I finished AG's Marisol book so now I can compare the two Marisol books: American Girl's <u>Marisol</u> and <u>Alphabet City Ballet</u> by Erika Tamar.

Personally, I liked Tamar's Marisol much better. But that's a personal preference. Tamar's book was written for 10 and up, so the characters and topics were more advanced. Soto's book had to be appropriate for 8 year olds so there weren't as many pages and issues were kept light making Marisol seem immature at times.

I read Alphabet City Ballet a month before I got my doll. So the first Marisol I met was not the AG version. I was completely endeared to Tamar's Marisol and I haven't been able to forget her character. So my doll will probably always have a large portion of Tamar's Marisol. Tamar's Marisol focused on traditional ballet, not folklorico so the fact that the AG doll doesn't have folklorico skirts further strengthens the connection between my doll and Tamar's Marisol.

Has anyone else read both books? What do you think of the two stories?

Julia