Rejoice, rejoice for the first relatable YA novel I’ve read in ages.

This light, delightful novel takes us back to 1991, when malls were in their heyday and pegging your jeans was all the rage.

Half the fun of the book is mall nostalgia for those old enough to be familiar with the references but young enough to still take interest in YA books. I wish there had actually been more mall store name drops in this (can I get a Merry Go Round shoutout? Ups and Downs? Wild Pair?), but what’s there is fun and clever, as is the treasure hunt that forms the bones of the plot.

Even better than the trip down memory lane, however, is McCafferty’s refreshingly normal, relatable protagonist. Most YA would have you believe that teenage girls think about absolutely nothing but boys, exist in a perpetual state of melancholic angst, and are always victims of unspeakable tragedy.

While there is a place for those things in the genre, they’re so pervasive that McCafferty’s Cassie Worthy, an interesting young woman with relatable problems and interests, almost felt like a YA white whale. And I was delighted by her.

Sure, Cassie cares a LOT about boys. We all do at that age. But she also cares about school, and friendships, and her summer job, and her family, and music, and, and, and...

Point being, I really appreciated a YA author who acknowledges there’s more to teenage girls than crushes and crying.

More than anything else, this is a novel about friendship. The relationship between Cassie and Drea is the central one, and it makes for a fun, not-too-heavy read that also subtly imparts valuable lessons about loyalty and relating to those who aren’t exactly like you.

Thank you for restoring my faith in the YA genre, Ms McCafferty.

Megan McCafferty is one of my all time favorite authors. I can't get enough of all of her coming-of-age novels and loved this one just as much. While Jessica Darling will always be my number 1 gal, there's definitely room for Cassie Worthy in my heart. The plot is a little less heavy than Jessica Darling, which gives the MC a bit of a juvenille feel.

Clever dialogue, cute story, fun read! Easy to reccomend, for a larger age range than I was expecting.

The Mall by Megan McCafferty is essentially a love letter to a mall, and I'm so here for the nostalgia feels she's summoning. In 1991, Cassie has a summer job at the mall with her boyfriend before she heads off to college. She's pumped to work alongside him at America's Best Cookie, but her plans quickly take a different direction. Along the way, Cassie gets drawn into a mystery involving clues connected to Cabbage Patch Kids. Again, so great with the nostalgia on that one. What follows is Cassie figuring out love and life at the mall. Much of that is navigating the balance of what she'll be leaving behind with the excitement of getting out and moving on. For women of a certain age (e.g. a book blogger in her late thirties), this hits a certain kind of way throughout. Cassie's story is literally told through the stores of the mall. As I read, I was picturing the malls and stores of my youth, and I didn't realize how much I loved and missed that. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced look at this June 2020 release.

Well, this one sure brought me back! As a Jersey Girl, born and raised, growing up in the 80s and 90s, I couldn't ask for a book that gave me more nostalgic feels than "The Mall"!

I went to Sam Goody, I worked at the Garden State Plaza, and I dreamed of getting out of my small "village" after high school. I literally worked at Bath and Body Works! Spraying cucumber melon on strangers was my jam! Obviously, I related to Cassie on so many levels., including the heartbreaking first love breakup. Rude.

This books is sprinkled with 90s pop culture references on every page, and they all made me roar with laughter. Everything from "90210" job rankings to Z Cavariccis was thrown into this book, and I devoured it all. I loved the treasure hunt. It was ridiculous and whimsical.

This book is basically Season 3 of Stranger Things for girls.

My only complaint about this book was Cassie's lack of experience, despite having had a long-term boyfriend. Call me a hoe, but that's NOT how I remember growing up in New Jersey in the 90s. I was third in my high school class, and even I was rolling my eyes at her "plan", so it's not a geek thing since I was one, too.

I loved Drea. Fun, funny, witty, daring, beautiful and talented, all in one package. You couldn't ask for a more fun character with which to hunt for treasure. And her mom and their store? I thought it sounded so cozy to be Drea. Ever want to crawl up into a character's life and live there? That's me with Drea.

Cassie's parents both being dentists was funny to me because my brother and his wife are both dentists. The scene in the book where they simultaneously refer to teeth as "number 8 and 9" could have been stolen right out of my brother's living room. Cute plot point.

I definitely recommend this young adult book to young adults and children of the 80s and 90s like me. It was incredibly fun and whimsical.

I loved the prominence of mono in the book. I remember everyone fearing and contracting mono in high school. I envied their ability to stay home for months and watch crappy tv. I love that Cassie is fresh into a mono recovery. So relevant for the time. What was it about the 90s and mono anyway? Do kids still get that?

