Grab your denim jackets and hairspray because it's time to party like it’s 1991! Beloved New York Times bestselling author of the Jessica Darling series, Megan McCafferty, takes readers on an epic trip back in time in her new novel The Mall which comes out July 28th.
This love letter to the 90s is chock full of nostalgic references to NKOTB, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, 90210, and more. Any one who grew up in the 90s (or wishes they were) will love the backdrop of the novel and all the minute details that just make this book all that and a bag of chips! While I didn't grow up in the early nineties personally, I could still appreciate the references and setting of the story. Plus the treasure hunt that Cassie takes part in keeps the reader wondering where the next clue will be hidden and what’s at the end of the hunt.
However, this coming-of-age book isn’t just a funny teen rom-com with a built in treasure hunt. It also tackles those classic YA tropes of fitting in, getting back at an ex who screwed you over, friend drama, and the mysterious boy next door, who takes the form of a Sam Goody worker that Cassie can’t keep her eyes off of in this story. All of these themes combine to create a funny yet meaningful book about becoming your own person and finding camaraderie amongst your fellow mall employees.
McCafferty does a great job of representing a nostalgic yet relevant story that any fans of YA will enjoy. This book is just barrels of fun and so engaging that you’ll want to keep reading it long after it’s over! The Mall is the ultimate throwback feel-good book you’ll want to add to your summer reading list.

*I received an ARC from Wednesday Books in exchange for my honest opinion.

Book Review
Title: The Mall
Author: Megan McCafferty
Genre: YA/Coming of Age
Rating: **
Review: I didn’t know anything about The Mall when I was offered the chance to review it, so I knew this is going to be a journey for me and it wasn’t a great one. From the very beginning I didn’t like Cassie as a protagonist as she casually mentions using sex as a way to become closer to her boyfriend, Troy after battling mono for several weeks which put me off in the first couple of pages. I also knew something was going on with Troy as it was blatantly obvious in the way he treated Cassie and I had the suspicion that he had moved on with someone else because they are teenagers and I was right.
It took me over a week to finish the Mall because of the issues I had with the plot, characters, pacing etc and if I hadn’t been taking part in the blog tour, I probably would have DNF’d it quite early on. So, let’s drive into the problems I had with The Mall:
1. Characters – I briefly mentioned my dislike of Cassie, the protagonist, which is never a good sign for me. A good protagonist can usually get me through a book I don’t really like. Cassie is annoying, whinny and has severe communication issue which directly result in a lot of “drama” that this book puts forward. If Cassie communicated like anyone else this would be have been a lot shorter and I probably would have liked it more. Tory as an ass (not much else I can say) and the other characters weren’t fleshed out, they felt like cardboard cut outs of people rather than actual people.
2. Pacing – There are serious pacing issues with The Mall, it tries to build some tension and drama that ultimately falls flat. Some parts of the book were so slow it took me days to get through them and in other parts things moved so quickly nothing got the attention it needed which meant as a reader, I didn’t care about what happened.
3. Plot – This is where I had the biggest problem with The Mall, nothing happened. Yes, in the beginning Cassie finds out her boyfriend cheated on her while she was sick, and she got fired. She did get another job and love interest, but these were surface plots, there was nothing deep or meaningful about them, so it felt for the majority of the novel like nothing was happening. Most people will assume this is what coming of age stories are like, but hear me out, I recently read Mayhem by Estelle Laure which for the majority of the novel is a YA coming of age story about a young girl dealing with an abusive stepfather and an estranged family. However, because you really connect with the characters you overlook the slower moments and there is a lot of background tension to keep the reader hooked for the big reveal towards the middle of the story. After that reveal you just fly through the remaining pages. I have also read so many other coming of age stories like The Perks of Being a Wallflower that do “normal” so much better than The Mall. That doesn’t mean that The Mall doesn’t have potential because it did, I just felt like it was wasted focusing on a group of teenagers we didn’t really care about.
Now I’ve discussed the problems let’s move onto the things I liked:
1. Pop culture reference – Much like Ready Player One, The Mall is full of pop culture references and as 90’s child, these genuinely made me laugh and smile, although at times I did feel they were a little overused.
2. Setting – The mall setting of this story was one I hadn’t really seen before but it totally worked as it is the exact place you would expect these characters to spend a lot of their free time and where anything significant might happen.
Overall, while The Mall had some redeeming qualities it just really let me down and for that reason, I can’t rate it higher than 2 stars. I will be keeping an eye on the author and if she puts something out in the future that catches my eye, I will give it a go, but The Mall was a miss for me.

