Nellie's Promise

American Girl: Samantha

by Valerie Tripp, Dan Andreasen (Illustrator), Tamara England (Editor)

Nellie O'Malley finally has a home again. She and her little sisters, Bridget and Jenny, are happily settling in with Samantha's family in New York City. Best of all, Uncle Gard and Aunt Cornelia want to adopt the girls. Now Nellie's best friend Samantha will be her sister, too, and Bridget and Jenny will be protected and cared for, just as Nellie had promised her mother. Then Uncle Mike shows up again and threatens to ruin everything-including Nellie's friendship with Samantha! Can Nellie find a way to keep her promise without losing her new family?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens, Fiction, Historical, Middle Grade, Chapter Books, Juvenile

85 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 2004

About the author

Valerie Tripp is a children's book author, best known for her work with the American Girl series.

She grew up in Mount Kisco, New York with three sisters and one brother. A member of the first co-educated class at Yale University, Tripp also has a M.Ed. from Harvard. Since 1985 she has lived in Silver Spring, Maryland. Her husband teaches history at Montgomery College.

Right out of college, Tripp started writing songs, stories, and nonfiction for The Superkids Reading Program, working with Pleasant Rowland, the founder of American Girl. For that series, Tripp wrote all the books about Felicity, Josefina, Kit, Molly, and Maryellen and many of the books about Samantha. She also wrote the "Best Friends" character stories to date, plays, mysteries, and short stories about all her characters.. Film dramatizations of the lives of Samantha, Felicity, Molly, and Kit have been based on her stories. Currently, Tripp is writing a STEM series for National Geographic and adapting Greek Myths for Starry Forest Publishing. A frequent speaker at schools and libraries, Tripp has also spoken at the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, The New York Historical Society, and Williamsburg.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Home. Nellie smiled. Finally, she and her little sisters, Bridget and Jenny, had a home again.

Nellie worked in a factory, then as a maid next door to her best friend Samantha Parkington. When Nellie lost her parents to the flu, she made a solemn promise to take care of her younger sisters, Jenny and Bridget.

Shortly after her parents' deaths, the three sisters were shipped off to New York to live with their odious Uncle Mike, who sold everything for drink then abandoned the girls to an orphanage.

Luckily, Samantha Parkington also moved to New York to live with her Uncle Gard and Aunt Cornelia, and rescued the three siblings just in time to avoid an orphan train.

It was a whirlwind of events but everyone is happy and safe. Until now.

"Well, well, look at you," he said. "I'm gone two months and I come back to find you dressed like a rich girl....How lucky. Who are these rich swells, Nellie-girl?"

Uncle Mike is back, and he can tell right away that Nellie is so much better off than she was before. And he wants whatever she has.

How can Nellie keep her siblings safe with Uncle Mike trying to find them? What happens if he does? Can he really take everything they own and rip them away from Uncle Gard and Aunt Cornelia?

"Run Nellie-girl! But remember, I'm your uncle and you belong to me!"

Wow. Seriously, wow. Every time I think I reached the peak of Samantha's series, I get hit with a book like this.

Nellie's story really resonated with me - I've also had moments where I feel that as the oldest child, that I needed to be strong, resilient, and figure things out on my own.

Poor Nellie made a promise to her dying parents to take care of her younger siblings, and she spends the book trying her best, despite being a child herself.

I do acknowledge that this is one of those books where a lot of the plot would go away if the characters just communicated...but on the other hand, Nellie has only been with Uncle Gard and Aunt Cornelia for two months and while the two of them are quite nice, Nellie doesn't know them like Samantha does.

For all she knows, they could think that keeping the ex-serving girls would be too much trouble and she could have been handed back to Uncle Mike. Add in the complexity of a promise to dead parents and the lack of information available to her about the legality of adoption in this New World...I understand why she wouldn't communicate unless absolutely necessary.