I actually liked this wayyyy more than I was expecting to. It was a quick fun read full on 80s and 90s mentions.

At first I found Cassie, the narrator, a little annoying but then she grew on me. Her growth and Drea’s through the book was believable and honest. I wanted both of them to succeed.

I’d give this book a 3.5 stars but will be rounding up to 4.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am exactly the same age as Cassie - graduated high school in 1991 at age 17 - and also from the suburbs of NYC. The entire time I was reading this book, I was envisioning the mall of my own youth, the food court, the Sam Goody, the stores in the mall where I worked at that age. All of this made this book so fun for me to read!

Full disclosure - I have read most of the author’s previous work and loved it all. Thankfully I can add this book to the list of books that I love. Set against the backdrop of the mall in the 90s, with a supporting cast of teens who work in the various shops, this book captures the era perfectly. From the fashions to the music, the food court to the hook ups, this story draws you in and makes you feel like you not only know the characters, but the shops too.

This book is set in the same universe as the Jessica Darling series, with cameos for those paying attention.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was sad when it was over (but the ending was satisfying!).

I'm a huge fan of the Jessica Darling series, so it was fun to come back to Pineville with Megan McCafferty—the humor and rompy plot made this a fun, fast read, even if I didn't quite fall in love with the characters and voice the way I did in Sloppy Firsts.

Cassie is ready to start her final summer in Pineville working in the mall with her boyfriend after missing out on all her final senior year activities due to mono. But when she arrives for her first mall shift, she’s assaulted by her boyfriends new girlfriend, is fired from her job, and is too ashamed to tell her parents the truth. So begins her summer at the mall, working a behind the scenes job with a former best friend, looking for treasure, and trying to her over her ex-boyfriend. The life lessons and personal growth make Cassie a likeable narrator that you want to see come out on top, and the 8 weeks before leaving for college prove to be just what she needs.

**Review will be posted on my blog closer to publication date, May 25, 2020**

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.

Talk about taking me back to the 90’s and basically my childhood! This story which is mostly set in a mall, is all nostalgia and fun. Cassie Worthy, is actually dealing with a few things in her life like breaking up with her boyfriend of two years, not having a place to work and then dealing with her parents divorce. But she finds herself a new job and getting through this disastrous summer by going on a treasure hunt. A treasure hunt in a mall you say? This story is a fun homage to “the mall”, which was our social hub once upon a time, a long, long time ago…in the 1990’s.

What I Liked:

*The cover and it’s neon pink color just captures the feel of the book. Love it.

*I may be a little biased, but I was a pre-teen/teen in the 90’s! So everything in this book, like the Sam Goody music store 😂 (cassette tapes and cd’s – wow), the food court, ALL of it just took me down memory lane. The mall was the place to be!

*I really enjoyed the characters like: Drea Bellarosa, Cassie’s not-so-new summer friend, is pretty awesome. She pops off the page, I could see her in her fashions and hear her honking laugh. They made unlikely friends but they were good for each other. “Sam Goody”, who’s name we don’t know until the end was so reminiscent of my love of all things music back in the 90’s and discovering bands – etc. Love that Cassie had a summer fling with him and Gia’s mom was fantastic too, she had such personality!

*The treasure hunt in the book is such an 80’s/90’s adventure – like the movie Goonies. But it added a fun element to the story, and it helped Cassie concentrate on something other than her life seeming to fall apart. It brought Cassie and Drea close together and I’m glad Cassie earned a friend through it all.

*Cassie transforms during the summer with Drea’s friendship, the treasure hunt and hooking up with boys. I’m glad she found her backbone when it came to her douche of an ex-boyfriend Troy and the plan. Cassie’s a smart girl and was definitely not someone who was going to sit back and take Troy’s treatment of her, but from a lot of nudging from Drea, she learned to love her true self.

Things That Made Me Go Hmm:

*This is a really light-hearted quick read – at times I thought maybe too light hearted but I think the focus on Cassie and Drea’s friendship was the right call. I was more interested in their relationship than Cassie finding a new boy to be a rebound. I like that though she had all these changes during the summer, it never changed her plans for college and her future.

Final Thoughts:
The Mall is a nostalgia filled read for us who grew up in the 90’s. I think for readers today who are fascinated with that decade, this book would definitely give them an insight to our days gravitating to the mall. The book is a fun, quick read and will make the perfect summer read. I could definitely see this as a tv show and I’d totally watch it.

This fun book was a quick read and the perfect antidote for some of the heavier research reading I've been doing of late. A coming of age novel set entirely in a 90s mall. A confection with some resonant messaging.

I love 80's-90's themed books. When I read the plot i knew I had to read this. The 80s references were awesome. I didn't like Troy very much. His character was just irritating for the things he said.