We’ve all been there, that awkward time between high school graduation and the rest of your life. The awkwardness, the humiliation, finding your friends, working. And it all happened at the mall!! You know you have a favorite entrance :) this coming of age story tells the story of Cassies summer. Filled with nostalgia and charm. Laugh out load funny and super entertaining.

This book is a Luke Perry, flannel coated, orange julius sipping fever dream of teenage glory. Today’s new adult reads can relate to Cassie’s pre-college growing pains. And old 90’s kids like me can revel in all the nostolgic feels this book brings. The story is set in The Mall which is a fantastic setting and helps create some zany characters who all help our Cassie come to terms with who she is and what she wants from life. This is a coming of age story like I’ve never read before. I honestly could not put this down. Also, I now need to rewatch Beverly Hills 90210 STAT.

I had such high hopes. I mean, it’s a book set in 1991 and is practically an ode to late 80’s/early 90’s pop culture (90210, Designer Imposter perfumes, Wilson Phillips and Color Me Badd). And it’s Megan McCafferty, the creator of the Jessica Darling series (which, by the way, never got the attention it deserved). But I’m sad to say, The Mall just didn’t do it for me. Main character Cassie was quite a pill. Cassie was wallowing in post break-up status and absolutely oblivious to anything or anyone around her. She was super judgey about everyone she encountered and behaved like a total brat with her parents. So there was that. It’s the summer between high school graduation and college and Cassie was meant to be spending it working with her longtime boyfriend at America’s Best Cookie. Instead, he cheats on her, they break up, and she gets fired (I never did understand why she got fired.) She finds a job at another mall shop, working with her former bff, and gets pulled into a bizarre scavenger hunt while continuing to be whiny and self-indulgent. By the end it seemed like she supposedly learned a lesson from the other mall-ites she encountered which felt too after-school-special for me. I’m bumping this one up by a half-star sheerly for the nostalgia factor of all the 90’s references. (Side note: The 90’s setting, while fun, seemed like an odd choice considering that anyone old enough to actually remember and appreciate the references is much older than the intended YA audience.)

This was so fun! I enjoyed the characters and theire journeys. The setting was such a nostalgic mundane environment and really brought the story to life. The 'mystery' was perfectly cheesy and helped balance the personal growth and romance story lines. It just such a light easy read, well worth checking it out!

This was set in 1991. I was too young to experience mall culture like the characters in the book. I did enjoy the pop culture references! The mention of 90210 brought me back to the purple high top sneakers I had with the show’s logo. I was too young to watch the show, but I loved those shoes!

I didn’t really enjoy the main character, Cassie. I have a deep love for flawed, messy characters. In YA, I love a messy character because we all make mistakes. It’s human nature to make those mistakes and learn from them. Cassie was the epitome of perfection with the high school boyfriend, the top college and the set plan for life. She finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her—and I just felt like I’d run to the damn hills if someone wanted a “plan” with me at 17/18.

90s nostalgia was great, but I may have enjoyed this more if a perfectionist MC wasn’t the focus of the book.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy.

If Sam Goody, Spencer's Gifts, The Piercing Pagoda and Cucumber Melon mean anything to you read The Mall. This was a fun throwback to the 90's and those that grew up in the 90's will love it. This is a YA novel and I honestly don't know how it will be recieved by teens - so much of the enjoyment for me came from having lived my kid and teen life at the mall in the 90s. This book is all that and a bag of chips.

Big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC!

I enjoyed this! I flew through it in less than 24 hours, because it was a fun and exciting story. Although I was born in 1994, this novel made me nostalgic. My mom worked in "the mall" for most of my childhood, so I related to spending hours exploring shops, food courts, and arcades. Some of the themes and characters felt somewhat underdeveloped, however this story still reads like a teen drama!

Overall, this was a really fun and light read! If you're looking for a kick of 90s nostalgia without having to think too much about details, I recommend this young adult novel!