All in all, I think this was a good story showing the shifting family dynamics and the bonding of Nellie to her new family.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only read this once as a child, but it made a significant impression on me. I enjoyed reading it again last night, and with my grown-up understanding of trauma and the class differences of that time period, I was very impressed with the convincing portrayal of Nellie's fears and struggles to adjust to life in Uncle Gard and Aunt Cornelia's household. As a child, it made me sad that the happy ending couldn't be as happy as I wanted, but this book is extremely realistic, provides a natural continuation to the previous story, and is very moving.

The other books released in conjunction with American Girl movies range from subpar to abysmal, so I wasn't sure what to expect from rereading this, but it seems like a perfectly natural part of the series to me, not a later add-on. I'm glad that this was so well-written, enjoyed a story from Nellie's perspective, and like the part about the immigrant settlement house even more than as I did as a child, since I now have experience volunteering with a refugee ministry. It was interesting to see how things have changed over time and what is still the same.

I also appreciate the historical notes and photo reproductions about adoption in the early 1900s, the plight of orphans during that time period, the difficulties that immigrants faced, and the challenges of adjusting to life in a blended family. In terms of story and history, this book is just as good as the average classic American Girl book, and is even better than some of them. I'm glad that I now have this in my personal library.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading for the first time as an adult, so I have nostalgia-goggles for the characters, but not for this particular book.

The older I get, the less patience I have with stories where all problems would be solved if the characters would just TALK to each other. Especially when they're characters who like each other and live together.

Like, once it gets to the point where everything is tense and there's an emotional barrier to starting the conversation - I get holding back at that point. But if Nellie walks into the house on page 3 and says "Yikes, I just ran into Uncle Mike, is it true what he told me?" then this is an entirely different book. Not necessarily one without conflict. Just different, better informed conflict. Not to mention that because Nellie chooses not to confide in them, Cornelia, Gard and even Samantha feel very flat and cardboard-y throughout the book. Which... BUMMER.

Alas, Nellie is a girl who bottles things up - and frankly, maybe this bothers me so much because I am too and consciously try not to be. So we get a couple pages of happy Nellie, about 60 pages of Nellie fretting, and then a very sudden denouement in which the role of deus ex legal papers is played by Uncle Gard. I can't help thinking that Sam and Nellie's friendship deserved better.

That aside, I like the idea of Nellie working toward becoming a teacher - something practical that will allow her to support herself without depending on the Edwards/Parkington clan, or on finding a husband. (Besides, I'd rather picture Nellie and Sam living together their whole lives. Sam inherits her fortune and splits her time between painting and activism; Nellie insists on holding a job so she can contribute financially to the household - she becomes a teacher or a social worker. Is it weird for them to grow up and fall in love now that they're adopted sisters??) The acknowledgement of class conflict in this book is not deep, but it is there. I was impressed that Nellie talks openly at school about her past at the thread factory, though of course neither she nor the other girls quite know how to handle it when she does.

On the other hand, Nellie's connection to the settlement house made me wish for a bit more of a timeline. The story she tells in Samantha Learns a Lesson suggests that when she was working at the thread factory, she did not have time or energy to spare running around the settlement house learning languages and fixing things. Nellie suddenly becomes superhuman: she can translate, she can fix clocks, she even knows cars! (Yes, her dad was a driver, but wasn't she busy ironing and so forth? Did her work at the Van Sicklyns somehow leave time for school AND extra school with Samantha AND learning auto mechanics from Dad?) As usual, I'm expecting more detail from a 60-ish page book for eight-year-olds than there's room for - but I do think Tripp and her editor needed a few more rounds on this one.


