By Golly, Miss Molly: Reviewing American Girl's® 18" Molly McIntire™ Doll

Image and "Molly: 1944" logo belong to American Girl®.

When I was eleven years old, there was only one thing I wanted for Christmas: an American Girl Doll. As a longtime doll lover, I discovered the brand after several years of buying from Target's Our Generation doll line. I imagined sneaking out of bed on Christmas morning, the Christmas tree lights twinkling, and the iconic red American Girl box carefully wrapped under the tree. I'd tear away the wrapping paper to reveal my American Girl Doll.

Realistically, I knew no American Girl doll waited under the tree. My parents would never spend a hundred dollars on a doll.

Taking my new obsession into my own hands, I saved my allowance, Christmas, and birthday money until I had the one hundred-odd dollars needed to purchase my doll. During a friend's birthday party at the original American Girl Place in Dallas, I bought Truly Me #55, and she became my childhood companion.

Five other American Girls joined my collection over the next seven years until my parents divorced during my junior year of high school. My collection of doll-related paraphernalia, featuring a large hand-made dollhouse, proved impossible to move to my mother's house. When I visited my father for the last time on my 18th birthday, I left my dolls behind.

Those dolls have gnawed away at my heart these six years since. I long to retrieve them, to reclaim the childhood joy they possessed. It wasn't until last year I realized my adult status (with adult money) meant the only barrier between me and the rekindling of that childhood passion was myself.

Timidly, I asked my mother if she thought my going to the new American Girl Place in Dallas was utterly ridiculous, and after enthusiastically ensuring me it wasn't silly, she offered to drive me.

On December 2nd, my mother and I drove to the American Girl Place (relocated over the last decade). The joy welling inside me reassured any embarrassment I was afraid I'd feel being twenty-one years old in a doll store. Molly McIntire and Kirsten Larson were spoils of my visit. They stand proudly on my desk until I install display shelves.

Image courtesy of American Girl®.

In the spirit of childhood adoration infused with a detail-oriented young adult mind, this is my review of American Girl's 18" Molly McIntire doll and Molly's Accessories Set.

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Begin unboxing by laying the box flat on the floor, table, or bed nearest you, as the box lids can prove difficult to remove. They're worse to put back, so try not to imagine me checking every Molly's face on the floor of the American Girl Place in Dallas, struggling to return the box lid. The standard American Girl box features a white-framed, circular window at face-level with the doll and the doll's name and image at the bottom of the box, standing against the iconic American Girl red.

Under the lid sits a small plastic tray holding Molly's paperback book, Molly: A Winning Spirit, written by Valerie Tripp. One hundred twenty pages long, the book is color-illustrated with several full-page images. I read Molly: A Winning Spirit cover-to-cover in fifty-five minutes.

Beneath the book, resting in a depression in the plastic sits Molly's wire-rimmed glasses, stored safely in a red felt case. The glasses are a weighty silver metal with clear plastic lenses. Maneuvering them in and out of the felt case was difficult for my twenty-one-year-old hands, so little hands may require assistance.

A helpful hint: Don't slip on Molly's glasses as you might your own. American Girl dolls have wig caps, which means the edge of their hairline is thick. The glasses won't slide into place. Open the glasses and glide the arms around the side of the face, under the wig cap, until the bent portion rests behind the ear.

Molly has five vinyl limbs and a soft, flesh-colored cotton body. Her open-and-shut eyes are gray, with thick black lashes. Her dark brown hair, parted in the center, sits in two braids with pie bangs. Red ribbon hairbows sit at the end of each braid.

Molly is wearing a dark blue sweater made of acrylic yarn with a Velcro closure, complete with a blue, red, and green argyle pattern across the front. A removable cotton dickey, or fake collar, styled with a wavy dark blue accent, sits under the neck of the sweater. Her skirt is a stiff wool viscose that holds a bit of shape with a sturdy feel. Molly's white cotton bloomers feature elasticated waist and leg holes, and her tall white nylon socks also feature some stretch. She is wearing black faux-leather Mary Janes.

Image courtesy of American Girl®.

In a smaller paperboard box, Molly's accessories come wrapped in white tissue paper printed with the American Girl logo. Molly's wool beret is an identical navy color to her sweater and skirt. The hat's opening is too small to sit securely on the doll's head, but stretching the opening with my fingers loosened the felt enough to secure it on Molly's head. A small silver heart locket can hook at the back of Molly's neck and sit under her collar.

A red faux leather shoulder bag with a velvet ribbon strap holds Molly's other accessories with a silver metal snap. Inside sits a metal 1943 reproduction steel-cut penny in a small paper envelope and a white cotton hanky with her name embroidered in red.

Too large for the bag is a stiff paper envelope addressed to Molly's father, with a small letter copied straight from an image in Molly: A Winning Spirit. The letter is oddly unproportioned; It's as long as Molly's forearm, but I can attribute that to readability.

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At twenty-one years old, Molly is a perfect addition to my collection. Molly might not, however, be suitable for a younger collector for the following reasons:

1. Molly's hair comes styled in two braids. Her hair should remain this way. Once a doll's hair is removed from its factory styling, it's nearly impossible to return it to its original condition. The American Girl Place does offer salon services that can recreate the hairstyle, but if your child wants to play with her doll's hair, Molly is not the best choice.

2. Molly also features some tiny and delicate accessories. Her silver necklace, felt glasses case, and reproduction 1943 penny pose a choking problem for children prone to putting things in their mouths. Several of Molly's accessories are paper. The paper is thick and not likely to bend or crease with careful handling. Less cautious hands might destroy these accessories past repair.

Molly seems better suited to a more mature owner who will display or gently play with her and keep track of her accessories. Molly's accessories are available for repurchase, but her round metal glasses and felt case come with the doll, making them harder to replace.

Image courtesy of American Girl®.

The Molly McIntire™ Doll & Book retails for $125, and Molly's™ Accessories retail for $36 on the American Girl® website.