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anindistinctaccountant's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
llama_lord's review against another edition
3.0
I am continuing my re-read of Felicity's books, one of my favorite series from childhood, while I listen to the American Girls podcast. In the mid-2000s, American Girl released movie adaptions of some of their more popular historical characters (Samantha, Felicity, Kit, and Molly). To coincide with each character's movie release, American Girl released "Best Friend" dolls for those characters, with each best friend doll coming with their own book and small collection. Hence how we ended up with Very Funny, Elizabeth.
This story is told entirely from the perspective of Felicity's best friend, Elizabeth Cole. Elizabeth's snobby older sister Annabelle becomes engaged to a wealthy English lord, Harry Lacey. Elizabeth and Felicity have evidently been on a pranking crusade against Annabelle, and Elizabeth decides to continue to mess with Annabelle by trying to embarrass her in front of Lord Lacey's extremely stuck up sister, Miss Priscilla. However, this backfires when Priscilla decides that because Elizabeth is so well behaved compared to "clumsy" Annabelle, when Annabelle and Harry get married, Priscilla wants to make Elizabeth her ward and take her back to England as well.
I think that this is a really weak entry in the Felicity stories. It definitely feels like it was written 10+ years after the core books and misses the tone and characterization of the original books. Elizabeth goes from being the shy and level-headed counterpart to brave and brash Felicity, to being sassy and impish. Elizabeth and Felicity are obsessed with playing pranks on Annabelle in this story - and while I don't find it hard to believe that two 10 year olds would be mischievous partners in crime if given the chance - I don't buy the narrative in this story that pranks are Felicity and Elizabeth's *thing* because it was not present in the previous stories.
I do remember reading this story as a tween and thinking that it was fun and light-hearted, so while the jokes might not have been landing for me as an adult reader, they certainly were landing when I was in the target audience for this book. So I won't be too hard on the humor in this book. Although I disagree with the story telling us that the pranks Elizabeth and Felicity pull are all in good fun and done only to help Annabelle realize she is being a snob - I thought some of the pranks crossed over into mean-spiritedness and by no stretch of the imagination are they done to "help" Annabelle.
I liked the plot of this story regarding Annabelle's engagement. I'm a sucker for anything marriage and courtship themed, and I enjoyed the "Looking Back" section. I also really liked that the story is told from Elizabeth's point of view. It was interesting to read the story's from more of a "Loyalist perspective", although I thought that some of the dialogue implied that Elizabeth might end up turning Patriot as she grows up. That said, I thought that this book missed a huge opportunity to be a redemption story for Annabelle, but rather than have any significant development for Annabelle, it seems they simply added a character much worse than her (Priscilla) to make Annabelle look better by comparison.
In terms of the ending of the book
As I said earlier, overall I think this book might be the lowest point in the Felicity series. There are some parts that are funny and I think it is interesting to get a story from Elizabeth's perspective, but in the end it is an entirely skippable entry in the Felicity books.
This story is told entirely from the perspective of Felicity's best friend, Elizabeth Cole. Elizabeth's snobby older sister Annabelle becomes engaged to a wealthy English lord, Harry Lacey. Elizabeth and Felicity have evidently been on a pranking crusade against Annabelle, and Elizabeth decides to continue to mess with Annabelle by trying to embarrass her in front of Lord Lacey's extremely stuck up sister, Miss Priscilla. However, this backfires when Priscilla decides that because Elizabeth is so well behaved compared to "clumsy" Annabelle, when Annabelle and Harry get married, Priscilla wants to make Elizabeth her ward and take her back to England as well.
I think that this is a really weak entry in the Felicity stories. It definitely feels like it was written 10+ years after the core books and misses the tone and characterization of the original books. Elizabeth goes from being the shy and level-headed counterpart to brave and brash Felicity, to being sassy and impish. Elizabeth and Felicity are obsessed with playing pranks on Annabelle in this story - and while I don't find it hard to believe that two 10 year olds would be mischievous partners in crime if given the chance - I don't buy the narrative in this story that pranks are Felicity and Elizabeth's *thing* because it was not present in the previous stories.
