The Mall by Megan McCafferty, narrated by Caitlin Kelly, features a big-brained socially inept teen, Cassie Worthy, in 1990s New Jersey. Cassie has a post-high school plan, and part of that plan is landing a prime job at the Parkway Center mall, a move to New York City for college with her boyfriend, and living happily ever after.
The problem is, her prime mall job is taken away after she contracts mono and her boyfriend begins seeing their co-worker at the cookie bakery. Cassie spends the next six weeks navigating being dumped, reuniting with an old friend, learning to break free from plans, and beginning again. The mall becomes a metaphor for Cassie’s superficial interactions with people. It’s very transactional, even as she claims to care deeply. She even has surface level bonds with her parents.
McCafferty clearly understands teens and their troubles. The connections they make in high school can make or break their social standing in the community. Those who seek to focus on the future can seem untouchable, but they are not. They are merely fooling themselves by setting themselves apart and above the fray, making themselves more of a target.
These characters are definitely full of angst and irritating, but the music references and drama are familiar to those who lived through the 1990s. Cassie is likeable and unlikable in equal measure — she gets so many things wrong and fools herself into thinking she’s the smartest kid in the room.
The Mall by Megan McCafferty is a coming-of-age story set in the 1990s and gets all the atmosphere and references correct. Cassie has a lot of growing up to do, but she’s not the only one. Her former boyfriend, her parents, and her friend Drea all need to think before they speak and act. These are lessons that some adults still haven’t learned. Pause, take a moment for nostalgia, but don’t expect much depth in this mall.
RATING: Tercet
About the Author:
Megan McCafferty writes fiction for tweens, teens, and teens-at-heart of all ages. The author of twelve novels, she’s best known for SLOPPY FIRSTS and four more sequels in the New York Times bestselling Jessica Darling series–available throughout 2021 in updated 20th anniversary editions. She published two new books in 2020: TRUE TO YOUR SELFIE (MG, Scholastic) and THE MALL (YA, Wednesday Books). Described in her first review as “Judy Blume meets Dorothy Parker” (Wall Street Journal), she’s been trying to live up to that high standard ever since.
