Reviews for The Secret of the Attic

The average rating for The Secret of the Attic based on 2 reviews is 2 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-08-03 00:00:00 Joseph Carmeci I remember reading this book when it first came out. Re-reading it today was probably a mistake, because I think I had fonder memories of the book than it deserved. This series came out as something competitive to the American Girl books - even to the point of coming out with their own dolls to go with them. The problem was, the stories were so...ugh...ok, dressing up in party dresses and then the adventures that follow in quick succession....I think someone pointed out how dated the roles are. Princess. Ballerina. Ice Skater. Sheesh. Not the role model stuff I was hoping for for my daughters. The books themselves are hard to read. There's so much jumping point of view that it's hard to know whose head you're even in. The girls seems to be close, yet as the story progresses you wonder if the girls really know each other at all. They meet a neighbor whom everyone seems to know, and get permission to play in this lady's attic where all theses dress up games ensue. (In today's world this might even seem a bit creepy but then I have a twisty mind.) Details from the past seem to be really spotty - not much about the story even feels like the past - there just isn't much detail. I'm sorry to see this, as I was hoping the series would be better. Especially when the books are printed so attractively. My daughter was bored with the first book. I don't think she looked at any of the others. I might read them because I have them from the library. But they're certainly not at the top of my list. I really wish this could have been better.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-10-30 00:00:00 Zoltan Balazs I was obsessed with American Girl dolls (the historical ones) when I was little. This was a competitor with the exact same idea - dolls with tie in novels, where you could read the book then buy the outfit. Having already bought the redheaded American Girl doll, I couldn't justify buying the redhead from this world too. I regretted that decision immediately. The redhead here, Megan, was the bookworm. I chose Alison, the blonde, who was the sporty tomboy. Which has just...never been me. Anyway, this book is the introduction to the whole world and doll line. I loved the idea when I was 12 but middle reader books have improved IMMENSELY since then and this was almost unreadable. On the other hand, it was like 70 pages long with size 14 font and only took me about 30 minutes to read. It was nice to be reminded of my adolescence but no one would like this book without the tie in merchandise, which no longer exists except on Ebay.