I have long been a huge fan of Megan McCafferty, every since I read Sloppy Firsts way back in the day. When I was offered this book for review I immediately agreed. I love this author, but who could resist a book set in a mall in the early 90s? That was my place!
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Wednesday Books for the review copy. This post contains affiliate links, see disclosures for more detail.
About the Book:
The year is 1991.
Scrunchies, mixtapes and 90210 are, like, totally fresh. Cassie Worthy is psyched to spend the summer after graduation working at the Parkway Center Mall. In six weeks, she and her boyfriend head off to college in NYC to fulfill The Plan: higher education and happily ever after.
But you know what they say about the best laid plans…
Set entirely in a classic “monument to consumerism,” the novel follows Cassie as she finds friendship, love, and ultimately herself, in the most unexpected of places.
Megan McCafferty, beloved New York Times bestselling author of the Jessica Darling series, takes readers on an epic trip back in time to The Mall.
My Thoughts:
I gave this book 4/5 stars
What a fun book!
If you ever went to the mall in the 80s/90s this book will be so incredibly nostalgic. I’m not sure that today’s teens will find it as fun as their parents will, but overall it’s just a feel-good sweet book.
I loved the idea of the “treasure hunt” in the mall! Again, today’s YA readers who are used to having every bit of information at their fingertips with translation apps and lightning fast Google searches may think that these characters and their plodding ways of research are eye-roll inducing.
Every page brought a smile to my face and I had conversations with my sister reminiscing about the stores we remembered from the mall growing up. Ah, to think about slower pace of life again when you have to go to the library to do research.
There are so many great themes about friendship, staying true to yourself, and developing into a strong female–Cassie and Drea are hilarious and also poignant with their maturity.
I highly recommend this book for younger Boomers and all Gen-Xers, it will take you on a fun ride back to your teen days.