I grew up in the 80's and 90's when the mall was the place to BE. The boys played in the arcade. The girls shopped all over the place. Everyone met at Hot Dog On a Stick. Listened to music in Sam Goody and looked for movies nextdoor in Suncoast Video. Seeing a movie in the movie theater. Growing up where we now could have jobs in the mall. I applied for a job at Kaybee Toys, but my parents shot that down. I have a lot of memories from that time. So a story that takes place in the early 90's at the center of it all? Enter Robin Sparkles - let's go to the mall!

WHAT I LOVED: The nostalgia of it all. When there were concerts in the middle of the mall (I see you Tiffany!) and fashion shows before back to school time and prom. When you would run into what felt like everyone you knew. The story centered around 3 main plot points: Cassie discovering her boyfriend was cheating on her, rediscovering her old grade school best friend, and a treasure hunt involving Cabbage Patch dolls, all in the summer before she was to escape her old life by heading off to college.

I enjoyed the story for what it was - a light read that was amusing to reminisce about the time period. Was it predictable? Yes, except for the treasure at the end of the treasure hunt. I did not see that coming and it made me chuckle. Was it entertaining? If you are coming off of reading a very heavy subject matter, this book is a good palate cleanser. My favorite character was Cassie's old best friend, Drea. She was, by far, the most thought out character out of everyone. Everyone else was just there to help nudge the story along, but Drea actually had some heart and soul to her. She wasn't a wooden one-dimensional character to me. She stood out more to me than even Cassie did. I never got the sense that Cassie grew up at all during that summer. But Drea did. If this was a hashtag moment, I would be #teamdrea.

So awesome! An awesome and fun story about friendship, growing up, and being true to yourself. And a fun scavenger hunt.

I really enjoyed this book! It was a wonderful throwback to the 90s! A time that I don't really remember well but I do remember when malls were hang outs and it was the place to be.
I found that McCafferty's story was one that was unique- it was fun to read about the characters as they went on a scavenger hunt around the mall for clues, hoping to find a buried treasure.
Cassie has just finished her senior year and she's awaiting for August when she'll leave her hometown in NJ for the busy streets of NYC. She's excited to be working with her boyfriend at the mall. Much to Cassie's dismay, her summer does not start off in the way that she plans but it helps her in ways that she never expected!

This 90s-inspired novel transported me completely to The Mall. McCafferty had me wanting more from the 90s and wanting to be born a little bit earlier than 1994.

Cassie cannot wait to head out of New Jersey and straight to New York at the end of the summer. In the mean time, her plan is to work alongside her boyfriend, until that plan fails. Her boyfriend dumps her and she ends up getting fired. She ends up finding a job at a boutique, owned by her ex-best friend's mom. Soon, the girls put aside their differences when Drea pulls Cassie in on a treasure hunt around The Mall.

This novel was adventure-filled and had me glued to its pages! Cassie is a quirky and fun character I enjoyed. Being inside her head was lots of fun. Drea was a character I adored! I want this girl's self-esteem. She embraces herself and doesn't care about the rumor-mill.

This friendship was the highlight for me in the story. You guys know I love to read books with romance. Basically, if it doesn't have romance, I don't want it. Let me tell you that this book had me forgetting it didn't have romance, and had me rooting for the friendship, the treasure hunt, and just everything! I honestly couldn't stop reading this wonderful masterpiece. I loved the tribute it gave to the 90s, with the jean jackets, the pins, the music, the mall itself.

Speaking of which, I felt like The Mall was its own character. I don't know how the author did it, but she managed to have me caring for a building. I was never once bored with the setting just being the mall. It actually enhanced the reading experience because a lot could be touched on with depth, instead of brushing it off.


Aside from friendship, this book also focused on finding oneself. Cassie had a lot of soul-searching to do, and I think this book touched on everything it needed without it feeling too much. Cassie slowly grew throughout the novel and in the end, she ended up becoming "the best possible version" of herself.

Overall, The Mall is a nostalgic and adventurous 90s-inspired novel with a lovely focus on friendship and discovering oneself.

So glad to have Megan McCafferty back writing YA! This was such a fun read, and I loved the mall setting. It had just enough teen drama to keep things interesting, but it wasn't dramatic to the point of being unbelievable, which I don't enjoy. A perfect summer read.

