I don't normally read YA, but this was purely escapist fun and I really enjoyed it. The time period was the 1990s and there were sooo many cultural references that I appreciated. Because I grew up during that time period, it was certainly a blast from the past.

This book tells the story of Cassie. It's a coming of age story.. one of the best types of stories! She is spending the summer before college working in Parkway Center Mall. This is a story of friendship, love, and being young.

I only found fault with the writing at times. It got a little choppy. Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel!

This just was not the book for me. 

The feminism was way too in your face. To the point of justifying some really rude interactions with the main character that just really irritated me. The resolution of the plot threads didnt lend enough weight to the questions these discussions brought up. A huge turn off for me. If anything I almost felt there was negative character building and not in a useful way. 

Just not for me.

Special thanks to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC in return for my honest review. 

When I first saw that Megan McCafferty had a new novel set in the 90s mall scene I was counting down the days until I was able to get my hands on it. 

But when I did get my hands on it I still felt like I was missing something. The bones were there and the set up was ready, but it seemed like it just kept falling short of being fully fleshed out. Nonetheless, I did enjoy ready this light fun read. 

The Pros:

The setting. There was nothing like the Malls in the Early 90s. And the mall in summertime with the kids on the cusp of leaving. It was a little look back to the times of Zines and mall fashion shows. 

The fault in the characters: McCAfferty has a way of creating flawed characters you can’t help but root for. She did that here with the cast of characters. Each character has a flaw. 

The Treasure Hunt: this was my favorite thing. I loved the premise of sneaking around the back hideaways of the mall in a search left behind. Though I still wanted more from this

Female friendships: I liked the development of the friendships in the book and females supporting females. (Ghost Girl is the best)

The Cons:

Some of the characters didn’t get a chance to grow out of the cardboard caricatures  that they were set up in the social hierarchy of high school. 

The pacing: it was a bit all over the place. I wanted some things to develop naturally but some things happened off page and were somehow “resolved” or just not explained. Some of the challenges resolved too quickly just to tie it all up in a rushed ending. 

All in all I’ll give this book 2.5/5.

This book felt cheesy and like it was trying too hard.  I loved the Jessica Darling series and had high hopes for this but it fell flat for me.

A mall setting in the 90’s with a treasure hunt involving Cabbage Patch Kids-I mean hello-sign me up stat!  This was a coming of age story. Cassie’s life takes several major detours over the course of one summer. She must figure out what is most important and at what cost. 
Don’t get me wrong-this was a fun read. However, I feel like something was missing that I just can’t put my finger on. But if you are looking for a dose of nostalgia this is a totally awesome book! Thanks so much for the opportunity to read the ARC in return for my honest review.

The Mall by Megan McCafferty is the coming of age tale of Cassie Worthy.  The story follows Cassie as her seemingly perfect life - she has a plan - falls apart and she has to figure out how she will find another job at the mall for the summer.  By chance her former BFF has an opening at her store.  What ensues is a wonderful story about finding yourself, best friends, and of course a treasure hunt. 

The story is full of early 90s nostalgia!  I have always enjoyed Megan McCafferty's books so I was truly excited to read her newest novel.  I was not disappointed.  The characters were people I feel like I knew, and I quickly became invested in the treasure hunt!  I will certainly be recommending this novel for purchase and be using it for reader advisory at my library when it releases in June!

Having been a big fan of the Jessica Darling series, I was excited to read The Mall! For me, graduating in 1993, this book felt very nostalgic and I loved it! It was a fun read and I was excited to see some familiar characters.

So, I was pretty young in the nineties, but even I remember enough to get pretty nostalgic at this lighthearted teenage throwback about a girl looking to spend one final summer in her favourite place - The Mall.

Right from the start, this book felt special. The voice is that of a young woman growing in confidence and maturity whilst suffering typical teenage problems - heartbreak, a parent's divorce and a forgotten friendship. A gloriously funny plot, with characters I'd love to spend my summer with, The Mall was such a pleasant surprise! Weirdly, I think my favourite part was the fact that there was no Internet to provide easy answers! That said, The Mall is a testament to how the teenage experience hasn't changed all that much, since I regularly forgot it was set in the 90s until a comment (usually about technology) served as a reminder. 

If you're looking for a fun flashback, this book is 100% for you. 

This review has been posted to Goodreads and will be submitted to Amazon after release.

What a fun read! I really enjoyed this book, set in a New Jersey mall in 1991. All the cultural icons and touchstones are there - the music, the fashions, the stores found in every mall in America. 

The main character, Cassie, is a bit of a Cinderella. She returns to mall culture after a bout of mono. After losing her boyfriend, she finds a new job and herself. This book was a wonderful ode to a young woman's process of finding herself and exploring all the possible identities available to girls just graduating from high school and figuring out where to go in life. 

The author did an amazing job in setting up The Mall as a self contained world, with some interesting "secret" places and surprises. The treasure hunt the characters go on was a good way for them to explore other sub-cultures and to introduce other characters.

I am not a mall person and prefer to shop online these days. However, there's something about my childhood mall, the one I walked in the 90's, that is so nostalgic to me. I can just picture myself browsing Claire's, walking through Kay Bee Toys, or past Spencer Gifts. Of course I had to read a book set at a mall during the summer of 1991. Although I liked reading about the stores, in particular Bellarosa Boutique, I found the characters a bit dramatic and crass. I did enjoy the step back in time though.

Oh the nostalgia!!! And the feels! I just loved reliving the 90's mall scene especially the mall book store and music store which I remember spending so much time in. The only thing missing was Claire's but maybe that came later. And all those super niche stores that sell one thing and no longer exist. The era of no cell phones where you could have a fling and not even know his name! It was so romantic how he just showed up in the rain. That was an 80s movie moment. A treasure hunt with no internet! The Cabbage patch party room. I loved the cameo from Bethany Darling. I wasn't bored for a minute and loved the mall setting. I've been reading Megan Mccafferty for almost 20 years now and hope she makes a return to YA especially with this book. This book made to want to re-read those ghostwritten books by Snooki about the Jersey Shore, "A Shore Thing."

wow I felt like a drifted through time with this book.It was such a carefree and nostalgic glimpse at the mall scene during the 90’s mixed with an unexpected journey of self discovery.

Such a fun read! Megan McCafferty has long been one of my favorites because of the Jessica Darling series and I was so excited to get my hands on an ARC of this book. 

I was definitely not disappointed by the hype around this book. Set in a New Jersey mall in 1991, it's a fast-paced, fantastic retro trip back through time to the days when malls were actually busy and bangs were sky-high. 

Main character Cassie was a bit hard to like at first, but she grows on you. I especially loved the random callbacks to the Jessica Darling books with cameos by past Pineville residents. I hope this is the first of several books in this expanded Pineville universe and am so glad to see McCafferty is back!

I really enjoyed this! I love Megan McCafferty's JESSICA DARLING series and I was so excited to see that she wrote a new book. I loved the MC and all of the characters she meets, and the setting of the mall was really fun. It felt so 90s!

As a big fan of Ms. McCafferty's earlier works, and a child of the 80's, I was excited to read The Mall.  While there were a lot of sections I did enjoy, and the level of attention to detail, overall I don't think this book hits the same emotional levels as the Jessica Darling series.  A bit of a nitpick, but I also find the title incredibly generic.

Thank you, NetGalley for a complimentary copy to read and review.

What do you do when you have your whole future planned out, and then it falls apart in a matter of days? Cassie Worthy is about to figure it out. Life is rough, and she’s counting down the days till she can flee New Jersey and her job at the mall, surrounded by people she’s trying to avoid, for the rarified streets of NYC, where Barnard College awaits her. But Cassie has valuable lessons to learn about life before she can go. And to her surprise, the mall is the place to be, not just for clothes, but for friendship, confidence, love, and fun. 