I do remember reading this story as a tween and thinking that it was fun and light-hearted, so while the jokes might not have been landing for me as an adult reader, they certainly were landing when I was in the target audience for this book. So I won't be too hard on the humor in this book. Although I disagree with the story telling us that the pranks Elizabeth and Felicity pull are all in good fun and done only to help Annabelle realize she is being a snob - I thought some of the pranks crossed over into mean-spiritedness and by no stretch of the imagination are they done to "help" Annabelle.
I liked the plot of this story regarding Annabelle's engagement. I'm a sucker for anything marriage and courtship themed, and I enjoyed the "Looking Back" section. I also really liked that the story is told from Elizabeth's point of view. It was interesting to read the story's from more of a "Loyalist perspective", although I thought that some of the dialogue implied that Elizabeth might end up turning Patriot as she grows up. That said, I thought that this book missed a huge opportunity to be a redemption story for Annabelle, but rather than have any significant development for Annabelle, it seems they simply added a character much worse than her (Priscilla) to make Annabelle look better by comparison.
In terms of the ending of the book
Spoiler
I was disappointed that in the end everything "works itself out" and basically resets to end up exactly as it was when the book started. They decided to place this book in between Felicity Saves the Day and Changes for Felicity, so I suppose they didn't want to do anything drastic that would have contradicted the events in Changes for Felicity. But I found myself wishing that Annabelle and Harry Lacey did stay engaged and the book ended with Annabelle leaving for England. If they had set this book just a few months later - after the conclusion of Felicity's core books - it would have been possible to end this story however they wanted. I feel like having Annabelle actually follow through with returning to England as Lady Lacey would have been completely natural for her character (I don't buy Annabelle's sudden affection for the colonies at the end of this story) and I think it would have also added some weight to Mr. and Mrs. Cole's concern about their daughters' safety and future in the colonies as Loyalists. Furthermore I just think that would add more scope for imagination for all of the characters involved in terms of the trajectory of their lives beyond the Felicity stories. Would Elizabeth return to England to visit her sister if she were Lady Annabelle Lacey? Would she take Felicity along? Would Mr. and Mrs. Cole move back to England? Would Elizabeth stay in the colonies if they did?As I said earlier, overall I think this book might be the lowest point in the Felicity series. There are some parts that are funny and I think it is interesting to get a story from Elizabeth's perspective, but in the end it is an entirely skippable entry in the Felicity books.
huffleclawbookie's review against another edition
5.0
This is a cute quick read. It definitely shows what could’ve happened during the Colonial Era and how marriages of the day worked. I’m just glad Elizabeth and Felicity didn’t get into too much trouble after all their shenanigans
pandal0vesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Hilarious and light-hearted book that educates readers about the realities of marriage in colonial times
disconightwing's review against another edition
4.0
The book came with the doll.
It was cute! A very sweet little standalone story.
It was cute! A very sweet little standalone story.
thewordwitch's review against another edition
1.0
This book is wildly out of pocket. It's as if Val Tripp was trying to create a Jane Austen novel for children, and decided the best way to do that was to make it incredibly campy.
I'm baffled by the complete change in character Elizabeth has gone through, as if a dye job would change her entire personality as well. Once the reserved rule-follower, she has become more rambunctious and thoughtless than Felicity herself.
She even gaslights Felicity, telling her that the pranks she is pulling on Annabelle aren't harmful, but are instead meant to teach her a lesson. This couldn't be further from the truth. Also, the things she pulled while they had visitors should have wound up in some sort of punishment, but it seems as if there are no consequences for her actions.
Appallingly bad.
I'm baffled by the complete change in character Elizabeth has gone through, as if a dye job would change her entire personality as well. Once the reserved rule-follower, she has become more rambunctious and thoughtless than Felicity herself.
She even gaslights Felicity, telling her that the pranks she is pulling on Annabelle aren't harmful, but are instead meant to teach her a lesson. This couldn't be further from the truth. Also, the things she pulled while they had visitors should have wound up in some sort of punishment, but it seems as if there are no consequences for her actions.
