(3) 4-6 As a middle schooler, fourteen-year-old Doreen Green fumbles through friendships and schoolwork. As her alter ego, Squirrel Girl, she battles a sinister force causing two towns to fight over a new mall's mascot. The narrative is told from varying perspectives; text messages, "Friendbook" comments, email exchanges, and Doreen's first-person footnotes inject humor into the tightly paced, action-packed story.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(3) K-3 During a family trip to see Santa at the mall, little girl Magnolia matter-of-factly warns readers about helping a pirate get off Santa's Naughty List: he'll sing loud sea chanties instead of "Jingle Bells," pillage candy from the elves, and so on. Parsley's digital art, which depicts characters with exaggerated facial expressions against saturated full-color backgrounds, complements the giggle-worthy absurdist humor.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(3) 4-6 With humorous creeps, a diverse cast of characters, and fabulous cityscapes, this second graphic novel deepens the human/monster relationships in Echo City and explores urban renewal and human habitat incursions. Margo Maloo, monster mediator, again asks aspiring journalist Charles to assist in her monster awareness work, and together they help mall-dwelling teen vampires. Unresolved issues provide fodder for future installments.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(3) 4-6 Rocket and Groot (from the Guardians of the Galaxy comic and movie franchises) crash-land on a planet full of killer strip malls and must escape with the aid of their intelligent tape dispenser, Veronica. Told through Captain's Log transcripted dialogue (each character's in a different typeface) and illustrated with wacky rudimentary cartoons, the story tones down the original (foul-mouthed in Rocket's case) characters for a silly romp.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(3) 1-3 In their second outing, bird friends Speed Bump and Slingshot get into absurd shenanigans on a Bird Scouts scavenger hunt inside a curious place called "the mall," where they become trapped overnight. This graphic novel/chapter book hybrid explores themes of bravery, friendship, and accomplishing goals. The story's silly vibe is supported by slapstick black-and-white illustrations, which reward careful observation.

Reviewer: Miriam Steinberg-Egeth

(3) YA Sixteen-year-old Sarah and several other teenage murder victims experience their afterlife in the Mall of America. While the others focus on letting go of their lives on earth, Sarah investigates her death and tries to keep her killer from striking again. Fans of tearjerkers and supernatural love stories alike will fall hard for this mystery-slash-romance-slash-ghost story.

Reviewer: Barratt Miller

(4) 4-6 Big Brands series. This series provides insight into the workings of four mega-corporations. Each book presents a brief history of the company's founding and struggles encountered on its way to success. Operational procedures and key individuals involved in creating the "household" brand are discussed. Photographs, statistics, quotes from company leaders, and even a few trade secrets add interest, but the busy design is distracting. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Big Brands titles: Minecraft, McDonald's, Samsung, and Amazon.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Patricia Castelao. The Newbery Medal–winning novel about a gorilla and an elephant, kept captive on display in a shopping mall, is reissued in an oversize edition in which the original illustrations are printed in full color. Larger trim size means larger font and expanses of white space--and a serious heft factor. Back matter includes Applegate's acceptance speech and a letter from the real Ivan's zookeeper.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2012

(2) K-3 Illustrated by G. Brian Karas. Applegate introduces picture-book readers to the true story that inspired her Newbery-winning The One and Only Ivan. In poetic prose she describes gorilla Ivan's early life in Africa; his dramatic capture; his time on display in a shopping mall; and his transition to the Atlanta Zoo. Karas's mixed-media illustrations--in his warm and unaffected style--are at once straightforward and provocative.

Reviewer: Nina Lindsay | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2014

(3) YA Still quarantined after a bio-bomb unleashed a deadly virus in a shopping mall, four teens grapple with friendship, love, loyalty, and survival as the adolescent population spirals violently out of control. Lorentz delivers a gripping finale to the survival trilogy (No Safety in Numbers; No Easy Way Out), and most fans will be satisfied with the resolution.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(3) YA Still quarantined after a bio-bomb attack unleashed a deadly virus in a shopping mall (No Safety in Numbers), four teens grapple with friendship, love, and loyalty as the virus mutates and the adults lose control of the mall's adolescent population. Lord of the Flies meets The Hunger Games in this emotionally intense, adrenaline-laced survival tale sure to please action-adventure fans.

Reviewer: Barratt Miller

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Patricia Castelao. In short chapters that have the look and feel of prose poems, Applegate captures the voice of Ivan, a captive gorilla who lives at the "Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade." When a new baby elephant arrives, Ivan realizes they deserve more than their restrictive environment. Ivan's range of thoughts and emotions poses important questions about kinship and humanity.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2012

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Stéphane Jorisch. When Betty Bunny's mother says she can have one new toy, Betty fills an entire shopping cart: "But I want everything I want." Children will relate to Betty's desire to have it all; parents may cringe at her bratty scheme to get her way, but youngsters won't. Energetic ink and watercolor illustrations add comical details to Betty's over-the-top shopping trip.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) YA Katey attends the Game--a video-game-centric school run by corporations and located in a mall. She's intrigued by encounters with a rebel group called the Unidentified and falls in with their leader. Readers may enjoy the story's punchy language and its many technological references (Facebook, iPods, Twitter, etc.); however, the stakes never rise high enough for Katey’s mission to feel that important.

Reviewer: Tori Funkhouser

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Bob Dob. In this sequel to Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go, Milton escapes from his underworld reform school. Unfortunately, his shoplifting sister Marlo isn't so lucky; she's sent to Rapacia, the second circle of Heck, where consumerist kids are eternally tormented by Mallvana, a shopper's paradise. Intentionally corny humor and many witty pop culture allusions will leave readers greedy for more.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) YA Valentina, who feels lonely and invisible, is surprised when brash Francie befriends her. Under Francie's tutelage, Valentina becomes an expert shoplifter. Eventually the thrill of stealing, and of Francie's attention, wears off. The story attempts to tackle too many issues (mentally ill mother, dying brother, unstable stepfather), but the girls' pain is palpable beneath their tough exteriors.

Reviewer: Amanda Mc. MacGregor

(4) 4-6 Lost at the MegaMall, Jule is rescued by the "night children" who secretly live there. Working together, they discover the mall's secrets (e.g., why parents disappear and no one cares). Jule seems irrelevant to the plot, but the night children are compelling. The use of present-tense narration makes for a creepy, unsettling read.

Reviewer: Thom Barthelmess

(3) YA A dodgeball-induced coma precipitates a unique exploration of the question "who am I?" for sixteen-year-old Tessa, whose near-death experience is a tour of the mall and the definitive memories it hosts. More character study than story, this verse novel is a lyrical, reflective, generously detailed portrait of one girl's incremental construction of self and the modern disconnect between identity and soul.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross

(3) YA While working at the mall as a perfume spritzer, Charlotte sees Bryant, her friend's boyfriend, flirting with another girl. Charlotte then embarks on various complicated schemes to get proof of his infidelity. Every move seems to lead her to Colton, Bryant's cute best friend. Clumsy and self-conscious, Charlotte is a likable protagonist who injects spirit into a conventional plot.

Reviewer: Amanda Mc. MacGregor

(3) K-3 Viking Easy-to-Read series. Illustrated by Barbara Johansen Newman. Jeffrey Bones finds clues and solves mysteries. In Yellow he helps a bus driver find his missing bus at a shopping mall, and in Dog he finds his Grandpa's lost dog. The brightly patterned illustrations help make these two beginning readers enjoyable. The solutions involve simple logic so readers can figure them out along with Jeffrey. Review covers these Viking Easy-to-Read titles: Bones and the Big Yellow Mystery and Bones and the Dog Gone Mystery.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley