Popular Doll Brand Introduces 2023 Girl of the Year from New Jersey

This is a huge deal for those who grew up playing with American Girl Dolls.

Having grown up in the 90s, there was nothing more exciting than flipping through an American Girl Doll catalog that came in the mail.  If you're unfamiliar with the American Girl brand, its doll collection is made up of girls from different historical periods, who all have heroic stories.

When the company introduced its first collection in the 1980s, it included: Felicity from colonial Williamsburg, Josefina from 1800s New Mexico, Kirstin from the pioneer era, Addy from The Civil War era, Samantha from The Victorian Era, and Molly from the WWII era.

As the company grew, it added more historical figures to the lineup, like Kit from The Great Depression, and Kaya from early Native America.  But, in 2000, American Girl started introducing Girls of the Year: a doll with a modern story that reflected the current time period.

The 2023 Girl of the Year is a big deal because she's from New Jersey!  Her name is Kavi Sharma, she's the first South Asian American Girl of the Year, and she lives in Metuchen.  According to American Girl, Kavi loves performing Bollywood Dance and writing music.  She's got big dreams of making it on the stage in New York City, but needs to balance those dreams with her school work!

If Kavi was around when I was a kid, I would have begged my parents to buy her.  It's awesome to have a Jersey Girl represented in such an iconic toy.  And her issues are relatable to young girls and teens.

Metuchen is so proud that Kavi calls the town home, that they had a celebration for her!  Per News 12, Metuchen hosted a New Year's party, complete with Kavi's favorite activity: Bollywood dancing.

If you played with American Girl dolls growing up and had a child who loves them too, it'll be cool to bond over this toy from our home state.

And, PS: if you're wondering which dolls I had, they were Kit and Felicity.