1974 has been a rough year for American Girl, Julie Albright. Her parents got divorced, and she and her older sister Tracy now live with their mother 75 percent of the time. And since her mother decided to move to a small apartment in San Francisco, Julie has to move out of her childhood house, across from her best friend, Ivy Ling, and leave her beloved bunny rabbit behind with her dad. Now she only sees them every other weekend.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Tracy is bitter over the divorce, and blames their father for it. She refuses to go with Julie to see him on the weekends. When Christmas rolls around and the girls are visiting their father for the holidays, Tracy rebuffs all their dad’s attempts to reconnect with her, and even explodes at him, accusing him of not really caring. It’s enough to make Julie almost give up trying to reconcile her sister and father.
After all this, its easy to understand why Julie is nervous when Ivy and her family invite Julie’s ENTIRE family to 
their Chinese New Year celebration, including her father AND sister. But tension is all but forgotten among delicious food. They play games, and children receive money in red envelopes. One of Ivy’s relatives even tells the story of the beginning of Chinese New Year, how they bang drums and set off fireworks to scare the monster Nien back into hiding in his caves.
As the parade passes by the party, it seems that good luck is always around the corner during the luckiest celebration in Chinese culture, as Julie soon discovers, and people can surprise you.
Girl AGain workshop – January 25, 2020
Come in to Girl AGain to find all of Julie’s books. You can also join us for our special New Year’s celebration, where we will craft firecrackers and money holders for our dolls.
Register now : Girl AGain Chinese New Year’s Celebration
Written by Colleen O.
Girl AGain opened in February 2014 to rave reviews from American Girl doll fans, their moms and especially their grandmas. You’ll find authentic gently used AG dolls, clothing, furniture, accessories and books that have been cleaned and prepared for sale at good prices in an easy-access store.