It has been 8 years since I read a Megan McCafferty book. I remember falling in love with her books in 2002 when I read Sloppy Firsts and continued that love when I read her Bumped duology. So I was really excited when I first heard about The Mall. And then I was extra excited when I read that it took place in 1991. I was a teenager in the 90s so I knew it would be fun to reminisce about a decade I loved. In the end I really enjoyed The Mall, but I didn’t love it.

The Mall is a story about Cassie Worthy, a recent high school graduate who is ready to work in the mall all summer with her boyfriend. But when her boyfriend unexpectedly breaks-up with her the pans she has perfectly crafted blow up in her face. Instead she finds herself single and looking for a new job. Set in a mall in New Jersey in 1991 Cassie navigates a summer she never expected and it might just be the summer she needed.

First and foremost, the thing I liked about The Mall the most was the 1991 mall setting. I loved the 90210 references, the stores that no longer exist, and of course the fashion! And since the time frame was so close to the 80s, it was nice to get a few 80s references too, like the great Cabbage Patch Kid trend. I also really liked Cassie getting back in touch with an old friend and learning her plan may not have been all that great for her and was really just great for her ex. What I didn’t love was the pacing. The time frame jumped really quick and I felt like a lot of story was missing because of those time jumps.

When all was said and done, The Mall was a nostalgic read that was entertaining but not that the level I was expecting from McCafferty. If you grew up in the 90s you will definitely enjoy this for the ride down memory lane.

4.5 stars. What a fun blast from the past! From the clothes to the music to the world of a 1990s mall, there was a lot of nostalgia here for me. I am not sure if today's teens/young adults will enjoy the time period as much as I did - some of the references might not click. But I thought they were a hoot.

Strip the walk down memory lane from this and you have a fairly standard bounce-back-from-the-break-up-rediscover-an-old-friend story. The characters are terrific, and I enjoyed the swirl of interpersonal relationships that moved around the treasure hunt which was part of the core of this story.

I struggled to figure out how to categorize the genre of this. Is a book that takes place in the 1990s really "historical?" The definitions I found said it's not historical unless it's at least 50 years in the past or before the middle of the last century. So I guess it's not historical. But it doesn't feel "contemporary" either with its Barbara Streisand cassettes and Cabbage Patch dolls. There's a romance piece to this, but it's really more about Cassie preparing to leave for college and dealing with the relationships in her life. There's tons here for readers to enjoy, even if the 90s references don't grab you like they did me. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole novel. Be sure to check this one out! (Language, sex, sexual references, TW: sexual assault reference)

4.5 stars

Campy, really fun read! I am not ashamed to admit that I loved this book. It could be that what I needed was some fun, early 90s nostalgia in this time of COVID and being stuck with two anxious kids.

Cassandra has just graduated from high school and is looking forward to working at the mall cookie shop with her boyfriend Troy before they both head off to college. And then, she finds out that while she's been out of circulation with mono for two weeks that Troy has dared to cheat on her with the crunchy haired girl from Bath & Body Works. After she is assaulted by said girl with cucumber melon body spray, Cassandra also finds out that she's been fired from the cookie shop. So, now she needs to find another job. She ends up getting a job as a bookkeeper at Bellarosa Boutique, a flashy women's clothing store owned by the mom of her former best friend Drea. Drea also works there and ropes Cassandra into a treasure hunt to find a treasure that was hidden somewhere in the mall in the mid-80's.

OK, this was total fun. I could SMELL the Aquanet and cucumber melon body spray. I could hear the 90's soundtrack. I could taste the Cinnabons! I loved this! It was a nostalgic ride through a mall in the summer of 1991.

<b>What to Listen to While Reading</b>
How Soon is Now? by The Smiths
Good Vibrations by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch
Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice
Gonna Make You Sweat by C + C Music Factory
Trouble Me by 10,000 Maniacs
Losing My Religion by R.E.M.
Come as You Are by Nirvana

Oh, how I have missed Megan McCafferty's young adult books. Much like the Jessica Darling series, The Mall captures all the nostalgia, emotion, and highs and lows of being a teenager. I wouldn't dare go back to those days, but I will enjoy reading about them forever! Another win from McCafferty.

Megan McCafferty’s Jessica Darling series felt like a deep, deep breath when I read it. McCafferty’s words felt witty and engaging in a unique way. Then after college I came across her Bumped and Thumped, I found her writing again drew me in. When I saw that she’d be releasing a new novel, I was thrilled but nervous. Because what are the chances that I’d love all of her books?