The Mall was a fun time machine to go back and see the 90’s! I really enjoyed all of the 90’s references. As much as I wanted to enjoy this book, I just could not connect with Cassie. I understand that she’s a teenager and teens are angsty, but she was a bit too angsty for my taste. I absolutely loved Drea though and Sam! I guess I had a hard time connecting to the story itself because I was never really a big fan of Cabbage Patch Kids to begin with. All in all, I think the coming of age message was well done, just wish the main character was more likeable. 2.5/5 stars from me

The Mall by Megan McCafferty is a delightfully fun read. It encompasses 90's culture, adventure, romance, and friendship in an environment we all know and love- the Mall!

This book is chocked full of music references and pop culture from the 90s: my childhood - so (of course) I LOVED it! This novel takes place the summer between Cassie's senior year and going off to college. She had a bad case of mono and had to miss out on a lot of milestone events like prom and graduation. But despite this, she has been released to see her boyfriend and start at her job in the mall so that the plan can move forward.

Cassie is the type of person who has a plan and always figures out a way to achieve it. It is when she goes back to her first day at work in the mall that things all seem to fall apart. Her boyfriend, Troy, left her and she lost her job= the plan is ruined. But she is determined to salvage her summer and the plan to get her life back on track. She reunites with a childhood best friend and the plan begins to change.

This book perfectly encompasses friendship, adventure (picture Goonies but in a mall), loss of innocence (in more ways that one), and how the bonds we make are only as strong as the work you are willing to put into them. I can picture this book as a favorite among both my students and some of my teachers. This is a light fun read- The Mall releases on July 28, 2020! http://kaitlynrcarpenter.weebly.com/blog/the-mall-by-megan-mccafferty-fresh

I had a blast getting trapped in 1991 with Cassie and Drea!
Fantastic characters in a cute story with so much nostalgia (both good & bad lol).
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my DRC.

"The chlorinated waters of the Wishing Well ran black with mascara today."

This was a fast-paced and easy read, but I was left wanting more. In The Mall, we follow Cassie, who is just out of high school and is about to head off to college in NYC at the end of the summer. She and her boyfriend, Troy, have always had a plan for life. Work at the mall over the summer, go to college, get married etc. But when Troy breaks up with her after she recovers from mono, and the plan fall through, Cassie spends the summer finding herself, rekindling old and new relationships, and hunting for a lost treasure hidden in the mall.

This book is extremely fast paced and easy to read. I found myself flying through it without even realizing it. The mall setting was also pretty interesting and I enjoyed following the characters to different parts of the mall and the characters within the different stores. This book plays hard on nostalgia with all of the 90s references, and that was, in my opinion, all the book had going for it. Although the plot initially sounded interesting to me, the treasure hunt clues were found easily, and the "prize" was super unsatisfying. The writing itself was pretty simplistic, and as a result, I had a hard time connecting with the characters or truly becoming invested in the plot line.

Overall, this was a really quick and easy read, but I wanted more substance and depth from the story.

It's 1991 and the summer at The Mall. This is a great story of young girls having just graduated from high school working summer jobs at The Mall before taking off for college. Cassie is headed to Barnard after the summer and her job at The Mall. This is a fun, quirky rom-com story. Lot's of hijinks, young love and trying to make it through summer. Perfect summer by the beach or pool read. Thank you #NetGalley#WednesdayBooks#TheMall

Cassie Worthy has a Plan. Her plan involves her boyfriend Troy, making money at their shared job, and eagerly awaiting their departure to Barnard and Columbia University in New York. And then Cassie gets sprayed in the face with cucumber melon body spray by her boyfriend's new girlfriend. Cassie spends the summer trying to figure out who she is without the plan.

I really, really enjoyed this book. Not only is it nostalgic for me as an elder Millennial, but Megan McCafftery's Jessica Darling series was one of first series I was truly obsessed with (besides HP) - I even made several friends at book signings! It was amazing to read a YA book from her again, and I LOVED the cameos from the Jessica Darling series.

There were definitely laugh out loud moments, and the characters felt relatable. This one is verging more on new adult than YA, but I think anyone who loves the 90s, subtle mysteries (the Cabbage Patch dolls!!), or coming of age stories will have a good time reading it.