Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall

Wendy Mass
Little, Brown Young Readers (2007)
ISBN 9780316058513
Reviewed by Kirby Jo Franze (age 16) for Reader Views (11/07)


Stepping inside the reality of almost every teenage girl’s life, Wendy Mass hits the nail right on the head with this witty, realistic tale that will appeal to everyone from daughters to their moms.  We follow sixteen-year-old Tessa, “the mall brat,” on her epic journey through life up to junior year, when slow reflexes in a dodge ball game suddenly land her at heaven’s doors.  But, wait, is that Abercrombie & Fitch?!?  It would seem that heaven looks a lot like, yup, you guessed it, the mall!  Questioning her entire purpose for living, we follow as Tessa reviews her life as a young girl with tough choices, to a young adult with real life decisions in front of her.  I believe most girls can relate to Tessa's journey.  It travels through everything from cute boys, to temptations, to hard-to-get-along-with siblings and parents.

This book is a good reminder to the average teenage girl to listen to her parents; it helps her realize which decisions are the right ones, and is a fabulous warning of the consequences of making the wrong ones.  Ms. Mass was quite successful in making us all feel as though we were experiencing the psychotic, crazy days of high school.  As a teenager myself, I could relate to the pressures of staying in shape, keeping the right friends and trying to be compatible with the world and everything in it.  Though there were times I felt that Ms. Mass underestimated the vocabulary of teenagers by using the word “and” more than a few times, I still felt it was well-written and sometimes quite humorous.  I personally learned to be thankful for the life I have and that we can all learn from our mistakes if we let ourselves. 

Tessa did give in to temptation more than a couple of times, unable to resist defending the underdog and delivering a little payback to someone that really had it coming.  Regardless, she stayed pure and stood her ground in some awfully tight spots, which left me with a desire to do the same.  I hope all of the readers of “Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall” will walk away with that same desire.  This book makes for a delightful read for all of the hard-headed, not quite sure what their purpose is, and slightly crazy, self-conscious, silly girls out there...like me!

Make comment on weblog