Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall by Wendy Mass

Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall is a young adult realistic fiction book about second chances and living your life. Tessa is asked in a collage application the question "Who are you?" She does not know who she is. When a dodge ball is thrown at her head in gym class, 16-year-old Tessa didn't think to duck, which confuses her greatly.

She finds herself in a place that looks exactly the same as the mall in her neighborhood, and thinks she is in heaven. This is Tessa's second chance. A guy that she nicknames "Nail Boy" gives her a bag filled with purchases that she has made in the mall in the past that have shaped who she is. In order to return to her body that is in a coma at the hospital, she must relive all of those memories and find the answer as to who she is.

One thing I liked a lot is the fact that this book is written in verse, which is special and unusual. The verse stopped at important places where it is good to think, and it helped to pay attention and pace. Tessa is a character who has done some bad things in the past, and doesn't forget them. She cheats and lies, and although she has stopped, she holds herself accountable to things she did wrong even many many years ago.

 

Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall shows her life from preschool up until high school. It is kind of like an autobiography in some ways, and I love that she kept randomly jumping back into the reality of the hospital. Tessa teaches us that one thing does not define you, people learn from mistakes, and sometimes you have to let things go and move on. I highly recommend this book!

Title: Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall
Author: Wendy Mass
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 256 pages
Series: No
Rating: 5 stars
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