This upper-ages YA book, set in the early 90s, will hook readers interested in that vintage feel. They’ll snort as Cassie reads a cassette tape cover and wonders at this new band, some guys calling themselves Nirvana. Anyone who has had the rug pulled out from under their feet will relate to Cassie. She’s no Mary Sue though- Cassie has her own flaws, and is luckily surrounded by characters not afraid to point them out. Overall, The Mall is an enjoyable read, for current teens learning about the 90s as a history lesson, to the people who would have been Cassie’s contemporaries.

Megan McCafferty is a gift to us all. 

McCafferty’s Jessica Darling series in the early-aughts was literally the voice of my high school years. I loved the wit of her characters and her ability craft stories poignant and real, yet also fun.  

When I saw that we the people were going to be BLESSED with a new work by the one and only McCafferty, and that it was going to be set in the MALL, I knew I would not be disappointed. 

This book is as if the Melanie’s Mall toy had a love child with the Goonies with a sprinkle of Dynasty and 90210 and it’s everything I ever wanted from life. 

I was too young to be a mallrat at the exact time this is set, but my god, it’s close enough. As a girl who grew up on the Jersey Shore (and spent a lot of time at the Ocean County Mall as a teen) there’s a local flavor to McCafferty’s work that sparks so much joy. I literally get every reference. I tabbed every mention of Toms River and Casino Pier. I may have grown up closer to Jenks than Seaside, but my god every word she writes hits a cord of nostalgia so strong I found myself inadvertently cheering. I always entered the Mall through JC Penny. All I was missing was the Auntie Anne’s.  

I firmly believe that, while the nostalgia was a highlight for me, this book would be enjoyable for any age. Did you enjoy Stranger Things season 3? Great, then picture less Demogorgon and more Dawson’s Creek meets My Cousin Vinny and then you have THE MALL. The coming-of-age tale and humor can be appreciated by someone of any age. 

Like always, McCafferty’s characters feel fully fleshed out and believable. The surprise treasure hunt plot was absolutely delightful and it led Cassie and the delightful Drea throughout all the best spots in the mall. I adored Cassie and Drea both, but I myself having a real fascination with Zoe, a surprisingly compelling side character. I loved every aspect of this book and cannot recommend it enough as a welcome distraction. 

Best enjoyed with: An Orange Julius, America’s Best Cookie Fat Free Fudgie, and Panda Express – or whatever else you can find in the food court.  

*I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

2 stars of 5. Not my type of book. It was okay, but I was not happy with it. 

What I liked about this book: the dialogues, they were interesting and crafty. However, the rest of the inner-dialogue was quite boring and shallow, it lacked authentic and complex feelings and themes. 
It was rather more irritating to read than rewarding. I didn't feel any connection or sympathy towards the main character whatsoever-- for I found her to be whiny, annoying, and pitifully oblivious to everyone and everything around her.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this book.

Loved the minor characters, especially loved remembering the 90s mall scene. 

Spoilers: I have to admit, I had a hard time with Cassie, the main character, for much of the book. She just seemed very self-centered. By the end, however, I understood her more and felt like she redeemed herself.

I just turned the last page of The Mall and I wish I could start it all over again.  Set in the summer of 1991, at a New Jersey we meet Cassandra Worthy. Cassandra, aka Cassie, has just missed the end of her senior year to mono. Having recovered and needing to work before starting college in NYC in the fall she finds a job in a mall.  What she anticipated for the summer turns into an unexpected adventure that leads her to learn more than she could have ever imagined.
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Let me start by saying this book brought back a whole lot of memories.  I was going into my sophomore year of high school that summer and can completely remember all of the cultural references.  Plus I absolutely adore the use of cabbage patch kids to solve a mystery and to provide a tour of all the old stores in the mall.  Simply brilliant!
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But what I most love about this book was Cassie, her summer of growth, and the female friendships that she develops.  Riot grrrls indeed! 
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If you are looking for an entertaining read that showcases the early 90s and the beauty  and empowerment of true female friendships then this is the book for you!  Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.  #themall is out June 9th - so be sure to add it to your TBR list.