3.5⭐ The best word I can use to describe this book is cute. If you grew up in the 90's, you'll appreciate the sappy love song lyrics, named bands, stereotypical mall stores, and 90210 references. This is a cute coming of age girl finds herself story. It's a cute summer beach read. It won't blow you away or keep you up at night, but it will make you smile and that's really all we need right now. Thank you to netgalley and St Martin's Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Happy to read another story that takes place in Pineville, New Jersey. Loved how 90% of the setting was based in the mall, story was really fun and would love to see it be made into a movie one day. Very entertaining read!

The Mall is a nostalgia-filled teen novel that looks at one girl's last few weeks before leaving for college. It's 1991. Cassie Worthy missed the last days of her high school career due to being sick with mono. As she finally recovers, she can't wait to start her job at the mall with her boyfriend, Troy. She's ready to get back to normal and back to the plan that she and Troy have had figured out: job at the mall for the summer, move New York, go to college.

Things don't exactly go to plan, though. Cassie is greeted at the mall by Troy's new girlfriend and she's lost her job at the food court. Cassie scrambles to get back to normal. She finds a new job with her old best friend and even starts flirting with a cute guy at the record store. As Cassie counts down the days until she can leave her small New Jersey town, she is hit with the realization that she can learn a lot from the people around her.

The Mall was an okay story. It was mostly unoriginal and Cassie is very unlikable. She is mean to everyone around her and acts very immaturely for an 18 year old. I can understand her being angry at Troy for cheating on her, but whenever he tries to approach her, she throws things, she yells, she storms off. She ditches her friend, Drea, after promising to help her with a college application and this is played off as the thought of Drea leaving their small town as laughable. Cassie is self-centered and annoying and I'm not convinced she changes at the end. It is a rushed apology scene and doesn't really feel like anything was resolved.

If you are looking for a quick read set in the 1990s, then you'll enjoy The Mall. But don't look for much else.

Cassie Worthy has just finished high school (albeit she missed the last couple of months, prom and graduation due to the worst case of mono ever) and is stoked to start her job at the mall working right alongside her boyfriend of 2 years. Then day 1 she gets dumped and loses her job. What follows is a tale of friends, heartbreak, hope, shopping, and treasure hunting set against the backdrop of 1991.


"But there I was, with my lips on Slade's chest, and my God, I didn't know if it was the coconut oil or what but he tasted friggin' delicious."


Full of sass and some sexiness, the pacing of this book should propel teens right through from heartbreak to hope.Sometimes though, the disconnect between Cassie's character and her actions confused me. For the most part I found this book to be an easy read, but after finishing it up I couldn't help but feel that something was missing. And I'm still not entirely sure what that "something" is if I'm being honest.


Oddly enough, this was my 2nd book in a row that was set in the 90s, but I was less frustrated with the setting in this book than my last one. My big issue with this book was, while I like characters being redeemed, the sudden change in one particular character (the "fully-formed monster from the fires of the Hades, a malevolent, vengeful hell-beast forged in the underworld's furnace to make my last summer in Pineville as miserable as possible") gave me whiplash. That being said, actual teens may not take much notice of the problems I had with the storyline.



Purchase where real-world teen fiction flies off the shelves.


I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I'm a sucker for a nostalgic read, so I was really excited going into this one- bring on the 80s/ 90s references! Sadly I could just not get into it and found it a chore to read. I couldn't connect with any of the characters, they were all so shallow and immature (more than a realistic teenager). The dialogue was just so corny and came off as being unnatural and forced. I did appreciate some of the fun pop culture references, so I enjoyed that brief trip down memory lane. I think think the writing style appeals to a younger audience, but I don't think they can fully appreciate the references or reading about mall culture, not having grown up during this time. For me, being from this generation, I just couldn't connect to the writing style- so I have trouble even figuring out who to best market or recommend this to.

I have to admit that I'm a 90s baby so I didn't get to experience the glory of the mall as a teenager in the 90s, but I do have fond memories of roaming the mall with my grandma in the early 2000s and this book brought back SO many of those memories. Anyone remember B. Dalton Books (aka my favorite store for the longest time)? IT'S MENTIONED IN THE MALL! The mention alone earns The Mall same brownie points.

The Mall is a quick, easy, and mindless read that will have you feeling nostalgic and laughing nonstop. I finished the book in two sittings! The Mall is rich with 90s references and humor that will have you yearning for simpler times.

