Let's Call Her Barbie by Renée Rosen

5 Stars Jul 10, 2025

Format: Audiobook

Publication Date: 21 January 2025

💭 My thoughts...

5/5 stars

I don't know what I expected from this book when I started it, but whatever it was, the book exceeded those expectations.

This felt like a brilliant interpretation of Barbie's history, with enough fact mixed into the fiction that it felt familiar and real. I guess that the danger there is that people might read this and think that it's an accurate depiction of real events. It is made abundantly clear that this is not the case when the epilogue reveals Stevie to be a fictional character entirely of the author's creation.

Speaking of Stevie, I think she was my favourite character in the book. Her fictional viewpoint provided a fascinating lens into a not-entirely-fictional world and gave the author creative licence to tweak the story as needed through her eyes. Alongside Stevie, I thought the characterisation in general was excellent. Despite having a pre-determined idea of what Ruth Handler was like based on what I've seen in documentaries over the years, I genuinely wanted her to succeed throughout the book and felt her (I'm sure not entirely) fictional frustrations at being a strong woman in a man's world. Jack was also a character that on paper shouldn't be likeable, but the author infused him with charm to the point that I rooted for him in spite of his morally ambiguous choices.

The audiobook narration for this was compelling - very easy to listen to and absorb. I recommend it if you're thinking of reading the book.

📖 Synopsis...

A fictionalised interpretation of the events that led to the creation, and eventual success of Barbie. The book follows her story from Ruth Handler's initial idea of her in the 1950s, all the way through the 1960s and into the 1970s, when Ruth was unceremoniously ousted from her position at the head of Mattel.