Review: THE MALL by Megan McCafferty

 

THE MALL

by Megan McCafferty

Publication Date: July 28, 2020

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Pages: 320

Source: Publisher | Netgalley

Add to Goodreads

Synopsis

New York Times bestselling author Megan McCafferty returns to her roots with this YA coming of age story set in a New Jersey mall.

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'm a long time fan of Megan McCafferty's Jessica Darling Series and did a big ol' happy book shimmy when she announced her highly anticipated (by me) new book THE MALL. I didn't care that it would be a couple of years before it was released, I was just excited that we would get a new book from her.

What I loved most about this book was the nostalgia and that was one of the main reasons I wanted to read it. I mean just the title THE MALL created enough excitement. I immediately thought of a reimagined Fast Times at Ridgemont High. I loved the use of icons Frank and Kathy for Cassie's parents and Tommy and Vince the "Motley Crue" who hid a treasure. This almost went over my head, but when I realized what McCafferty did, I had a great laugh. And OF COURSE the 90210, the original 90210, shout-outs just took me back. 

It brought back fun memories of middle school and high school and hanging out at the mall with friends. My first job was in a mall and my friends even modeled the "latest fashions" for a popular chain store. I'd almost forgotten about that until just writing it here. Oh, good times. 

THE MALL was a funny, often silly, and sometimes scandalous walk down memory lane.  Fans of Megan McCafferty will enjoy this book while they wait for the release of Jessica Darling Makeover Editions!

Disclaimer:  I received this e-ARC from the publisher for review consideration. I was not compensated in any way other than the e-ARC provided. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

Waiting on Wednesday: Jessica Darling's It List 2 by Megan McCafferty

Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
 
This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Jessica Darling's It List 2
The (Totally Not) Guaranteed to Friends, Foes and Faux Friends
by Megan McCafferty
Published by Poppy
Publication Date: September 23, 2014
Add to Goodreads






Jessica Darling is getting the hang of seventh grade -- finally! While her old BFF, Bridget, is busy talking (nonstop) about her new boyfriend, Burke, Jessica tries to fit in with her new friends, Sara, Manda, and Hope. The IT List instructions from her sister, Bethany, and an epic slumber party may help Jessica secure her spot in the cool clique, but does she even want it?

Megan McCafferty's It List series introduces readers to Jessica Darling, an unabashedly brainy seventh grader who stays true to herself, even if it means being (totally not) cool.

Why I'm Waiting

•  Jessica Darling is one of my favorite characters ever. I loved reading about Jessica during her older teen years and as an adult. Jessica as a pre-teen is just as funny.
• I'm reading this series with my niece who is the same age/grade as Jessica. I hope that she will love this series as much as I do. 
• I want to know more about Jessica's friendship with Hope. It was just beginning in book 1.
• "An epic slumber party" - 7th grade slumber parties can make or break you!  

It was a Good Week in Books (3)

Bookish things that grabbed my attention this week:

• The first seven chapters of Megan McCafferty's Jessica Darling's It List #1 is available for FREE (at time of posting) on Amazon. This PREVIEW will tide me over until the book releases on September 3rd.
• Simmone Howell's review of Just_a_girl by Kirsten Krauth - I don't even know what to say. I know this is going to be an important book. Just read the review and then read the book. I know I will.
• I saw the cutest bookish party favors at Shooting Star's Mag. I think I may have to get these for a future book club meeting or author/blogger meet-up.
   

 And if that was enough:

• Katie Kacvinsky, author of First Comes Love, Second Chance, and the Awaken series, decided to offer a sneak peek of Finally, Forever and I get to share it on my blog!!! As a treat to her fans and new readers, we'll get to read more of Dylan and Gray sooner (August 7th) rather than later. I'm currently hosting a giveaway for one of her books for the Summer of Love Giveaway Hop.  If you want a chance to win Katie's books, please stop by the giveaway and enter. And then spread the word!!
• I discovered a new author thanks to Ginger at GReads! Ginger gave me a copy of Ruthie Knox's Ride with Me - a sexy contemporary romance. I read it immediately and now want to read more of Ruthie's books. Thanks Ginger!!

Other happenings:

• On Thursday, author Claire Legrand held her Third Annual ARCAPALOOZA  and I won a copy of Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott. Extremely excited to win this one. I've read most of Elizabeth's books (well after checking Goodreads, I realize I've read about half of them) and recommend them to anyone who wants to read more YA contemporary. 

