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"With wit and more than a little hairspray, McCafferty dives into the 1990s with this snappily written self-empowerment novel set beneath the fluorescent lights of a suburban New Jersey mall." - Publishers Weekly
"Megan McCafferty departs from her best-selling Jessica Darling series to conjure this charming throwback." - Columbia Magazine
"The ideal mix of '90s nostalgia and hilarious shenanigans." - Culturess
"The Mall took me on a lively romp down memory lane (and left me itching for a Cinnabon)." - Forever Young Adult
"Complete with Orange Julius, Cabbage Patch Kids, and Sam Goody, this book is a blast to the past!" - Manhattan Book Review
"The Mall was to 1991 teenagers what the iPhone is to today’s generation: EVERYTHING. This delightful novel about that particular time and place is loaded with fun, warmth, intelligence, big hair and an even bigger heart. I loved it." New York Times bestselling author Rachel Cohn
"Both a laugh-out-loud pean to those bygone cathedrals of the 1990s, and a zippy coming-of-age tale, THE MALL is a delightful read for any generation. So tease your hair, grab your hotdog on a stick and prepare to have a freaking blast!" Gayle Forman, New York Times bestselling author of If I Stay and I Have Lost My Way
“What a pleasure it is to spend time in a McCafferty universe. Her writing is sharp, smart, sexy and oh-so-real. I’ll read her forever.” Rebecca Serle, New York Times bestselling author of In Five Years
"Totally rad! This former 1990s mall teen loved The Mall, an ode to tall bangs, boys with good taste in music, and female friendship, set in the only place that mattered. What a joy to have a new book from Megan McCafferty, who knows exactly how to make us laugh, cry, and fall in love with her characters." Amy Spalding, author of The Summer of Jordi Perez and The New Guy
"A delightful, funny, sweet and affecting real life adventure with such a big heart, it'll make you cry the happiest tears. The Mall is something special." Courtney Summers, New York Times bestselling author of Sadie
2020-03-25
The mall takes center stage in this ’90s coming-of-age tale.
Cassie Worthy works at a New Jersey mall while counting down the days until she heads off to college. After being stuck at home with mono for the past six weeks, she plans on triumphantly returning to her job at America’s Best Cookie with her boyfriend, Troy—but it goes horribly wrong when she finds herself attacked by Troy’s new girlfriend with a spritz of cucumber-melon fragrance to the face. Cassie manages to get hired as a bookkeeper at an upscale boutique. The owner’s gorgeous daughter, Drea Bellarosa, needs nerdy Cassie’s help searching for a rumored stash of long-hidden drug money, and they spend the summer following clues hidden in Cabbage Patch Kids that point to locations around the mall. Drea also promises to help Cassie with her heartbreak, saying “the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else.” In the first-person narration, elitist Cassie makes numerous judgmental remarks about other women and their clothing and behavior, frequently referring to them as sluts and bimbos, as well as being dismissive of boys she regards as less intelligent than she. The narrative is rife with pop-culture references, quirky characters, and over-the-top ridiculous comedy—which unfortunately falls flat. The majority of the cast is white apart from Cassie’s Japanese American mall-employee crush.
Light and nostalgic but lacks depth. (Fiction. 14-18)