The Mall

I was sent this book from a Goodreads giveaway.

I'm really glad I received this book as an ARC. The Mall drew me in from the beginning and had me laughing throughout. I did not expect to become so attached to the characters and what happened to them but I found myself trying to read as much as I could to find out what happened next. I wish I had this book when I had first graduated high school and worked at a clothing store in my local mall.

First of all, apologies to anyone who's upset by hearing that historical fiction is set in the 90s now. Second of all, I read this all in one setting and had a lot of fun with it. Yes, I do think it's something that millennials will enjoy for the nostalgia, but I do think a lot of today's teens are interested in the 90s and will be able to get most of these references. And I think the core story, about a high school overachiever overcoming her snobbishness about fashion and her “not like other girls” attitude, is one that is still relevant to today. I also really loved that Bethany lost a bunch of weight from having mono, briefly experienced life at that weight, and then gained back all the weight but felt better about herself because she was more confident from the next experiences she was trying. Just a nice light summer read!

Cassie Worthy has summer and her NYC college career all planned out. All the Summer 1991( one year before I was born haha) plans come crashing down when she discovers her boyfriend was seeing someone else when she was busy finishing her high school career. Cassie also gets fired. WTF? This won't stop her, heck no.Cassie as she finds friendship, love, and ultimately herself.

I disliked this book. It was decently written, but felt like a bare bones movie script instead of a novel. It meandered and many scenes would work better as movie montages. This is historical fiction (gasps) but I didn't have any connection to Cassie. She's your standard privileged white girl. Just say already what's wrong dont lie to your parents. They'll get used to it .The faking and misunderstandings weren't cute ,maybe it would have worked better in a romcom. We live capitalistic hellhole, we do our best to survive. I luckily never had nostalgia for the mall, it exists in Suriname but not the enormity like the US. YOU might like it if you have fun memories working in the mall. I might've liked it if it was a movie. Who knows maybe it will. I'm not interested in any other McCafferty book in the future that is certain