Wasn't anything super spectacular, but also wasn't terrible. I appreciated the 90s references and I did enjoy the characters to a certain degree, but it was pretty basic. Neither the characters nor the plot ultimately captured my attention well enough to give it a higher rating. I know it's set in the 90s, but the writing felt very 90s/early-2000s YA contemporary when it didn't need to. I honestly can't believe it was published in 2020. It could be set in that time period while not mimicking that writing style and tone. Overall, really basic and won't leave a lasting impression.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this book, but it didn't really resonate with me.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

I was a fan of the Sloppy First series back in the day, this one was a fun quick read, but it didn't hold the appeal of the YA series.

Again, another book I should never have requested. When I was younger I loved McCafferty's Jessica Darling series of books. But I was younger. And while THE MALL does take me back to my younger days, it never quite hits the mark for me.

This book was so much fun! It wasn't entirely what I was expecting, but I think that it was even better that way. The way McCafferty writes is in a fresh and fun way, and it definitely comes off in this book!

Honestly, this book was a fun time trip back to the early 90s with a cute story and just a fun time. Some who read it were not fans of the story, but if you have any memories of the time period I don’t see how you couldn’t enjoy this book. The story of Cassie’s summer at the mall with boy trouble, a fun mystery, a cast of characters that could have easily been found in my hometown growing up, and a plan to get the hell out of town rang so true not because it was exceptional but because it was so normal. No, we didn’t hunt for a lost treasure, but there were always those stories in small towns of supposed secrets. Overall, I think the book was definitely worth my time and will be recommending it to my friends, especially those who used to walk the mall with me!

I loved Megan McCafferty’s Jessica Darling series, so I requested it from @NetGalley when I saw it. I enjoyed this YA novel - it’s a book about friendship at the core. I loved the mall setting and all the 1990s references and the multiple Odyssey of the Mind shoutouts. I don’t know if I’d recommend it to grownups, but I think younger readers would enjoy it.

A charming throwback for adult and teen fans of Megan McCafferty. An escape down memory for those who lived through the mall craze of the 80s and 90s but relatable enough for those teens who know of it only from popular culture.

Cassie has everything planned out. She's going to work at the mall for six weeks and then head off to college in New York City with her boyfriend. But, everything quickly falls apart and Cassie is left to quickly scramble and figure out new plans.

I really enjoyed this! It was fun! I couldn't help but think of Stranger Things season 3 through most of it as the whole setting is in a mall and they even try to solve a mystery at the mall. It was such a lighthearted experience.

It being a lighthearted experience is partially why I have it at 3 stars. There is nothing wrong with lighthearted books, I love them. I loved this book, but there were some things in here that I do think could have been dived into a little more.

Cassie, is a character who does see her as better than. She's thinks she's better than this person or better than working there. An attitude like this, while frustrating, really does allow for major character growth, but that didn't happen until the end and then it ended. So, I would have liked to have seen a little more growth from her that was spread out.

There is another big point that happens to Cassie, but I feel like overall is kinda glossed over too. She's consistently mad about it (and it's understandable), but then is very teenage in how she handles everything and I didn't feel like there was ever really closer for it.

The romance... I could have done without it as I really feel like the majority of this book was about Cassie and Drea's friendship. Once again, it didn't feel that deep, but I enjoyed it and think more of the focus should have been there than split between the romance.

While <i>The Mall</i> is a fun, fast, lighthearted read, it does suffer from everything being too shallow in a lot of places. It's an enjoyable enough read, but not one that I'm going to remember.

thank you for allowing me to read this book via my NetGalley copy but I really did not like this book at all. The book was just not fun, the story was not interesting and the book just was not the 90's book that I thought it was going to be. Thank you but If the author comes out with something else, I will give it a try but this was not one for me.

I'm a long time fan of Megan McCafferty's Jessica Darling Series and did a big ol' happy book shimmy when she announced her highly anticipated (by me) new book THE MALL. I didn't care that it would be a couple of years before it was released, I was just excited that we would get a new book from her.

What I loved most about this book was the nostalgia and that was one of the main reasons I wanted to read it. I mean just the title THE MALL created enough excitement. I immediately thought of a reimagined Fast Times at Ridgemont High. I loved the use of icons Frank and Kathy for Cassie's parents and Tommy and Vince the "Motley Crue" who hid a treasure. This almost went over my head, but when I realized what McCafferty did, I had a great laugh. And OF COURSE the 90210, the original 90210, shout-outs just took me back.

It brought back fun memories of middle school and high school and hanging out at the mall with friends. My first job was in a mall and my friends even modeled the "latest fashions" for a popular chain store. I'd almost forgotten about that until just writing it here. Oh, good times.

THE MALL was a funny, often silly, and sometimes scandalous walk down memory lane. Fans of Megan McCafferty will enjoy this book while they wait for the release of Jessica Darling Makeover Editions!

The Mall was a fun look back at 90s nostalgia with a summer job at the mall. I am from New Jersey and loved the references included in the book. It was entertaining, but somewhat shallow and I wanted to yell at the main character for being an awful friend.

This book was... interesting. At some points the plot felt a little scattered, but it was a quick and easy read with some funny parts. Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

My little mall-loving heart thought this book was amazing. So many memories of my youth are in my local mall!! This book made me smile.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

3/5 stars
So this was not my favorite. I honestly believed it was gonna be a fun time, but it started off rough and didn’t get much better until Drea and her treasure hunt entered the scene. Also, in the first 20 pages they make it really, really clear that it’s 1991. In case you happened to miss the first 25 references? It was just a bit in-your-face for my tastes. As for the main plot of this book, the treasure hunt was not particularly thrilling or intense. It’s more of a thing Cassie does to appease Drea, and occupy her time before she jets off to college at the end of the summer. And It Feels Like It. Even the 90’s mall backdrop was bland and monotonous. Which is terrible since it’s the only setting of the book. The only parts of this book I did like were Drea and Zoe. Drea, because she was the only personality of the book and I really just wanted to succeed. And Zoe, because she was a weird little side character who was just randomly awesome. Maybe it’s my fault for speeding through this book so fast, but it felt lackluster. I guess I was just expecting more summer fun shenanigans.

This book was so well written! I was a teen in the early 90s and this book brought me back! This was a really cute story and I recommend if you want some 90s nostalgia and teen drama!

I think I just missed the age for nostalgia for the 90s--all of my friends have it but man, I don't. So I think for the right kid it's the right book, but it's a very select audience. Which, hey, nothing wrong with that!

As a 90s girl, this book was all up my alley! Turns out, it really wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. I feel like this was a story that had been done a million times before BUT this should also just have been a movie. I would've run to the movie theater to see this as a movie! I hope it still could have a chance though :)

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was just such a fun romp, and the setting of the early 90's was pretty perfect, and tied together with the story so well! I loved watching Cassie, she was a little closed minded and an over-achiever, but she relaxed over the course of this book, and I loved her journey!

This book was fun and over the top. Cassie is a teenager, and some of her reactions show this, like when she's broken up with, or when her parents announce their separation. But I do question what happened with her being fired, since the boyfriend said that-they started the job at the same time, and why would she be fired? She was sick. And sure, her actions to her now ex would probably get her fired, but he said she was before that. So I'm confused with the timeline there.

Loved watching Cassie reconnect with her old friend Drea over the treasure hunt. Things weren't perfect, there was some drama, but they do joke that they have terrible tastes in best friends. I just really enjoyed their friendship!

But that ending? I loved how they solved the clues to the treasure hunt, and then it ended like that. It was just really crazy and hilarious. And I'm glad where she left things (and finally knew the guy's actually name) and have college to look forward to, it was a ending I'm really content with!

I really enjoyed this book, it was a really fantastic read!

Did not finish. This novel was not for me. I had a hard time connecting to the story and the characters.