Turns out, chances are good, because The Mall was phenomenal.

Set in 1991, The Mall takes place, of course, in the mall. Cassie is just coming off a 2-month case of mono. The worst case her doctor had ever seen. She was home-bound for weeks, bored out of her skull, missing all the senior monumental milestones like prom and graduation. But all of that is behind her now, as her and her reliable boyfriend, Troy, March into the mall to work their summer job together.

But it turns out it’s easy to mistake reliability. Because, as Cassie discovers on her first walk to work, Troy has been lying. Cassie discovers this when she’s assaulted by his new girlfriend wielding a bottle of body spray.

Next up, she’s fired from her job at Troy’s bidding. So she finds herself jobless and single at the start of her last summer at home. She needs a revised plan of action, fast. Which is how she finds herself working at Bellarosa Boutique, arguably the coolest store at the mall, with her ex-best friend.

Cassie is a flawed character, she’s got a lot of growing up to do and like many teens can’t quite see past herself. And throughout the book, through hook ups, makeovers, and treasure hunts, she learns more about being a good friend and a good person.

This book flew by. I was so immersed in the mall of 1991 that I was able to completely dive in to this story. It was a great escape from this pandemic reality we’ve been living in. A story that felt like a return to normalcy, which was quite welcome. I’d be more than thrilled if McCafferty decided to develop a series based on Cassie. I’ll keep my fingers crossed!

Definitely recommend this one, and to really get yourself in the mindset, go youtube Robin Sparkles Let’s Go to The Mall before you crack open the book. It’ll transport you to the perfect setting.

An excerpt (from publisher) and review will be posted on my blog on 7/31/2020.

The premise of the book sounded like so much fun. Recent high school graduate Cassie takes on a job at the local mall in the early 90's. I was so excited for all the nostalgic references! There was some fun mixed in, but Cassie herself wasn't a very likeable character. She seemed to treat everyone around her like dirt, especially her parents. I definitely enjoyed Drea's character more. Overall, I did like the book, but I felt I could have really liked it so much more with more nostalgic bits or if there was a better main character.

Summary: In Megan McCafferty's new book The Mall, Cassie is just biding her time for one last summer in her small suburban New Jersey town, before she can finally go off to college in New York City and begin The Plan, the start of her real life. But the summer isn't going as planned: after she misses the end of high school thanks to mono, by the time she's back on her feet, her boyfriend has moved on and she's lost her position at America's Best Cookie. Now she needs to find a new job in the mall to avoid having to spend time with her detached parents who are , avoid the food court where her ex is swapping spit with his new girlfriend - oh, and help her estranged middle school best friend solve a real mall mystery: is there really a load of cash hidden somewhere in the mall, as employee lore has it?

What I liked: This book has 1990s nostalgia all over it, with the references, the mixtapes and scrunchie style, and of course the classic types of mall stores. I feel like I'm a couple years too young to really feel all of that, but it was still very enjoyable to have the book set in this era - the characters and their interactions just wouldn't have worked in another setting, and I loved that unique feel. And I loved how the story took place almost entirely within the mall itself, or in her parents' car on the way to be dropped off there, but it didn't feel like it was constrained at all - it's like a good sitcom in that way. The characters and dialogue would be great for a sitcom too. Plus I always love a main character who is so type-A and not exactly up on the "cool" scene (e.g., high school me...)

So if you know going in that the story is going to be a bit far-fetched and the tone quite snarky and snappy, you will be set up for success on just going along for a fun ride. And along the way, you'll also find a great coming-of-age story, while Cassie finds love and friendship and even herself in unexpected ways. (Love that it was especially about the friendship and the self-love, not totally focused on the romantic love.) And you'll for sure find yourself reminiscing about your own last summer before college.

Favorite quotes: "Less than five minutes into my triumphant return to the mall, I was targeted for assassination by a rabid spritzer from Bath & Body Works. Before the ambush, I was as happy as anyone making minimum wage could possibly be..."

"As Sam Goody Kissed me--sweetly, softly, tenderly--I had an acute awareness of what I can only describe as anticipatory nostalgia. For the rest of my life, I knew I"d always remember kissing Sam Goody whenever I heard this song, these words."

