7/21/2020 THE MALL A NOVEL by Megan McCafferty

Publisher: Wednesday Books (July 28, 2020)
Publication Date: July 28, 2020

Sold by: Macmillan

New York Times bestselling author Megan McCafferty returns to her roots with this YA coming of age story set in a New Jersey mall.

The year is 1991. Scrunchies, mixtapes and 90210 are, like, totally fresh. Cassie Worthy is psyched to spend the summer after graduation working at the Parkway Center Mall. In six weeks, she and her boyfriend head off to college in NYC to fulfill The Plan: higher education and happily ever after.

But you know what they say about the best laid plans...

Set entirely in a classic “monument to consumerism,” the novel follows Cassie as she finds friendship, love, and ultimately herself, in the most unexpected of places. Megan McCafferty, beloved New York Times bestselling author of the Jessica Darling series, takes readers on an epic trip back in time to The Mall.

REVIEW/THOUGHTS:

Reading THE MALL was like taking a stroll into memory lane for me when I used to work in a video store, sitting in the corner rewinding VHS tapes for those returning their rentals not following the sticker that says, “Please Be Kind Rewind”. I was working in a mall next to Sam Goody’s always high over the scents of Cinnamon and Vanilla from Cinnabon’s, and the lotions and candles of Bath and Body works.

Many won’t even relate to rewinding your VHS or Betamax for that matter, but I sure related to this and an homage to my Cabbage Patch dolls sealed the deal. I thought this was a great story about Cassie who was out on a six week quarantine recovering from one of the worst case of Mononucleosis her physician has seen in over forty years. Surviving a swollen ready to burst spleen fared far easier than what the rest of her summer was about to give her. There at the mall, her summer adventure began and what a crazy ride McCafferty delivered!

While at the Mall Cassie rekindles her childhood friendship with Drea while she worked for their clothing store doing the books and inventory. The characters were absolutely a delight to read and oh so funny! I loved the addition of the mall side-adventure treasure hunt and also the side fling. All in all, this was a great coming-of-age story about the summer of 1984 before the pivotal stage of moving into the adult hood, entering the college years.

The book is fast paced, easy to read, and a great summer tome to enjoy in an afternoon. Nostalgic, modern, and absolutely heartwarming story with a strong female character you will love. Read this!

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT:

Megan McCafferty writes fiction for tweens, teens and teens-at-heart of all ages. The author of eleven novels, she’s best known for SLOPPY FIRSTS and four more sequels in the New York Times bestselling Jessica Darling series. She's got two new books coming out in 2020: TRUE TO YOUR SELFIE (MG, Scholastic, 2/20) and THE MALL (YA, Wednesday Books, 6/20). Described in her first review as “Judy Blume meets Dorothy Parker” (Wall Street Journal), she’s been trying to live up to that high standard ever since.