Appallingly bad.
sashaychantea's review against another edition
2.0
True rating 2.5
The ending saved it. I felt this book was kind of out of character for Elizabeth.
The ending saved it. I felt this book was kind of out of character for Elizabeth.
panda_incognito's review against another edition
1.0
This addition to the Felicity series, which came out after the movie, is over-the-top, farcical, and completely unrealistic. When it came out, my sister and I borrowed the book from some friends, and I was unimpressed and uneasy with it. Now that I have read it again, I see how valid that was. I had very good taste! But then again, this book is so monumentally bad that I'm not sure I get any credit for my discernment.
From the beginning of this book, there are glaring continuity issues, because Elizabeth has a different hair color, a wildly different personality, and a different friendship dynamic with Felicity than in any of the other books. The hair color issue is explained easily enough, since the movie actress for Elizabeth had blond hair, but the rest of the differences are mystifying. Valerie Tripp, the original series author, engaged in random and inexplicable character assassination in this book, turning Elizabeth into an immature, impulsive, and mean-spirited prankster who behaves in ways that no Colonial child could ever imagine getting away with.
Elizabeth also has a completely different friendship dynamic with Felicity than she did in the other books. Previously, Elizabeth was the reserved, level-headed counterpart to Felicity's feisty nature, but in this book, to borrow a phrase from a friend, "they egg each other on to dastardly deeds against humanity." These girls suddenly become pranksters devoted to making Elizabeth's older sister's life miserable, and even though they claim that they have agreed to never do anything truly hurtful to Annabelle, their behavior is excessive and wrong.
Also, for whatever reason, Elizabeth and Felicity have developed a random code where they will hit their feet together under tables to communicate what they are current thinking about regarding Annabelle. This is RIDICULOUS, and it gets even worse. In one scene, when Elizabeth goes to visit Felicity and share some news, the scene ends with them tapping their feet together under the table, and I was jarred and surprised, because I hadn't realized that they had sat down together. I went back to the beginning of the scene and read it again to find what I had missed, but it never even said that they had sat down at a table, and I was right to imagine them standing during this conversation! Also, why tap your feet together if you're in private, and not trying to communicate without Annabelle noticing? The writing is so lazy and terrible that I don't even know what to say about it.
This book is designed to teach about Colonial courtship dynamics, and it does that tolerably well, but the only real value of the book comes from the "peek into the past" section, not the farcical story of a suitor and his sister coming from England to pursue Annabelle's hand in marriage. Elizabeth's behavior during this process is embarrassing to twenty-first century eyes, and it is unimaginable that she would have behaved this way as a well-bred Colonial child from a high-class family. Similarly, it is unimaginable that the suitor's sister would behave in the way that she did.
I cringed and suffered through these scenes, and couldn't even begin to imagine why a successful, talented author like Valerie Tripp would write something this clunky, unrealistic, and farcical. The only way to deal with this book is to pretend that it's someone's horrible fan fiction, or that the author is lampooning history through a ridiculous comedy. It is impossible to believe that any of these characters are real people who take themselves seriously. Also, the book concludes absurdly.
The multi-page historical section in the back is well-written and highly educational, and I appreciate the photo and artwork reproductions, primary source quotations, and explanations of courtship and marriage dynamics from this era. One interesting thing that I learned was that pressures to marry did not only exist for women at this time, but that unmarried men were also considered unsuccessful and lazy, and were rarely elected to public office. Also, in the Colony of Maryland, bachelors were required to pay higher taxes. That's interesting, and the fact that even I learned something from this historical note shows that it's very substantial, not just comparing basic cultural details to the present. This is the one good thing about the book.
Last year, I got a used copy of this book very cheaply when a friend's parents were downsizing, because even though I remembered not liking it, I wanted to complete my set and was curious to read it again. It's fun to have a copy that belonged to my friend, and I'll keep this around to have a complete set and to have access to this out-of-print book, but it is genuinely so much more terrible than I had remembered. It was worth reading again for the entertainment value of hating it, and the historical section is great, but I would never encourage someone to read this unless they're either committed to reading all of the American Girl books or want to pretend that this is a comedy skit making fun of the Felicity series.
