Please note that this is the identical review I placed for Summer under the old 2000 series. I am deleting that one in favor of placing my review with the model I actually own.

My younger daughter worships the ground that her older sister walks upon. Often, this means she has to get the same toys as her sister, even if they are not quite age appropriate (within reason, of course). This explains why my 4-year-old has a Diva Starz doll.

The girls had both picked up their Diva of choice at a local Target store and commenced begging. With daughter #1's birthday and Christmas coming, I pointed out that these were "big" gifts that would have to wait for a "big" occasion (they retailed for $29.95 at the time). Offspring #1 indicated that her birthday would be her preference, and I put it on my mental list. By the time my mental list became a birthday shopping list, I had no trouble finding Summer (daughter #2's choice), but Alexa (#1's) was a different story (which I will elaborate upon under Alexa's review).

Summer was opened with great excitement (I broke down and gave one to both girls on the occasion of my older daughter's birthday). The little pieces soon found themselves all over the room, but we quickly sealed them all in zip lock bags with the doll's name marked on them (I highly recommend that you do the same should you become an owner). As do all Diva Starz, Summer has a "theme". She is a nature girl, and her clothing and accessories are of a "green" variety (green clothes, green computer, green CD player, green cell phone, even a green pet rabbit!). Also like all Divas, she is pure teenager in her vocabulary and voice inflections ("This outfit is just SOOOO fabulicious"). While she talks, her head turns, her lips light up and her eyes blink. Her body remains stationery. She has a number of sensors located throughout her body which help her to respond to her accessories: one on her left hand, two on her body and one on the top of her head (that I am aware of).

Each time she "wakes up", she fabricates a new nickname for her human friend. I have difficulty understanding these names, but the girls don't appear to have any trouble. The doll also defines a "word of the day" upon waking, which is a novel adjective like "superlicious". Speaking of waking, the dolls do go to sleep and know the general time of day (once you set it properly--not too difficult a task). If the doll is left alone for a while (and it does take a while), it will go into "sleep" mode. The dolls can be turned off by a switch on the bottom of their feet, but the time needs to be set again when they are re-activated. A better option (and you really have to read the directions to know this) is to simultaneously push the Yes and No buttons located on the over-sized shoes, and she will instantly go into sleep mode. This way, you can stop the incessant chatter without having to re-set the clock each time.

Summer can be invited to play a variety of games. Your daughter may find this out by chance, but the methods to initiate the games are all included in the instructions. My 4-year old is a little too young to have the patience for the games. She prefers to just change the clothes and play with the hair. Diva Starz are sensitive to this. When she asks, "do you just want to play?" and you push her "yes" shoe, she will stop asking her never-ending questions (to everyone's great relief!).

Another reason I broke down and bought two Diva Starz is that they are advertised to talk and interact with each other. Well, when it works it is really fun, and they truly do interact. They will tell each other knock-knock jokes and have conversations about the cute boy they saw. The problem with this feature is that it is difficult to provide the ideal setting, and even then it doesn't always work. I found that they must be exactly 8 inches apart, facing each other directly. Both must be on "sleep" mode, and activated at precisely the same time. We got it to work very well several times. Then I discovered the other problem--it seems to work only with brand new, fully charged batteries. The dolls work fine on their own with two AA batteries for a fairly long time, but after two or three interactions with another doll, they won't recognize each other anymore. I don't know about you, but I'm not about to change perfectly good batteries just so two dolls can converse. Even if they won't talk to each other, they do have another neat feature that works only if you have two dolls (or buy extra clothes)--they recognize each other's wardrobe, and tell you if you put on an outfit that belongs to someone else. They will even tell you who it belongs to: "Hey, that's Alexa's dress! Maybe she'll let me borrow it." They will also tell you if the clothing you put on them is inappropriate, so if you put pajamas on at noon, they'll say, "Hey, it's too early for that. I haven't worn my jeans in a long time."

For all the neat features these dolls have (if you can get past the annoying teenage thing), the younger set doesn't seem to be particularly interested in the interactive features. The truth is, my younger daughter likes her Diva better than her big sister, but only because she enjoys dressing dolls, and these dolls are fun to dress--the clothes just snap on and off, very satisfying for awkward little fingers which aren't yet adept at buttons and ties.

Oddly enough, the only complaint my daughter has given me about this doll is the fact that she doesn't have any ears. I suppose the manufacturer figured all that hair would hide this omission, but it is a little strange when Summer is fashioned with an "updo".

One thing more to mention. The Summer doll in this review is from the 2001 series. These dolls are slightly different from the original 2000 series, with which I am less familiar. I do know that the new series features the little pets on a leash, as in Summer's green bunny rabbit; in the old series the pet was held in their hand. These are not to be confused with the larger Diva Starz Pets, which are interactive toys in their own right.

Diva Starz Summer is a unique diversion for a little girl, but if my 4-year-old didn't have an older sister, this would not be my toy of choice. Now that she has it and enjoys it, I don't regret buying it, but for the price, there are other options which make more sense for this age group. And I just cringe when my sweet little girl says, "Mom, this outfit is totally fabulicious!" I'm hoping she won't want to hang out at the mall next.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 24.99
Type of Toy: Other
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years