It's a Mall World After All [Library Binding]

Janette Rallison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 9, 2009

It's too bad they don't give out diplomas for what you learn at the mall, because I could graduate with honors in that subject.  No really.  Since I've worked there, I've become an expert on all things shopping-related. For example, I can tell you right off who to distrust at the mall:
  
1) Skinny people who work at Cinnabon.  I mean, if they're not eating the stuff they sell, how good can it be?
 
2) The salesladies at department store makeup counters.  No matter what they tell you, buying all that lip gloss will not make you look like the pouty models in the store posters.
 
3) And most importantly--my best friend's boyfriend, Bryant, who showed up at the food court with a mysterious blonde draped on his arm.
 
Yeah, I saw it, and yeah, I told my best friend all about it.
 
You would think this would mean trouble for Bryant, but you would basically be wrong.  Somehow, the evil boyfriend turned everything around, and now I'm the one who has to prove myself!  But I will. Even if Bryant--and more importantly his best friend, Colton--keep trying to stop me.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-10–By people-watching at the mall, Charlotte learns who is on the prowl, who is depressed, and that her best friend's boyfriend is cheating. When she tells Brianna that Bryant was with another girl, she is accused of trying to split them up. Each of her attempts to catch him in the act is foiled by the handsome wrestler, Colton. Her clumsy antics don't help as she draws attention to herself by setting a table on fire, splattering fruit trays all over a room of society teens, and pushing Colton into a pool. To add to the predicament, Colton promises to use his father's financial resources to take Christmas presents to a group of underprivileged children if Charlotte will stop stalking his friend. Charlotte is deftly characterized, and her personality and history organically emerge. The same cannot be said for the other teens. The rich kids are stereotypical, Bryant is a cad, and Brianna is a damsel in distress. Although it is obvious from the beginning that Charlotte and Colton will end up together, it is hard to become invested in their budding relationship. What is compelling is Charlotte's desire to help the little boy she catches stealing shoes. That story, rather than the protagonist's relentless pursuit to catch Bryant, is the one that drives this novel.–Heather M. Campbell, Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Remember Clueless, the 1995 film that offered a Valley Girl take on Jane Austen? Rallison achieves a similar high-school romance in this story of teens who loathe each other but are oh-so-obviously going to be together before the book is over. Charlotte and Colton are both high-school seniors and honor students, but those are their only similarities. Colton is tremendously rich and quite comfortable in the preppy world. Charlotte is middle-class, socially conscious, and still bruised from middle-school teasing. No heavy messages or deep characterization here, but Rallison offers a fun romp of a read that's sure to please teens looking for something light and breezy. Debbie Carton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Library Binding: 230 pages
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439597561
• ISBN-13: 978-1439597569
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Janette Rallison is old. Don't ask how old, because it isn't polite. Let's just say she's older than she'd like to be and leave it at that.

Janette lives in Chandler, Arizona with her husband, five children and enough cats to classify her as "an eccentric cat lady." She did not do this on purpose. (The cats, that is; she had the children on purpose.) Every single one of the felines showed up on its own and refuses to leave. Not even the family's fearless little Westie dog can drive them off.
Since Janette has five children and deadlines to write books, she doesn't have much time left over for hobbies. But since this is the internet and you can't actually check up to see if anything on this site is true, let's just say she enjoys dancing, scuba diving, horse back riding and long talks with Orlando Bloom. (Well, I never said he answers back.)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ...will certainly make you think twice about the mall - and the drama that accompanies it, October 3, 2006

By 

Erika Sorocco (Southern California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: It's a Mall World After All (Hardcover)

