Showing posts with label nostalgia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nostalgia. Show all posts

Monday, January 11, 2021

Review: THE MALL by Megan McCafferty

 


THE MALL
by Megan McCafferty
Publication Date: July 28, 2020
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Pages: 320
Source: Publisher | Netgalley

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.


Wednesday, May 2, 2018

NOTES FROM A PUBLIC TYPEWRITER - Review and Giveaway





NOTES FROM A PUBLIC TYPEWRITER
by Michael Gustafson and Oliver Uberti
Publication Date: March 27, 2018
Published by Grand Central Publishing
Pages: 160
Source: Publisher









DESCRIPTION
In the spirit of Post Secret and Other People's Love Letters, a collection of confessional, hilarious, heartbreaking notes written anonymously on a public typewriter.

When Michael Gustafson and his wife Hilary opened Literati Bookstore three years ago in Ann Arbor, Michigan, they put out a typewriter for anyone to use. They had no idea what to expect. Every day, people of all ages sit down at the public typewriter. Children perch atop grandparents, both sets of hands, young and old, hovering above the metal keys: Dear Gramma, I LOVE YOU.... Others walk in alone on Friday nights and type confessionals: I will find someone someday. And some just leave funny asides for the next person who sits down: I dislike people, misanthropes, irony, and ellipses ... and lists too. 

Now in NOTES FROM A PUBLIC TYPEWRITER Michael and acclaimed author and illustrator Oliver have combined these notes with essays and photos, resulting in a beautiful, four color gift book. It's a love letter to independent bookstores and a warm, loving portrait of a community that brings to life the magic of these beautiful, funny, inspiring, and sometimes even heartbreaking messages.

MY THOUGHTS

"Ink lasts."

There's a certain kind of magic contained a bookstore and the owners of Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor, Michigan added another tool to create that magic - a typewriter. Visitors to the store were free to share their words - both profound and silly. The owner collected many of the typings and present them in this book. 

NOTES FROM A PUBLIC TYPEWRITER is a touching tribute to visitors, to readers, to all of us that have something to say  - our confessions, our secrets, our admissions, and just the random thoughts that we need to get out.
The book is filled with photographs and actual quotes from the writers arranged in collections with titles like Impressions, Catharsis, On Mystery, and Lost & Found.

From Catharsis

"The most poignant notes are found on rainy Saturday nights. Notes on sobriety. Notes on divorce. Notes on loneliness. I don't judge; I replenish the paper." (page 119)


A Favorite Note

"Maybe one day we will write
enough books and read enough words 
to understand each other.

I hope."
(page 69)

What I love most about this book is that it reminds us that we're not alone. Our words matter.
NOTES FROM A PUBLIC TYPEWRITER lovely book to gift to a friend or even, give it to yourself.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Gustafson is the co-owner of Literati Bookstore, an independent bookstore in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He lives in Ann Arbor with his wife and Literati Bookstore co-owner, Hilary.

Oliver Uberti is an award-winning graphic designer and was Senior Design Editor at National Geographic before turning to books. He is the co-author and designer of two books published by Penguin in the UK, London: The Information Capital (2014) and Where the Animals Go (2016). He lives in Los Angeles.

FACEBOOK: @LiteratiBookstore
INSTAGRAM: @literatibookstore


ENTER THIS TWITTER GIVEAWAY FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A COPY OF 
NOTES FROM A PUBLIC TYPEWRITER

https://twitter.com/ActinUpJoli/status/991459216790577152 


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