Waiting on Wednesday: Jessica Darling's It List #1

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

COVER NOT FINAL

Jessica Darling's It List #1: The (Totally Not) Guaranteed Guide to Popularity, Prettiness & Perfection 
by Megan McCafferty
Expected publication date: September 3, 2013
Published by Poppy  












There isn't an official synopsis yet,  but I couldn't contain my excitement and just had to share this asap! Megan McCafferty has given us a little bit info on her website from her post New Year, New Book. Jessica and Marcus and Hope in junior high. It's going to be a ton of fun. I just know it!

Update!!

(from Amazon)

Jessica Darling wasn't nervous about starting Pineville Junior High. That is, until her older sister, Bethany, told her that entering seventh grade means that everything will change. Hoping to continue the "Darling Domination of Popularity," Bethany presents Jessica with The IT List: The Guaranteed Guide to Popularity, Prettiness & Perfection.

But even armed with her instructions, Jessica stumbles her way through the start of the school year and inadvertently becomes Pineville Junior High's mascot, the mighty New Jersey seagull. Totally not the type of attention-getting her sister had in mind.

New York Times bestselling author Megan McCafferty's hilarious series opener will have you laughing, cringing, and cheering for the inimitable Jessica Darling.

The Friday Five

The Friday Five

I haven't posted a Friday Five in a really long time. I think I stopped after starting my Love My Indie feature, but guest posts for that are sporadic, so I think I will alternate in The Friday Five every once and again. My initial inspiration for this came from Sarah Dessen's posts when I read her blog like most people read the daily paper. Here is what I want to share with you from this week:

1. Megan McCafferty's sequel to Bumped, Thumped is coming out April 24th. This may not be new news or even big news. But guess what is? She has released the FIRST FORTY PAGES on her site. GO HERE to get a sneak peak.

2. I've officially started my countdown to Shine by Jeri Smith-Ready. Maybe you noticed the countdown widget to the right. It will be out May 1, 2012 and like many other readers who are dying to find out what happens with Aura and Zachary and their mysterious connection, I have already pre-ordered it. And get this, it's going to be signed by Jeri!! She is offering signed copies of Shine when it is pre-ordered from Constellation Books - her local independent bookstore.

3. Speaking of independent bookstores, I am looking for a few bloggers to write a guest post for Love My Indie. I want to know about your favorite independent bookstores. I visited Quail Ridge Books a few weeks ago for Lauren Oliver's book tour for Pandemonium. I learned of the bookstore because of a Love My Indie guest post. It was a great store - well worth the 3 and half hour drive. Of course Lauren Oliver had something to do with it too! So if you are interested in participating in Love My Indie, just fill out this form.

4. I've signed up for some events in the coming weeks and months. First is the Forgiving Trinity Blog Tour hosted by Letters Inside Out. The tour begins March 26 and there will be over 35 stops featuring reviews, author guest posts and giveaways. Forgiving Trinity author Liz Reinhardt will be stopping by here in April 6th.

I'm also participating in the Spring Blog Carnival hosted by Lori at Pure Imagination, Candace from Candace's Book Blog and Angela from Reading Angel. The Spring Blog Carnival is May 7th-13th.I hosted the Karaoke Booth last year (check it out) and will again this year. I'm planning to giveaway some music themed books and I need some suggestions/requests. Please provide some of your favorite young adult music themed books in the comments below. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist,  I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone, and The Disenchantments are just a few examples.

5. I recently reviewed Freshman Year and Other Unnatural Disasters by Meredith Zeitlin. If you missed it, you can read it here. Meredith Zeitlin is funny and so are her cats. Watch this!

In My Mailbox (31)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme run by The Story Siren which explores the books that have been delivered to our mailbox or doorstep or directly into our hot little hands.

Purchased

Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti

Bumped by Megan McCafferty (e-book)

Songs for a Teenage Nomad by Kim Culbertson (e-book)

Dream Smashers by Angela Carlie (e-book)

I'm looking forward to my life slowing down a bit so I can actually read books that have been piling up around the house. I'm currently reading Bumped and am liking it so far! Megan McCafferty's dystopian tale is crazy.  I have Songs for a Teenage Nomad in paperback, but it was FREE for Nook (and kindle) so I couldn't pass it up!

Can't wait to see what everyone else got this week. Happy reading!

