining Room: 10x11
Kitchen: 12x13
Bedroom 1: 14x13
Bedroom 2: 10x12
Bedroom 3: 10x12
Laundry: 8x8
Foyer: 12x6
Dining Room Description: Informal Dining Room
School Information for 7789 Lasalle Court NE, Otsego, MN 55301
School District: Elk River
School District Phone: 763-241-3400
Interior Features for 7789 Lasalle Court NE, Otsego, MN 55301
Appliances: Range, Dishwasher, Refrigerator
Air Cond: Central
Heating: Forced Air
Fireplaces: Yes
Basement: Walkout, Day/Lookout Windows
Exterior Features for 7789 Lasalle Court NE, Otsego, MN 55301
Lot Description: Irregular Lot
Lot Dimensions: 75x252x79x270
Roof: Asphalt Shingles, Pitched
Zoning: Residential-Single
Financial Considerations for 7789 Lasalle Court NE, Otsego, MN 55301
Tax Amount: $454
Taxes w/Assessments: $460
Tax/Property ID: 118221002030
Tax Year: 2015
Monthly Payment = $0
INRIX Drive Time
Calculate Your Drive Time From This Property
Similar Listings For Sale
The data relating to real estate for sale on this web site comes in part from the Broker Reciprocity Program of the Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota, Inc. Real estate listings held by brokerage firms other than the owner of this website are marked with the Broker Reciprocity logo or the Broker Reciprocity thumbnail logo and detailed information about them includes the name of the listing brokers.


text:
JUNEAU (Reuters) – Some polar bear clusters have slowly moved to islands north of Canada, which are retaining the Arctic ice for longer, according to a new scientific study that predicts the migration, linked to climate change, would continue.
The study published earlier this month in the journal PLOS ONE was based on DNA taken from nearly 2,800 polar bears in countries where the animals live – the United States, Russia, Canada, Greenland and Norway.
Researchers tracked the shift through genetic similarity in bears among four regions.
Bear clusters from Canada's eastern Arctic area and a marine area off eastern Greenland and Siberia are journeying to the Canadian Archipelago, also known as the Arctic Archipelago, where ice is more abundant, the study found.
The migration has occurred during the last one to three generations of the predators, or between 15 and 45 years, US Geological Survey researcher Elizabeth Peacock, the study's lead author, said in a statement.
The bears are migrating to a region that sits north of the Canadian mainland, close to Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. It is comprised of more than 36,000 islands and covers more than 1.4 million square kilometres.


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Suzuhito Yasuda
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Suzuhito Yasuda is a manga artist and illustrator known for doing the illustrations for the light novel Durarara!! and as the mangaka for the manga Yozakura Quartet.
- Devil Survivor: Character design
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- Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker: Character design