Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall

Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mail by Wendy Mass Self-Discovery/Relationships Little, Brown, and Co., 2007, 251 pp., $16.99 ISBN: 0-316-00218-6

Sixteen-year-old Tessa tells her story through short poems in this quick read. Tessa is a lovable loser-a shy girl who seems nice, but doesn't have many friends.

After being hit in the head during gym class, Tessa finds herself being whisked away from her body, eventually ending up in the mall. She figures it must be heaven, since she had seen her own crumpled body lying on the gym floor, but she can't figure out if she's dead or not. While in the mall, Tessa finds a new friend and a bag of her own possessions. She then goes on a journey through the various stages of her life, where each of the possessions comes into play.

Heaven Looks a Lot Like the MaU. is a story that will have readers wondering about the death and the afterlife, but also about relationships, friendships, and all of those little mistakes one makes along the way.

Jennifer Lee

Louisville, KY

Copyright Assembly on Literature for Adolescents -- National Council of Teachers of English Fall 2007
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