[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Welcome to the BLOG TOUR for The Mall by Megan McCafferty. I am so happy to have you here today! Let’s talk about The Mall.
Summary
Cassie Worthy’s senior year (Go, Class of 1991!) did not finish as she planned. With the worst case of mono her doctor had ever seen, she was down for over a month. No prom. No graduation. But through it all, her boyfriend, Troy, was loyal, caring, and dedicated. They were moving steadily toward their plan for college – different schools, but in the same university system. And they even worked together at the cookie shop at the mall.
All of that fell apart the moment Cassie was well enough to step back into her life. No job, no boyfriend, and even her big college plan was tainted.
While Cassie is still trying to figure out what just happened to her, she knows she needs another job asap – something at the mall, but far from Troy and the cookie shop. The one she finds leads her to an old friend, a secret stash of Cabbage Patch dolls – and a hunt through the mall for treasure!
Review
This was a delightful walk down memory lane! Stripped down to its core, this is a familiar tale of bouncing back after a break up, rediscovering an old friend, and preparing for the launch to college. And it’s a good version of those common story elements. I loved the characters in this. I cared about Cassie’s break-up recovery, and I thoroughly enjoyed her relationship with Drea. On its own, that made for a solidly good story.
But setting this in the early 90s at the mall made this nostalgia heaven for me. The clothes, the music, the cassette tapes and answering machines. Cassie had to go to the mall book store to research something; there’s no cell phone or Google. Someone in the book got a pre-paid calling card as a gift. It was perfect! While some pieces were nostalgic, others were hilarious! I enjoyed every minute of this.
My only hesitation here is that I’m not sure if the target audience will have the same reaction or appreciation for the 90s pieces of this. The core story will stand on its own, but will the 90s references be a distraction? Or will they make this as magical for other readers as they did for me? All I can say for sure is that I thoroughly enjoyed this, and I recommend it. Be sure to check out The Mall by Megan McCafferty!
(Language, sex, sexual references, TW: assault reference)