Review: Heaven looks a lot like the mall-Wendy Mass

Summary: When 16-year-old Tessa suffers a shocking accident in gym class, she finds herself in heaven (or what she "thinks "is heaven), which happens to bear a striking resemblance to her hometown mall. In the tradition of "It's a Wonderful Life" and "The Christmas Carol," Tessa starts reliving her life up until that moment. She sees some things she'd rather forget, learns some things about herself she'd rather not know, and ultimately must find the answer to one burning question--if only she knew what the question "was."
Written in sharp, witty verse, Wendy Mass crafts an extroardinary tale of a spunky heroine who hasn't always made the right choices, but needs to discover what makes life worth living.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Review: This was a very enjoyable read. I liked how Tessa was not like all girls in books. Normally, Young Adult girls would be a Miss Perfect and a goody two shoes. Tessa, on the other hand, wasn't. She did bad things and knew she did bad things. She accepted that she was bad in a sense. But she really wasn't that bad. In my opinion she was just like a normal teenager. She was bullied, she bullied others, she stole and lied. Admit it, all teenagers do that at some point in time. Even the goody two shoes. Tessa was a remarkable character that you found to love. She grew and developed, she became a better person. In most YA novels, the girl stays the same. Not in this one. Tessa wasn't beautiful either. But she tried for her mother. She showed a love for her family. Unlike most teenage girls do now.

Enough about the main character for now. :D Now let's get to the plot.

The plot was very interesting. Tessa "dies" in the beginning of the book. When she wakes up, she's in the mall she grew up in. She thinks it's her heaven. Then she meets a guy with a drill bit in his head. Nail Boy's name isn't told in this book. That leads to mystery. He hands her a bag with a ton of stuff in it. It turns out to be one thing for every year in her life up to when she gets hit with a dodge ball. They hold significance later in the story.

I found Tessa's life story interesting. She had a bad life and she knew it. All the things she did she thought was good at the time. Everyone has those moments.

Wendy Mass's book, Heaven Looks A Lot Like The Mall, is a book I'd reccomend to any growing up teenager. It has growth, development and a true life lesson.