Luciana Vega made her grand debut as the newest Girl of the Year on Good Morning America December 28th, 2017. Mattel describes her as “creative and confident with a serious science streak”. Luciana’s stories center around her love of space and science. The most interesting thing about the actual doll design, which has tan skin, brown eyes and straight dark brown hair is the purple streak that compliments the dark brown hues. Other than that, the doll itself is kind of boring.
We know Mattel can do different face sculpts, like they did on Nanea Mitchell, so the fact that the 2018 American Girl Girl of the Year has the same sculpt we’ve seen used many times in the past is disappointing.
What I do think is great about this girl is her passion for space! Because Luciana loves the idea of space travel, Mattel made some really cool outfits and accessories to go with the theme. While they are going to be far too much money for me to actually buy, I know some kids (and adults) out there will be very happy with these amazing props and outfits. For example, Luciana has her very own blue Flight Suit, which looks really cute.
Even better, though, is her Space Suit, complete with authentic patches, equipment pack and astronaut helmet with a clear visor that flips up. Her causal looks are also super cute! I love the NASA jacket that comes with this Stellar Outfit! And her Visitor Center Accessories are fantastic.
Luciana’s big play set takes the cake. It’s up there with Maryellen’s Diner. Luciana’s play set is a Mars Habitat and it looks so neat! The habitat offers three-sided play, with more than 40 science, technology, and health accessories to set up and rearrange, including pretend rock samples, a pretend pair of virtual reality goggles, a set of photos, papers, notes, clipboard, and folder for keeping her research organized and many other cool elements. This play set is one of the most exciting things to come out of American Girl in years, in my opinion, though at nearly $400.00, the price tag is a bit hefty for the average person.
Every good scientist needs a workstation and Luciana’s is her Maker Station. Priced at more than I expected, her Maker Station includes a lot of cool elements. Within her Maker Station, you’ll see a robotic arm that can pick things up, measuring tape, screwdriver, and set of screws for building and Two MEGA CONSTRUX
construction sets for a satellite and a rover. Pretty cool, right?
On a side note, if you’re on the lookout for more male dolls from American Girl, it looks like they’ve expanded their Truly Me line with more boy dolls! Check them out online. You can see all of Luciana’s collection on American Girl’s website. What do you think of the 2018 Girl of the Year? Do you think the accessories outshine the doll? Share your thoughts in the comment area!