Recommended for: teenagers, fans of YA authors like Jenny Han with their sweet and naive but spunky heroines, anyone with 1990s nostalgia feelings - or who is just looking for a reading experience that will put a smile on their face right now

Star rating: 4/5 stars, delightful escapist summer fun

The Mall was a cute, fun read. I liked the characters, despite their flaws, and I enjoyed the way that Cassie's plan got foiled, but she continued on and made the best of her final summer before college. The Cabbage Patch Doll scavenger hunt and music references were nice touches, especially since this book was about 1991, and I did not get to experience any of the crazes of that time, but I felt like I got to see 1991 vicariously through this book.

Megan Mccafferty is an author who I will read and buy no matter what. I loved that this took me back to Pineville, and it was exciting to see some familiar faces. Was it as good as Jessica Darling? No, but that series means so much to me nothing would be. This was a fun ode to the joy of The Mall, and was exactly the sort of book I have come to expect from McCafferty.

I gave The Mall 4 stars. It was an easy read and the characters were realistic and mix of likeable and complicated. The storyline has enough aspects to feel like you don’t have to be a fan of romance or mystery or contemporary. It is a good mix. The Mall shows people that they don’t have to be the high school version of themselves forever, it is okay to evolve and discover that you want more for yourself and lift other people up too without having to be snobby or look down your nose at people who want different things from you.

5 out of 5 stars

Megan McCafferty is definitely a fun read! It's the early 90's and Cassie Worthy is super excited to spend the Summer working with her boyfriend in the Mall with her boyfriend. She is finally over the Mono that kept her locked in her house for months on end so she is determined to have a blast. Well, this read like a teen comedy from that era so we know that things do not go as planned!!

As Cassie deals with her teen world falling apart she begins to realize that sometimes things end for a reason and there is often something or someone better out there for you.

If you love the 90's you will love this. This is a fun, Summer must read!

What a weird book this was. If you've been following my reviews for a long time, you may recall that the Jessica Darling series by Megan McCafferty is the book series that I credit to sparking my love for reading way back in the day. With that being said, this book obviously had some big shoes to fill and unfortunately, it really just.. didn't. I can't say that this book was necessarily bad, but it truly just felt kind of pointless and even a little bit cringey. It is set in the 90s and follows our main character Cassandra as she goes on a treasure hunt (like, a for real treasure hunt with a map lol) in a mall and it was just.. not what I wanted it to be. I am big sad.

Cassie Worthy is back! After a nasty bout with mononucleosis that meant she was quarantined through the ending of her senior year, including prom and graduation, she is back to spend her last summer as a kid working at the mall. But at one of the top jobs of the mall, America’s Best Cookies. She has a plan for the summer, staring with the summer together with Troy at the Parkway Center Mall before they head to New York for college in the fall.

But then she was brutally attacked walking in the mall. She was just walking along with Troy when a short firecracker of a girl jumped out of nowhere and attacked Cassie, spraying her in the face with Bath and Body Works’ Cucumber-Melon spritz. Once Cassie was able to wash the spray out of her eyes, nose, and mouth, she realizes what just happened: Troy’s new girlfriend made herself (and her rabid jealousy) known, and she spilled the beans about Cassie’s losing her job.

No boyfriend. No job. No plan. And this late in the season, it’s too late to find another job that will rate high on the 90210 Scale of Mall Employment Awesomeness. There are just no Dylan McKays left. Cassie is going to have to settle for a David Silvers, or worse, a Scott Scanlon. She scours the mall looking for help wanted signs, but there are only so many rejections a girl can take before she stares into the deep waters of the mall fountain and wonders what’s next. That’s where Gia Bellarosa finds her, and that’s where Gia saves her.

Gia is the owner of Bellarosa Boutique and the mother of Cassie’s best friend from elementary school Drea. She accepts Gia’s job offer to do the books, and in the days to come, Drea shows her the side of the mall that no mere civilian ever sees. As Cassie moves past her broken plans and learns to embrace change, she discovers friendship with a Jersey girl, romance in a music store, and a scavenger hunt through the mall that you have to read to believe.

Megan McCafferty’s The Mall is technically a young adult book, but if you are of a certain age (as I may be), then reading this novel is like reading your high school diary. It is a delightful reminder of the age of Aqua Net, Orange Julius, Sam Goody’s, Dynasty, Ponderosa, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, and of course, B. Dalton.

I absolutely adored this book! For me, it was one of those books where I finished it and immediately wanted to start it all over again. The characters charmed me, the plot was hysterical, and the setting is everything. For anyone who was a teenager (or close enough) in 1991, the mall was everything. For those of us who are (ahem) old, The Mall is a trip back in time to tall bangs and shoulder pads. For those unlucky enough to be younger, this is a time capsule that you should mine for information about why all those older people around you are so strange. Either way, this is not to be missed! NOT TO BE MISSED!