More Samantha babble:
Meet Samantha | Samantha Learns a Lesson | Samantha's Surprise | Happy Birthday, Samantha | Samantha Saves the Day | Changes for Samantha

Nellie's Promise

Samantha's Winter Party | Samantha and the Missing Pearls | Samantha Saves the Wedding | Samantha's Blue Bicycle | Samantha's Special Talent | Samantha's Short Story Collection

The Curse of Ravenscourt | The Stolen Sapphire | The Cry of the Loon | Clue in the Castle Tower

The Lilac Tunnel: My Journey with Samantha

[Morgan's Endless Bookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet story, though I would have preferred if we knew how to communicate. 🙄

[Rebekah Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun story to read. It took me back to my childhood when I used to read the Samantha books. It was interesting to have Nellie as the main character instead of Samantha.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a kid, I always saw this book advertised and the edition of the Samantha doll I had came with the dress and bow Nellie wears on the cover. (I still have both and have worn the bow myself since then) Nellie was always a character I wanted to know more about. She looked a lot like me when I was little, freckles and straight red hair. Now that I’ve finally read her story, I came to appreciate her more. Nellie is a kind soul with a heart for her blood and adopted family. It’s so refreshing to see her friendship and sisterhood with Samantha. Both girls value education and childhood innocence. As someone born at the turn of the most recent century also pursuing education, it was easy to see myself in both their shoes. This is a quick read, but also not difficult to digest for young and older readers alike. Forever sad I never had my own Nellie doll, even the small one, but it’s nice to finally know her story.

[RaspberryRoses · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read - Nellie has such a different view of the world from Samantha, and I like getting to see her perspective on the time period and their situation in general. When Samantha is so eager to think of Nellie as her sister, Nellie is so heartbreakingly practical about it all.

I think Samantha really shined from an outside POV, too - her best aspects really show when viewed from Nellie's point of view. I love you my queen who is rich and spoiled by still so caring and trying her best always.

[Eva B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed Nellie as a character and this book was a good glimpse into her life and how starkly different it is from Samantha's. Honestly I wouldn't mind a Nellie solo series if they wanted to do one.

[Tess · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another cute quick read. It puts into perspective what happened with orphan children and immigrants around the turn of the century. I’m just glad everything worked out for Samantha and Nellie

[Cecilia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that the book was decent ( considering I'm a little bit too old for these books), but I have some complaints.
A) Nellie was not very bright, and she was WAY over-dramatic! She just couldn't appreciate what she had and was so dramatic about everything.
B) Samantha was so much smarter and kinder than Nellie! (Personally, I think they should have made this book about Samantha instead.)

All in all, 3 stars for Nellie's Promise (American Girls: Samantha, #7) !

[Bulk Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

It would be easy to dismiss this book as simple girl drama, but it deals with issues that I found to be quite adult. Nellie experiences both the complicated emotions of culture shock and suddenly becoming part of a blended family.

“Don’t you see, Nellie? We’re trying to start a whole new family.” It makes sense to me that Nellie feels so insecure and out of place in Samantha’s world. It’s hard for her to believe that Gard and Cornelia could actually be nice enough to want to adopt her and take care of her forever. When your life has been as unstable as Nellie’s, her need to make a living on her own is totally understandable.

It’s hard to see Samantha and Nellie both shut down to the point where their friendship starts to fade. Neither of them are very good communicators, as it turns out. The ending is satisfying, with the pair figuring out that they can want different things and still be a family. Nellie calling out Uncle Mike is the cherry on top.

This book felt a lot more emotionally resonant to me than most of the Samantha series. It made me love both characters a little more, although it was rather sad and somber.

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s amazing how many books wouldn’t exist if the characters just talked to each other

[Maeve Sneddon]

I’m counting this towards my yearly goal and nobody can stop me

[Maya Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I get so sad when they aren’t friends but then they are again and I am OVERJOYED. I always loved the cover of this one I just thought Nellie’s blue dress was so pretty <33

[lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.5/5 stars

[Charmaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first time I've felt irritated and unsatisfied after reading an American Girl book.

