Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Rosen (Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl) dramatizes the creation of the Barbie doll in this rollicking tale. The doll is pitched in Mattel's Los Angeles office by Ruth Handler, who cofounded the toy company with her husband, Elliot, lead engineer Jack Ryan, and business partner Harold "Matt" Mattson (Mattel is a portmanteau of Matt and Elliot). Named after Elliot and Ruth's daughter, Barbara, Barbie makes her debut at a 1959 toy fair, where retailers recoil at the radical prospect of a doll taking the form of an adult woman. When Barbie hits store shelves later that year, her curvy figure scandalizes many consumers, but she's also an immediate success, helping girls to imagine more than motherhood for their futures. Rosen weaves her tale of corporate risk-taking with the characters' personal dramas, as Jack, who is married, has a series of affairs, and Ruth and Elliot navigate the challenges of parenting. As the narrative stretches into the 1970s, Rosen fleshes out intriguing subplots involving the Barbie fashion team, including designer Charlotte Johnson. Barbie fans will delight in Rosen's epic reimagining of the doll's origin story. (Jan.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Baby dolls rule the toy store in the mid-1950s, but Ruth Handler, cofounder of Mattel, believes that little girls need something different: a doll who is an adult woman and encourages them to pursue big dreams. Historical novelist Rosen (Park Avenue Summer) traces the development of Barbie from Ruth's initial idea through the mega success that threatened to permanently derail her vision. Readers meet Jack Ryan, the genius toy designer with a decadent lifestyle who eventually tried to claim sole credit for Barbie, and Rosen's original character Stevie, a young fashion designer whose life is transformed when she is hired to create glamorous outfits for an 11.5-inch-tall model. Rosen vividly portrays her characters and deftly balances covering both the highs and lows of their personal lives and the professional challenges that arise along the way, from designing the first Dreamhouse to responding to criticism (ranging from demands that Barbie get married and have babies to feminist critiques that Barbie promotes an unhealthy body image). VERDICT With cultural interest in Barbie still sky high, this novel is a great choice for historical fiction readers interested in strong, complex women, both in and out of the toy aisle.--Mara Bandy Fass
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
How a small company went all in on a big idea that changed our lives--for better and worse. The story begins when Ruth Handler sees a doll on a family trip to Europe. It's different than anything for sale in America, a grown-up doll rather than a baby doll, and she knows she's on to something. Ruth is the co-founder of the toy company Mattel with her husband, Elliot; they enlist one of their employees, engineer Jack Ryan, to create a new doll based on the European model, and hire fashion designers Charlotte Johnson and Stevie Klein to design a wardrobe for her. This doll, Barbie, is a huge risk: There's never been anything like her in the U.S. and no one seems to understand her appeal, not the buyers from the big stores or the mothers in focus groups--but young girls seem drawn to her. Fighting the patriarchal mindset of the toy business, Ruth and her team are determined to get Barbie onto shelves. A fictional retelling of Barbie's origin story, from Ruth's first brainstorm until she leaves Mattel in the 1970s, Rosen's novel is infused with pathos and wit. As the story moves among the points of view of different characters, from Ruth, the "ruthless" leader, to Jack, the turbulent genius, to (fictional) Stevie, the up-and-coming outsider, Rosen illustrates various perspectives on how Barbie affected the people who worked on her and the culture at large. There's a real-world debate on who was most responsible for Barbie's success and Rosen picks a side, but she elaborates in an afterword on some of the historical details and provides sources for more information. The plot sometimes feels a bit by the numbers, but the depiction of the characters' inner lives provides more depth. A well-written and interesting take on the birth of an icon. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