While I liked the book, it wasn't particularly anything to write home about, hence the 3.5 stars. Aside from the nostalgia and humor, the book lacked real substance, which is usually what I like most about young adult novels. Also, while The Mall reads like a young adult novel, I can't imagine any true YA-aged readers would appreciate the intense 90s nostalgia. I'm a 90s baby and I still felt like I was too young to fully appreciate the book! I definitely would recommend The Mall to anyone who lived through or loved the 90s, but would caution that it won't change your life.

On paper, this should have been my jam. I LOVE the Jessica Darling books and I think Megan McCafferty is a great writer. I also am just about the perfect age for this book, and I love puzzles/mysteries. But somehow this just felt a bit hollow to me. I almost felt as if I was reading the outline of a book - I kept waiting for more character development, especially for Cassie and her love interest (known throughout the novel as Sam Goody, the store where he works). I just wanted more - more story development, more character development, and more focus on the mystery/puzzle aspect. I did love the setting, and I felt like McCafferty really captured those 90s mall feels.

I am not sure if this book description would have appealed to me before these days of self-isolation. I live about two miles from a mall, and a walk last week showed me a side of it I have rarely seen. Everything closed, no cars, and the few people enjoying a stroll of a sunny, spring day, all staying well over six feet apart. Welcome to spring in New York in the new normal! I honestly never go to this mall, but the thought of going back to the nineties when my best friend and I would go there and have so much fun was an irresistible pull.
The Mall is a short book and it was a quick read. It was like entering a time machine for a little while and reliving the past. The main character Cassie is smart and has her life well planned. Unfortunately, she gets sick and by the time she is better, her boyfriend has moved on, her summer job at the mall is gone, and so are all of her well thought out plans. She gets a different job, rebuilds an old friendship, and well, has more than one mall adventure.
This wound up being an entertaining read and left me with a nostalgic feeling for those days when going to the mall was wonderful. If this were normal times, I would say this would have been a three-star, I liked the book. Considering that these times are not at all normal, it is a four-star, I enjoyed this book. If you have any fond mall memories, you might enjoy The Mall too!

I was a big fan of Megan McCafferty back in the day. I was probably around thirteen years old when I started reading her Jessica Darling series, hiding the books under others in my room so that my mom wouldn’t find out I was reading something called Sloppy Firsts. (As if she would have cared that I was reading a YA romance novel.)

A couple years ago, I went to a YA panel moderated by Megan McCafferty. I thought about how much I’d loved her books when I was younger, but still didn’t read more from her. Then I saw The Mall show up on Netgalley and knew I had to read it. 90s nostalgia set in New Jersey, where I lived for seven years of my adult life? PLEASE.

And I will say that The Mall is a fun book. It’s a very, very easy read, and it probably took me no more than three hours to read all 320 pages. It has a little bit of everything: romance, heartbreak, a treasure hunt, rekindling of an old friendship, family drama… there’s a lot here to love.

But unfortunately, because there’s so much going on, it never really focuses on anything aside from the mall. The best way I can summarize this book is “a summer at the mall,” because that’s really the only constant in the story. Sure, there’s a romance, but it’s never at the forefront of the book. Sure, there’s some heartbreak, but it’s honestly pretty brief. Sure, there’s a treasure hunt, but it never seemed to me that Cassie took it all that seriously. And sure, there’s some family drama, but Cassie seems like she just wants to pretend it isn’t happening. (Which, of course, was completely understandable.) Of all the plot threads in this book, the rekindling of an old friendship between Cassie and her coworker Drea is probably the biggest, but even that never really feels like the point of the book.

So in the end, while I had fun reading this book, I can’t say that I particularly loved it. For me, it was a solid three-star read.

As a 90s kid, I knew I would find a lot of nostalgia reading this book. I was transported back to Saturdays spent all day in the mall trying on funky hats and sunglasses with my besties. This is a feel-good, grrrlpower nod complete with tube dresses and Cabbage Patch dolls. I spritzed myself with Bath & Body Works splash and puckered on my best frosted Lip Smackers. If you’re looking for a summer adventure story complete with boys, drama, and 90s playlists, this one’s for you.