From the beginning of this book, there are glaring continuity issues, because Elizabeth has a different hair color, a wildly different personality, and a different friendship dynamic with Felicity than in any of the other books. The hair color issue is explained easily enough, since the movie actress for Elizabeth had blond hair, but the rest of the differences are mystifying. Valerie Tripp, the original series author, engaged in random and inexplicable character assassination in this book, turning Elizabeth into an immature, impulsive, and mean-spirited prankster who behaves in ways that no Colonial child could ever imagine getting away with.
Elizabeth also has a completely different friendship dynamic with Felicity than she did in the other books. Previously, Elizabeth was the reserved, level-headed counterpart to Felicity's feisty nature, but in this book, to borrow a phrase from a friend, "they egg each other on to dastardly deeds against humanity." These girls suddenly become pranksters devoted to making Elizabeth's older sister's life miserable, and even though they claim that they have agreed to never do anything truly hurtful to Annabelle, their behavior is excessive and wrong.
Also, for whatever reason, Elizabeth and Felicity have developed a random code where they will hit their feet together under tables to communicate what they are current thinking about regarding Annabelle. This is RIDICULOUS, and it gets even worse. In one scene, when Elizabeth goes to visit Felicity and share some news, the scene ends with them tapping their feet together under the table, and I was jarred and surprised, because I hadn't realized that they had sat down together. I went back to the beginning of the scene and read it again to find what I had missed, but it never even said that they had sat down at a table, and I was right to imagine them standing during this conversation! Also, why tap your feet together if you're in private, and not trying to communicate without Annabelle noticing? The writing is so lazy and terrible that I don't even know what to say about it.
This book is designed to teach about Colonial courtship dynamics, and it does that tolerably well, but the only real value of the book comes from the "peek into the past" section, not the farcical story of a suitor and his sister coming from England to pursue Annabelle's hand in marriage. Elizabeth's behavior during this process is embarrassing to twenty-first century eyes, and it is unimaginable that she would have behaved this way as a well-bred Colonial child from a high-class family. Similarly, it is unimaginable that the suitor's sister would behave in the way that she did.
I cringed and suffered through these scenes, and couldn't even begin to imagine why a successful, talented author like Valerie Tripp would write something this clunky, unrealistic, and farcical. The only way to deal with this book is to pretend that it's someone's horrible fan fiction, or that the author is lampooning history through a ridiculous comedy. It is impossible to believe that any of these characters are real people who take themselves seriously. Also, the book concludes absurdly.
Spoiler
Annabelle and her suitor call off their engagement, and everything returns to the status quo. Nothing changes; no one experiences character growth. Felicity and Elizabeth decide that there is nothing wrong with going back to where they were at the beginning, and they devise a new plan for tormenting Annabelle. That's it. That's the end of the book.The multi-page historical section in the back is well-written and highly educational, and I appreciate the photo and artwork reproductions, primary source quotations, and explanations of courtship and marriage dynamics from this era. One interesting thing that I learned was that pressures to marry did not only exist for women at this time, but that unmarried men were also considered unsuccessful and lazy, and were rarely elected to public office. Also, in the Colony of Maryland, bachelors were required to pay higher taxes. That's interesting, and the fact that even I learned something from this historical note shows that it's very substantial, not just comparing basic cultural details to the present. This is the one good thing about the book.
Last year, I got a used copy of this book very cheaply when a friend's parents were downsizing, because even though I remembered not liking it, I wanted to complete my set and was curious to read it again. It's fun to have a copy that belonged to my friend, and I'll keep this around to have a complete set and to have access to this out-of-print book, but it is genuinely so much more terrible than I had remembered. It was worth reading again for the entertainment value of hating it, and the historical section is great, but I would never encourage someone to read this unless they're either committed to reading all of the American Girl books or want to pretend that this is a comedy skit making fun of the Felicity series.