Samantha: An American Girl

Reviewed by Leila Fletcher, age 11

Samantha: An American Girl tells the story of an orphan who lives with her grandmother in the early 20th century. The story takes place in a six part series.
In the first five books she lives in Mount Bedford, New York. She has all sorts of adventures, such as creating a small school for her poor friend, chasing a puppy through New York City, visiting the island where her parents passed away, and helping her friends escape from a nasty orphanage.
In the sixth and final book, Samantha moves to New York City after her grandmother marries an admiral she has loved for a long time. Shortly after moving, Samantha finds out her friends moved to an orphanage in New York City. The fact that both of them were in the same city allowed her to help them escape.
The most important part of this series is Samantha’s friendship with her poor friend, Nellie. Their friendship opens up opportunities for both of them. Samantha realizes that poor people are not as happy as she is, based on her experiences with different social classes. For Nellie, their friendship helps ensure that she and her sisters get a safe home for the rest of their childhood.
This is an adventurous, heart-warming story. I have loved this series of books since I was very little. Samantha learns that she is not limited by her comfort zone. The way she bends over backward for her friends, and is always ready to help was inspiring to me.
I would recommend this series to girls that are in elementary school. I hope you like these books just as much as I did!