Egalleys for The Mall were provided by St. Martin’s Press (Wednesday Books) through NetGalley, with many, many, many thanks.

Reading The Mall by Megan McCafferty was like taking a step back in time and walking through a mall during my teenage years in the 90s! Set in 1991, this story is about a girl named Cassie and her struggles in love and life while working in a shopping mall during the summer before she leaves for college.

I definitely loved the nostalgic feel and the throwback to some of the things from my childhood/teen years-- Z Cavariccis, Kaybee Toys, Sam Goody, Cabbage Patch Kids and so much more. I feel like this is a young adult book that is written for adults who were young adults in the 90s. It's hard to imagine that a young adult now would appreciate all the 90s references in the book, but I could be wrong about that.

The writing style is clever and quirky, which I usually love and I did love at times in this book. But at times it felt almost TOO clever and the writing grated on my nerves a bit. This is a fairly shallow story, but it is also a fairly fun, fluffy and nostalgic summer read. I think this would best be enjoyed by an adult in their late thirties to early forties who spent some time in their teenage years working or hanging out at a mall!

It's Cassie's last summer before she heads off to college in the fall and she intends to make it the best one yet. She's got a plan but when they all start unraveling she's left wondering what her next move will be.

Cassie is a bit unlikable in my opinion. She can be spoiled and self-centered. I struggled with her attitude towards others but I can understand some of it when it comes to her parents and how much her world is changing around her so suddenly. She did grow on me by the end of the book.

The supporting characters really challenged her which I felt made the story for me. The plot itself was ok and if it weren't for the scavenger hunt and the new friendship she forms with her co-worker I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much as I did.

There's lots of flirting which was fun and the 90's nostalgia really made the book for me. The author put some 90's pop culture and music references all over the place. Overall it was a cute read and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a light YA Contemporary read.

Oh, the nostalgia! I thoroughly enjoyed The Mall - it was a fun read that made me reminisce about my time as a teenager hanging out at the mall.

After losing her summer job at America’s Best Cookie, Cassie searches for another job at the mall. She finds herself working as the bookkeeper at Bellarossa Boutique and working with her friend from middle school - Drea.

One night, Drea mentions the rumors of treasure hidden in the mall, and the two girls work together to find the treasure.

This was a fun read - Cassie and Drea spend time in my favorite mall stores: B. Dalton, KB Toys, Sam Goody. But, the treasure hunt left me with some questions. It’s 1991 - the treasure was hidden in 1983. And no one’s gone looking for it previously?

(WARNING SPOILERS!)
And, considering the “clues” were hidden in plain sight where many, many people saw them everyday. And no one questioned seeing an old school Cabbage Patch doll floating around a decade after they were the “It” toy? Really?

I will say, I didn’t expect what the treasure wound up being. It did make me laugh out loud.

Overall, this was a fun read. Will it be memorable? Probably not. Will it be made into a movie or television series? Probably yes.

Overview: Cassie was supposed to have the perfect last summer before college before executing the plan to go to different colleges in the same city with her boyfriend of two years. After recovering from a bout of mono, she's ready to make it happen, starting with their joint job at America's Best Cookies. On day one, she finds out her boyfriend has been cheating on her and gets fired. To salvage the summer, she goes on the hunt for a new job, reconnects with an ex-best friend, and ends up having a very different kind of adventure than she anticipated. Overall: 3
Full Disclaimer: I DNF'd this ARC at 35%...

I'm going to write this review outside of my traditional format because I didn't actually finish it. I don't know if it's more on me or the book, but I really felt no drive to read it. While I was reading, it was fine. There was nothing super wrong with it, but after almost a week of trying to get through it, I realized that I should probably move on. There just wasn't much to connect to here. The stakes weren't super well established, most of the characters are pretty simple versions of cliches, and a lot of chapters follow very similar arcs.
I have nothing bad to say about the book besides it being bland. I kept waiting for more development to happen or the plot to pick up, but as far as I got, it never did. I enjoyed the peak into the 90s and the specificity of it only taking place inside a New Jersey mall. That's probably why I kept reading for as long as I did. The setting is the most vivid part of the book, and it is used well. But it does limit the story and cause Cassie to do a lot of the same things over and over again to satisfy the word count. I also couldn't see where the book was going or what was being worked towards.
I still feel torn about deciding to not finish it because there was nothing glaringly wrong. I think everything is hard enough right now that I need really captivating books to escape into. This one just couldn't hook me.