Cassie Worthy has her life all planned out. The perfect boyfriend, the perfect college acceptance, the perfect summer job. Then she comes down with an extreme case of Mono which secludes her from the world for the rest of her Senior year. She comes to find out that most of the things in her life which she thought were perfect were actually far from it. I enjoyed this coming-of-age novel which centers around a mall in New Jersey in the 90's. It was very nostalgic. I also enjoyed the New Jersey references, being from New Jersey myself. Cassie reunites with a prior best friend and goes on a treasure hunt with her. This allows them to rebuild their lost friendship. I thought this book was well written and well thought out. It wasn't "wow-ing" in any way which is why I'm only giving it 4 stars. Overall, it was a good read and a way to escape the world for a little while.

Wave goodbye to your mom, run in through the automatic doors and breathe in the smell of chlorinated fountains—it’s the early 90s and we are AT. THE. MALL.

The Mall by Megan McCafferty seeks to recreate the thrill of being at the mall the month before school starts. It allllllmost does the trick. There’s a treasure hunt and a constant soundtrack of 90s music, and those two things made me (unfairly) start comparing it to Ready Player One, and it never quite lived up to it.

But that’s my own fault! You should read this! Stop refreshing the coronavirus hashtag every three minutes (just me?) and get lost in this fictional mall!

I am a huge Megan McCafferty fan, and this book makes me love her even more. The setting of the mall is a character in itself, and the nostalgia is so highly specific and detailed. I smiled so much while I was reading. The Cabbage Patch mystery was so much fun. So many great Easter Eggs for Jessica Darling fans. This book would make an amazing movie!

This was such a fun, nostalgic read! It was like going back in time. The MC had such a beautiful transformation during her summer months. I especially enjoyed her relationship with Drea.

I loved the premise and going back in time to the 90's. Who doesn't love the 90s!?
While I was certainly feeling nostalgic, I didn't fall in love with the characters or the story.
I found myself pushing through just to finish the book. The story read a lot like a movie plot, which I normally dig. Instead, I found myself just wanting to watch this plot in an hour episode while munching on an afternoon snack.

This was a fun little book that took me back to my own 90s mall memories. I like how the author used the Cabbage Patch mystery to take readers through all the mall stores in a way that wasn't ridiculously contrived.

I absolutely loved this nostalgic throwback. I've long been a fan of McCafferty---I grew up with Jessica Darling. The cover is stunning and the story contains all the elements of teen life--sour relationships and difficult friendships. Takes place in the pre-cell phone days, when malls hosted fashion shows in the food court, and you were lucky if you had an old beater of a car to make out in. I can smell the cookie stand and hear the arcade as I read!

This reminded me of Mallrats and the hours I spent at the mall in my youth in the best possible way. Would be a great choice for a mother-daughter book club and I can see it appealing to adult age YA fans, in addition to current teens.

I enjoyed this one. A light read with several interweaving plots going on, but it never felt to crowded. My only real complaint with it was with some of the seemingly random details and touches thrown in that didnt contribute to the story. The one that really just bugged me was the 90210 scale she used for the mall. I know this detail was supposed to draw you into the feel of the era, but it was so overdone. Not to mention, this is a young adult book, A lot of the readers are not going to be familiar enough with 90210 to recall who the exact people are and what they looked like. Especially after learning some more about Troy during the book, i have a hard time believing he would joke about that with Cassie enough to be considered an inside joke. Every time this bit would come up, it would just rip me from the story.
To avoid giving spoilers this issue will be very vague, Helen's final scene versus Drea's scene at the fashion show. Why did you have to do that to Drea?
All in all a fun read about a teenage girl coming into her own while working a summer job. There's love, loss, treasure, cabbage patch kids, and all kinds of hi-jinks and drama in between.

I was a young kid in the '90s, not a teen, but this read was still super nostalgia-filled and felt very much like an old teen movie. The characters are the sort of caricatures you would expect from a story like this -- the overachiever whose well-laid plans are upended; the pretty, well-dressed girl who seems materialistic and vapid but is more than meets the eye; the cute alternative guy who gets the overachiever to loosen up; the crappy ex-boyfriend who seemed like a catch but was actually a jerk -- and the plot is pretty much what one might expect. This books is like eating a bag of '90s candy; It's good fun in the moment but lacks any real depth.

This book has an interesting premise, but lacks depth. The characters are one-dimensional, and the plot is lacking. I truly wanted to like it, based on the fun premise, but I just couldn't get into it.