Meet Molly - Book Discussion

Hi everyone! I hope you all were able to read Meet Molly so we can discuss it. If you don't have copies of these books going forward at home, you can check to see if a local library has them, and if no libraries have them, you can make an account at the Library of Congress's Internet Archive and check them out there.

Meet Molly introduces Molly McIntire, who lives in a typical Midwestern family with four kids during World War II. Her father is away at war, her mother works long hours at the Red Cross, and she's had to sacrifice a lot of pleasures for the war effort. But Molly soon finds herself in a war of her own when her brother hoses her down on Halloween...

When I was rereading this book, several things came to mind about the themes within, and both their historical context and what it means to be a girl in 2025. I don't want these posts to be too long, so I'll list my thoughts, and let you discuss these topics as well in the comments!

1. The war is a big change in Molly's family - but just five years ago, girls today had their own life-changing event in the form of the pandemic. How did things change back then like they changed in this story?

   Life practically changed overnight during the pandemic. School was immediately cancelled, then shifted towards online. You couldn't see your friends anymore. Even the projects I was working on, I had to adapt to change how I made them because of the pandemic. It was like life changed in the blink of an eye - just like how Molly has to deal with a lot of change.

2. In Illinois, Molly only has the idea of what hula dancers are like in Hawaii, not the martial law citizens are dealing with other there. How did American Girl's decision to make Nanea add more context to this depiction of World War II?

   Nanea was a great edition to the American Girl family in hindsight. There wasn't much information out in the mainland United States about the treatment of everyday citizens in Hawaii, so it's not Molly's fault she romanticized the propagandized image of Hawaiian hula dancers she was fed as a kid there, but people like Nanea had to lose a lot of their freedom because of the war, and having her there in the lineup to show that adds a lot of context to this book.

   
   

3. It is mentioned that during Halloween, there aren't many treats for the girls, but they have to be resourceful. What do you think helps Molly adjust to the new normal?

   Deep down, even though Molly hates eating turnips and doesn't like the fact that she can't be whatever she wants to be for Halloween, I think what helps Molly adjust is knowing that what she's doing is helping her dad.

   
   

4. When Molly and her friends try to get back at Ricky for hosing down their costumes, Mrs. McIntire explains that anger and revenge are what starts wars and conflicts. How does this apply to World War II specifically?

   America entered World War II out of anger that Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Obviously, the greater war was against Germany, but Mrs. McIntire was right that once America was attacked, they wanted to get back at Japan, and thus entered World War II after 2 years of relative silence regarding the war.

   
   

Next week, we will read Molly Learns A Lesson!