The Mall

April 15, 2020
The mall takes center stage in this '90s coming-of-age tale. Cassie Worthy works at a New Jersey mall while counting down the days until she heads off to college. After being stuck at home with mono for the past six weeks, she plans on triumphantly returning to her job at America's Best Cookie with her boyfriend, Troy--but it goes horribly wrong when she finds herself attacked by Troy's new girlfriend with a spritz of cucumber-melon fragrance to the face. Cassie manages to get hired as a bookkeeper at an upscale boutique. The owner's gorgeous daughter, Drea Bellarosa, needs nerdy Cassie's help searching for a rumored stash of long-hidden drug money, and they spend the summer following clues hidden in Cabbage Patch Kids that point to locations around the mall. Drea also promises to help Cassie with her heartbreak, saying "the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else." In the first-person narration, elitist Cassie makes numerous judgmental remarks about other women and their clothing and behavior, frequently referring to them as sluts and bimbos, as well as being dismissive of boys she regards as less intelligent than she. The narrative is rife with pop-culture references, quirky characters, and over-the-top ridiculous comedy--which unfortunately falls flat. The majority of the cast is white apart from Cassie's Japanese American mall-employee crush. Light and nostalgic but lacks depth. (Fiction. 14-18)

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April 15, 2020
Grades 9-12 Cassie Worthy, finally free of the exile-like quarantine she was placed in when she was diagnosed with "the most severe case of mononucleosis" her doctor had ever seen, is ready to get back on track with The Plan. She and her boyfriend, Troy, will work the summer at America's Best Cookies at the Parkway Center Mall and then head off to Boston to attend top-tier schools across the street from each other. Then she gets nailed in the face with the cucumber-melon perfume of Troy's new girlfriend. Dumped and fired all in one day, Cassie needs a new plan. She just never expected it to include her ex-best friend Drea Bellarosa, a hidden 1980s treasure, and a cute record-store employee Cassie's dubbed Sam Goody, but anything is better than watching Troy and his new Jersey Girl girlfriend make out all over the mall. McCafferty, whose racy Jessica Darling series nabbed an enthusiastic new adult audience, speaks to young adults with this 1990s-era romp.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

May 25, 2020
With wit and more than a little hairspray, McCafferty (True to Your Selfie) dives into the 1990s with this snappily written self-empowerment novel set beneath the fluorescent lights of a suburban New Jersey mall. Cassie Worthy has life after high school all planned out: at summer’s end, she’s heading from New Jersey to Manhattan to attend college near—but not with—Troy, her boyfriend of two years. They’re the ultimate power couple, but their plan radically shifts after Cassie’s recovery from mono and their subsequent breakup. Her job selling cookies at the mall isn’t as great as she’d hoped it would be, and she discovers that what she knew about life, love, and friendship aren’t even close to reality. A Cabbage Patch Kid–related treasure hunt for a cash stash takes Cassie on a winding path through the mall with her former best friend. The real find, though, is her journey of self-discovery, complete with the requisite coming-of-age tropes. Though some ’90s references may be unfamiliar to today’s teens, readers will easily be able to identify with Cassie’s struggles, tribulations, and triumphs. Ages 13–up. Agents: Sara Shandler, Alloy; Heather Schroder, Compass Talent Agency.