My daughter is 12 and loves her dolls (but shhhhhh dont tell anyone, because its not 'cool' to like dolls anymore).
She doesn't 'play' with them in the sense of dolls talking to one another - she makes videos with them! If you go to
youtube and put in american girl, you will find tons of tweens that all make vids and contests with their dolls. My daughter is in a huge online group of tweens that share vids and photos and do fashion shows and stuff. She loves it, and I love that she loves it. I will keep buying this stuff as long as she wants, as it makes me happy to know my 12 yr old is not out on a street corner smoking pot or getting pregnant, but at home making doll videos!