Samantha seems to have taken on a whole different personality than in the other books about her. I somewhat understand her jealousy about Nellie, but the way how she acted towards Nellie, even though Nellie did nothing wrong to Samantha that I can think of, makes Samantha look like the bad guy and Nellie as the good guy. I wish that she could have been more understanding about Nellie. I really sympathized with Nellie... she did nothing to deserve Samantha's unfriendly behavior. It bothered me that this was happening, and I still didn't feel good when the girls apologized to each other. I felt that Samantha should have done a better apology. Nellie hardly had anything to apologize for... it should have been Samantha who has to apologize a lot more for messing up things. She pretty much acted like a brat. Normally I enjoy Samantha's books, but this is an exception. I don't know if I'll ever read it again.

However, I rated it three stars because the storyline was interesting. I liked the tension in the atmosphere when Nellie was living in fear that Uncle Mike would come back to take her and her sisters away. I love the kindness of Uncle Gard and Aunt Cornelia. I'm glad that things finally got settled with the adoption of Nellie and her sisters into Samantha's family, and they can live happily without Uncle Mike to worry about. The only thing that ruined the story was Samantha. Okay, I'll stop ranting now. ;-)

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book I've read that focuses on the best friend. I'm a bit perplexed at how different the best friends are once they have their own book. It's almost as if their personalities flip-flop with the former main character.

I feel like this book also could have used better communication between characters, because it would have solved a world of problems before they got too out of hand. In fact, that's something girls need to see. Young girls need to know that bottling up their emotions and not communicating isn't an effective way to handle things. Proper communication is important, and this would have been a good time for that to be seen.

I did find this book more enjoyable than "Very Funny Elizabeth", the other book in this vein. It was nice to revisit Samantha in her world and to see how things have been going after the events of the first six. However, I still largely prefer the original series over this spin-off.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a nice story but I didn’t get all that invested. It was also frustrating that a problem was dragged on because of lack of communication for several months. Not sure how they lived in that discomfort together! But of course I still like the familiar characters from the beloved American girl world. Here I am reading the book for probably the third time since I got the doll as a teenager 15+ years ago 😂

[Clara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Valerie Tripp has never l let me down. I loved going back into this world!

[Sarah Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a wonderful story that picks up where the sixth full-length Samantha book leaves off but is written from Nellie's perspective. Nellie has had such a pitiful life story to date, and it's a relief to see her in a happy and secure household. But Nellie still fears her Uncle Mike showing up to claim her and her little sisters.

I think this story feels very relatable in that it is natural that trying to assimilate into yet another household/family/school would be a tremendous mental load for a young girl who has lost both of her parents. Nellie is relieved but cautious to accept her good fortune, which makes perfect sense given her history. While she and Samantha are both orphans, Nellie has experienced real hardships due to her background and losses. She is practical in that she wants real skills to fall back on and legal proof that she can remain with her new family. I love how levelheaded and practical she is, even while trying to honor her family and her friendships.

I also think this book felt very relatable in the way it handled friendship. Samantha and Nellie have a lot of miscommunication and tense moments in this book. This is something everyone will experience at some point, and it was a great life lesson for my children to see how uncomfortable this feels but how ultimately the girls talked to address and resolve their issues.

As always, loved the peek into the past section after the conclusion of the story that gave some real historical context and photographs. This one was particularly meaningful because it showed the plight of orphans in the early 1900s, including glimpses of orphanages and orphan trains.

[Xyra · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting installment to American Girl Samantha's world.

I wholeheartedly suggest young readers to check these books out of the library for a read. They provide glimpses of history that rarely make it to the classroom anymore; and are still relevant to happenings today.

Nellie is a strong girl who strives to blend her two worlds. Her younger sisters will make the transition easier. She really reminded me of Branson from Downton Abbey. She's moved from downstairs to upstairs but still wants to be useful and has to deal with others looking down their noses at her or being shocked by her remarks.

I have not read any other book in Samantha's series; however, this book stood on its own decently. There is enough background added to the story to keep a reader from being confused.