While many girls are discovered by modeling-scouts while shopping in the mall, Charlotte was scouted for something much different: to be a perfume-lady at Bloomingdale's. Her job? Spritzing unsuspecting passersby with the fragrance of the day, and praying that they purchase a bottle of the over-priced, oft-times funky smelling stuff. It being the holiday season, of course, Charlotte quickly takes the job, and spends each and every day after school doing one of the easiest things on Earth, while scoping out her surroundings, in an attempt to be ready for the doctoral thesis she plans on writing someday entitled "It's A Mall World After All." But when she spies her best friend Brianna's boyfriend, Bryant Anderson, and his best friend, Colton Taft, browsing through the mall, two Leland Prep girls on their arms, Charlotte believes that it's time to inform her best friend about her boyfriend's two-timing ways. When Brianna refuses to listen, however, Charlotte decides to launch plan two: catching the cheater on film. Sadly, this proves harder than it seems, as Bryant always has the illustrious Colton watching his back. Now Charlotte just has to wiggle her way into his heart to get to the truth. As if that weren't enough, by working at the mall, she's encountered two poor kids named Reese and T.J. who just want new clothes for Christmas. So she proposes an idea to her National Honor Society group, intending to provide these kids with a great Christmas. But to do so, she'll have to practically sell her soul to Colton. Something she never thought she would even consider...until now.

I will admit it, Janette Rallison had me from the title - IT'S A MALL WORLD AFTER ALL. After all, it's hard for me to resist anything that reminds me of the Disneyland ride It's A Small World. Luckily, however, the title was not the only thing that held my interest, for I was pleasantly surprised to open the novel up to an endearing character, whose cynicism and sarcastic wit was refreshing; as was her ability to make a mess out of almost every situation she was placed in. Charlotte's outlook and thoughts regarding shoppers, and the various things that happen within the mall, were hilarious - from break-ups to make-ups; and verbal fights to full-on brawls. Charlotte's interactions with the hunky, yet oft-times conceited Colton were pleasantly adorable; while the chemistry that shined through between these two characters from page one was utterly hard-to-resist. The fact that IT'S A MALL WORLD AFTER ALL revolves around the holiday shopping season gives it that extra-oomph. However, the Christmastime setting never overshadows the plot-line. A sugar-coated addition to the teen fiction genre that will certainly make you think twice about the mall - and the drama that accompanies it.

Erika Sorocco

Freelance Reviewer

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, December 14, 2006

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It's a Mall World After All (Hardcover)

If you like witty and hilarious page-turners that keep you interested and laughing all the way through, then IT'S A MALL WORLD AFTER ALL by Janette Rallison is the book for you! This is the kind of book that keeps you wondering what hilarious twist is coming next.

Charlotte is a girl who works in a mall, spraying perfume on unsuspecting costumers. She's a high school student, has red hair, she's taller than normal, and she has a strict policy against dating guys from her school. Charlotte never understood why anyone would buy those perfumes at the mall. She could never figure out how anyone could believe those advertisements that say the perfume will make you irresistible or if you wear it, or that the guys will be all over you.

When Charlotte sees her best friend, Brianna's, boyfriend, Bryant, at the mall with another girl, she is faced with the tough choice of whether to tell Brianna or to not say anything and hope it was all just a misunderstanding. When she asks Bryant's best friend (and also her study buddy), Colton, about what she saw at the mall, will Colton stick up for Bryant and deny it or agree with Charlotte? Is Bryant deceiving Colton as well as Brianna? Is Charlotte the only one who knows the truth?

What happens when Charlotte goes to great lengths to prove Bryant's lying to Brianna? Will Charlotte get pinned for everything? And will Charlotte's friendship with Brianna survive through all the lies and rumors? And why does Charlotte have a policy against dating guys at her school, anyway? What happens if she breaks the policy?

There are so many unanswered questions. But don't fret--all you have to do to answer them and have a lot of great laughs along the way is to read this book. I can tell you one thing, it has a great ending.

Reviewed by: Cayla Carhart

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Book I've Ever Read, January 6, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: It's a Mall World After All (Hardcover)

It's a Mall World After All is a page turner that you can't put down. Charlotte's mishaps are not only hilarous, but very true. Her mission to prove that her best friend's boyfriend if a fake, tring to keep Colton on her side, and eating centerpieces is only a few things she must do throughout this wonderful book. I recommend it for 7-12 grade, do to content.