This book had way too much content that I didn't like. I read 32% and just couldn't take anymore. That aside, I also didn't find the characters to be likeable and I was bored with the story. I don't recommend it.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention/review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*

The Mall tells the story of Cassandra (Cassie) Worthy who after recovering from being sick and confined to her house due to a severe case of mono, she’s ready to begin phase two of her plan with her boyfriend. They will spend the summer before college working together in The Mall. All that falls apart when she finds herself dumped by her boyfriend for another girl he met at prom, the same prom she convinced him to go to without her and have fun. But worse, now she’s all without a job.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, it was a fun read with (no spoilers) a nice sweet ending that highlights how precious friendships are.

My god, this book!! Was this book laugh out loud funny? Yes! Was it impossible to put down? Yes! Did it have all the appropriate elements of 90s nostalgia to catch my attention? Yes! Was it somewhat unbelievable and silly? Yes! Did I have a good time reading this? You bet I did!!

Honestly if you know me, you KNOW I'm a downright sucker for nostalgia/historical fiction in general. Recently I've been on a 90s kick, and this book hit all the right spots for me! Now, this book is set in summer of 1991; I was born roughly 6 months later. This book depicts a time I've never really experienced (my first memories are from mid-late 90's) but still, going back in time like this was so much fun.

For me this was a hugely enjoyable read! I Just Loved This Book So Much. I loathe the description feel-good but honestly I think that label kind of fits this book. This book proved to be a very quick read that was nearly impossible to put down; I think I read this in two sittings(!). I read this book earlier this month and it made for the perfect summer read, especially considering that this book was actually set in summer too. I found this book to be very entertaining and also fun in a laughing-out-loud kind of way, which is something books very rarely are to me.

The general vibe of this book was right up my alley, I think the part of this story that I had the most fun with was the secret treasure hunt which was some good, slightly silly light fun. The other part of the story is mainly centered around Cassie's personal journey and her growth as a character.

Cassie as a narrator should honestly be insufferable, especially so in the beginning. Frankly, Cassie really reads like 17 which is nice (in my opinion, characters read younger than they're written way too often) but that also means that she, like all 17-year-olds, acts 17. For most of her teenaged life, Cassie has lived by the Plan and has been rigidly doing so, too. Cassie is both a perfectionist and very book-smart while also being kind of rebellious or existing kind of outside the box (she has opinions that go against the mainstream and is a feminist which I can imagine was kind of a big deal in the early 90s) at the same time. She's also into some seriously awesome music. Like most teenagers, Cassie's a walking contradiction. She looks down on other people, assumes things about them, does absolutely awful things to other people at times while also standing up for a lot of things she believes in and being awesome and brave. She's a ball of anxiety while also being confident in herself and her abilities, sometimes stupidly so. Nobody's perfect but for someone who calls themselves a feminist, she spends an awful lot of time putting other girls down. That feels like a very realistic thing to do for a teenager though beause honestly, been there and done that. Cassie's also lowkey hilarious which I LOVED except for the rare occasions when the humor turned a bit forced and too much for my taste. Mostly I appreciated her dry sarcasm, though.

Cassie befriends Drea, a gorgeous girl who's her polar opposite in pretty much all ways. She falls in love with Sam, a record store worker who recommends her cool music and reads rior grrrl fanzines. She slowly starts to figure out who she is outside and beyond the restraints of The Plan. I think one of my favorite parts of this book is her character arc and her growth to become a better person. As she starts to find herself more, starts realizing that it's both perfectly possible and perfectly okay to exist outside The Plan, she becomes a better and nicer and more confident person. The Cassie we meet in the beginning has been so preoccupied with trying to live up to some idea she's had in her head that she's forgotten to check in with herself to see what she really wants, like, for real. The Cassie we leave at the end of the book is honestly a good person and also someone I'd like to be friends with if I were 17.

Something else I loved was each and every little mention of 90s pop culture, and music in particular, that were sprinkled throughout the book. I guaff'ed out loud when she got to listen to Nevermind by Nirvana before its official release date (I might have spent pretty much the whole book hoping we'd get a mention of Nirvana and we did, yay!!) and yeah, I might have gotten more than slightly jealous of a fictional character.


All in all, if you like 90s culture and/or want a fun, quick, lovely summer read, go pick this book up asap!