About Me: Starting Actin' Up with books

After almost five months of blogging, I still don't have an About Me section. I think it is about time I let you know a bit more about the gal behind the blog. To lessen the embarrassment level of talking about myself, I'm including my response to a series feature I participated in at Page by Page a few months ago. I shared about my blog, my favorite books and authors.  

Why did you start your blog in the first place? What is one of the biggest things that has happened to you since you started it?

For years I had read blogs by Sarah Dessen, Megan McCafferty and Sara Zarr because I am such a huge fan of their books. I hadn't really considered starting a blog myself because I am not a published writer and thought that I should be because honestly, who would want to read what I have to say. One day I read an author's post, not sure which one, commenting how their book was featured on a reviewer's blog. I'm pretty sure it was The Compulsive Reader, (maybe Persnickety Snark). And it was from there, that I was introduced to this huge blogging community. I was in heaven. Honestly, I had no idea there was such a great community for sharing a love for books, especially for adult readers of young adult books. It took me a while to convince myself to start the blog because I wondered if I really do have something to say and would anyone want to read about it. I mean in person, I can go on for on for hours talking (to anyone who will listen) about why I love a book and why they should read it. But can I convey it in a blog that will be interesting? Finally, I kicked my self-doubt to the curb, and just decided to have some fun with it because that really is what it should be about. So, to make this very long story short, I started my blog to have a place to share my love (obsession) of books and introduce some of my favorite books to readers of my blog. I also wanted to have a place to openly discuss books with readers with similar interests. I'm still trying to find my voice as a blogger (I'm sure I've found it), but I am having a lot of fun with it.

One big thing that has happened to me since I have started this blog is some amazing writers have agreed to participate in an upcoming feature on my blog. I don't want to give too much away as it is still in the works, but it will include author interviews, book reviews and some giveaways. I'm so excited! I have since interviewed PUSH authors Brian James, Siobhan Vivian, and Samantha Schutz. You can find my interviews on the Interview page of the blog. I have also reviewed Same Difference by Siobhan Vivian and featured Perfect World by Brian James.

Friday Five

The Friday Five comes from Sarah Dessen's blog on LiveJournal. I've been following this blog the longest and love how she recaps her week with the Friday Five, now called the Five.

Here, I will recap my week with connections to books I am reading, have read, want to read and other random musings.

1. Last weekend I saw my all-time favorite band, Maroon 5 with one of my best girlfriends. It was the 5th M5 concert I have been to and they just keep getting better. Part of the fun is the road trip to see them and singing along to our favorite songs (a lot from the first album, Songs about Jane) and wondering what woman could have done Adam so wrong that he wrote so many songs about his tortured love. We definitely wouldn't do him wrong. Well, of course, there are always two (or more) sides to every story. What does this have to do with books? Well, I've read some fun books about the everyday girl, whose love-life becomes everyone's business because of a boy. A boy who just happens to have written a hit song about their relationship. Or the end of their relationship. Robin Benway's Audrey, Wait! and Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus's Dedication show what is like to be the girl whose personal life everyone likes to sing along to.

2. I am a huge fan of Megan McCafferty and her Jessica Darling Series. Sometimes when you love something so much, it is hard to put into words why you love it. You're afraid you won't do it justice or you will focus on one particular part and forget to tell about the best parts. Well . . . thank goodness someone can get it together. Over at Forever Young Adult, you will find the best book report on the whole series. http://www.foreveryoungadult.com/2010/08/19/jessica-notso-darling-isso-my-bff/ Thank you for putting into words what would only make me tongue-tied. Love it, love it, love it.

3. Right now I am reading Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee. Even with the heavy subject matter it is a fun read. Review will be coming soon.

4. Soon to Leave the Shelf: Tricks by Ellen Hopkins. I am excited to read this book as it has been on my bookshelf for almost a year. Why haven't I read it yet? Well, I have this weird thing about authors that I really like. I will buy their books the week and sometimes even the day the book is in the bookstore, but I will hold off reading the book I have just acquired until the next book by the author is about to hit the bookstore. Since Hopkins's next book Fallout will be out September 13th, I'm ready to take Tricks off the shelf.

5. I've been watching the new show Huge on ABC Family. I am always trying to see books that the character Becca is reading. In almost every scene that she is in, she is reading a book, but I can never tell what it is. If anyone knows, please post them here. Do I plan to read them, maybe not, but I want to know what they are. I'm weird like that.


This has been my first Friday Five and with an hour to spare, I can still call it the Friday Five. Whew!