I would recommend this to anyone who lives 90's flashback to malls and 90's music taste in marky Mark and the funky bunch

A quick and lighthearted read. Full of nostalgia for readers of a certain era (teen in the late 80’s/early 90’s)

Thanks go to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Mall is a story many can relate to: Who will like me for me? And who exactly am I, anyway? Throw in a mysterious treasure hunt through the mall, and you have The Mall. An enjoyable YA read about growing up in the 90s.

I am not sure if this book will appeal to readers who are removed from this era but it really rang true to me! I was younger than the characters in the book but McCafferty really captured the mood and feelings of the early '90s. The characters and their struggles seemed really real to me. I liked that it focused on friendships vs. romantic relationships.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book!

I really enjoyed this book. It's a quick, fun read that takes place in a New Jersey mall in the early 90s. It's a story of self discovery, but it's also very tongue and cheek. If you aren't of an age to remember the early 90s, it probably won't be for you, but for those of us that grew up in that time,, it's just fun!

This was a fun, quick read. I've missed Megan McCafferty's writing. THE MALL doesn't have quite the same biting wit as the Jessica Darling series, but as always McCafferty's precise skewering of social groups and her own heroine's blind spots is perfection. I think readers who were actually teens in the 80s and early 90s will love the nostalgia fest. For others, it'll be a lighthearted read perfect for the pool — or between breaks at the mall.

It feels like forever since I hung out in Pineville New Jersey! I was a huge fan of the Sloppy Firsts series and have probably read the set 10 times. The problem with this book was that while I liked it immensely, for it to feel nostalgic you need to be my age, 37, or even a little older to be a product of the 80's. That being said, there is no way that I am going to be able to relate to Cassie like I did Jess Darling because like I said, I am 37! When I read Sloppy Firsts I was probably in my teens? Everything felt so similar to what life was, longing for a boy, going to college, figuring out who I was. But now I am an old married lady and it just didn't strike the same cord.

Don't get me wrong. I still loved going back to the 80's. Going to the mall, mean girls, jerky boys Megan McCafferty can write a feeling and a mood. I felt like I was there listening to Nirvana and drinking an Orange Julius. I definitely think a girl in her teens or twenties would love this book and see themselves in it. I would recommend it for sure and hope that they are cool enough to crimp their hair, roll their jeans and head on down to the mall.

3 stars

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Megan McCafferty is one of my favorite authors, so I had high hopes for this book. I didn't know anything going into it, just that it takes place in the 90s. And I feel bad saying this, but it read to me like it needs one more draft before publication, kinda.

If you've read the Jessica Darling books, The Mall takes place in the same universe and same town. There are a few connections sprinkled throughout like Easter eggs, and that was kinda fun. But there was something about this book that grated on me, even though the main character feels very similar to Jessica Darling. (Maybe it's just timing/my age--I last read the Jessica Darling books in college. Maybe I'd hate her now.)

The book follows recent Pineville High grad Cassie Worthy during the summer before she leaves for Barnard in NYC. She's just come off of a 6-week bout of mono and finds out she's been fired from her food court job at the mall before she could even start (probably because of the mono, is that legal?), and oh yeah, her only-other-intelligent-and-driven-person-at-their-school boyfriend of 2 years has been cheating on her while she's been sick. Cassie bounces back when she gets a job at a fashion boutique with her ex-best friend Drea, who turns her on to a literal treasure hunt at the mall.

There were weird things about this book that I couldn't get past, so I have to mention them: it's never addressed, but Cassie calls both of parents by their first names, and it's extremely strange. Just one line about that quirk would have helped, because not addressing it was weird. Similarly, Cassie and her new love interest don't know each other's names for almost the entire book, and that's only addressed in her head like once or twice. They call each other "Sam Goody" and "Bellarosa," the names of the stores they work in. Is it supposed to be cute? It felt weird because it went on for the whole freaking book.

Also, the narration felt weird to me. It's first person past tense, but phrases like "back in the summer of 91" or references to "years afterward" the current events of the book made me think that maybe there'd be an epilogue from the future at the end or something. (Spoiler alert, there wasn't.) I guess movie and TV voiceovers do this a lot, but it threw me off seeing it in a book. Maybe I just don't read enough books that do this, I don't know.

Anyway, the treasure hunt "clues" were a letdown, I actually started to feel claustrophobic that the book only takes place in the mall or in cars, and there were parts of the book that didn't feel fully fleshed out, like the middle. And did I mention that Drea's the best and Cassie's the worst? I'd read a Drea spinoff in a heartbeat.

Kinda disappointed but it was a quick read, at least.