A very quick read for an experienced reader. A nice chapter book for younger readers. Good character development. As always, I really enjoyed the "Looking Back" section in the back. It had information about how adoption worked back in 1906 as well as a look at the rights of children and options for immigrants to learn about their new surroundings. The text is supported with photos from the era. Always very interesting because I could connect visually with what I was reading.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars

I like Nellie, I really do. But I forgot how anxiety-inducing this book is and why I didn’t reread it as a kid.

After running into her terrible uncle who abandoned them, he threatens to take Nellie and her sisters back. Samantha’s aunt and uncle have adopted her and her sisters and give them a great and secure life, and Nellie is stressed that this could be taken away from them.

I get not wanting to tell people about something that is stressing you out, but this book would have been over a lot quicker if she had told someone about this encounter. It also resolves itself a little too quickly and neatly at the end, making her worries seem like nothing. idk she was a far more interesting character in the regular Samantha books, and I feel like she got flattened here a little bit.

[Katie Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll admit, I was skeptical about the best friends series—I've never been able to decide if it's awesome or just money grubbing. Enter the brilliance of Valerie Tripp. When I re-read Changes for Samantha a couple of weeks ago, I found the happily ever after adoption plot a little cloying. It is SO NICE to have practical Nellie's perspective on the difficulties of the transition and the fears that her new too-good-to-be-true life won't last. I've thought that Nellie's life might have given more writing fodder, but I've always loved Samantha and her kind heart, ready action, and deep thinking. It's so nice to have at least one story from both of them!

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brings to a close Nellie's A Little Princess homage. I appreciate that Tripp is trying to inject a tiny bit of realism by having Nellie contend with her uncle and his legal claim to her, but that thread is both overdramatic and fizzles out at the end. Tripp did a great job showing Nellie's confused emotions about her new situation. She's grateful and loves her new home, but she's struggling to find her place in a very privileged life. And it's nice to see Samantha, who is usually so collected, also struggle with her emotions and how to best welcome Nellie into the home they now share. It's terribly unrealistic wish fulfillment, but there's nothing wrong with that.

[Laura Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

There were so many complex feelings going on in this book. I changed schools a few times when young and always felt like a fish out of water. Nellie's circumstances are even more nerve wracking and I really felt for her. All in the new family needed to learn how to communicate so as to live together more harmoniously. I'm glad Nellie learned how to stick up for herself, both when facing her fears and standing up to Uncle Mike and when she remained firm in her goal to become a teacher. This book reiterates my gut feeling about this series. Nellie's story is more compelling than Samantha's and I wish she had been the featured character instead.

[Maribeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this story because it's about Nellie's story and her life and her story sounds amazing. I also like her, because, Samantha is my favorite american girl doll and I love Samantha and Nellie. I also like her and Samantha because, i'm really into history, and this has good history. I'm also into the times when the immigrants came to america and there are some of them at the settlement house.

[Kara Kuehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very cute story! This series, I would say, covers harder topics than some of the other American Girl books, but it does it excellently!

According to this book, Uncle Gard is a lawyer. Have we been told this before? I feel like this is new information.

Things to be aware of in “Nellie’s Promise”

Language:
Name calling including: “alley rat” and “brat”.

Violence:
- A character purposefully stomps on another character’s foot.

[Michelle Fritz PA · Rating 4 out of 5]

While Nellie isn't my favorite American girl, there is still value to be embraced in her in tale. This entire book revolves around a lack of communication and between such good friends, it's a very sad thing. I admire Nellie's determination to protect the family and keep the promise she made. Samantha is still my forever favorite character.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like getting to know more about Nellie. American Girl stories are always make their books heartfelt. They always highlight important historical topics and get angles that you do not learn in school. Another great message. I love that Nellie and her sisters now have a loving family.

[Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. Aww Samantha is jealous of how close Nellie is getting to Uncle Gard and Aunt Cornelia and Nellie is jealous of how close Samantha is to Nellie’s little sisters. I loved the scene at the end where Nellie confronts her awful uncle. This was a great read.