ALA Booklist

Sixteen-year-old Tessa is hit during a game of dodgeball, and then sees herself on the floor before heading to heaven is it the mall? As she goes from store to store, she looks back on her life e good, the bad, and the ugly (mostly the last two). Tessa is an angry child. Maybe it's because her mother is never quite satisfied with her, or because her father doesn't pay attention, but by the time she's in school, she's making sure others are blamed for her mistakes. Later she's stealing and pulling mean pranks. High school is a series of missteps. When the boy with the nail in his head, who has been with her during her journey back in time, asks why she didn't duck the ball, she has an answer: she thought she had it coming. Although Mass takes a chance by offering readers an unlikable protagonist, albeit one who eventually (and literally) sees the light at the end, this free-verse, emotionally realistic novel will resonate with many.

Horn Book

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.

Kirkus Reviews

Adequate but uninspiring free verse tells the first-person story of a girl whose life is summed up by a bag of stuff. Overweight, insecure, sneaky Tessa fails to duck when a dodgeball is fired at her and ends up in a coma. Her near-death experience, like much of her life, takes the shape of a visit to the mall where both her parents work. With guidance from a guy with a drill bit in his head (a misguided attempt to get high), Tessa revisits pivotal moments as epitomized by objects (a glass bowl representing a science experiment she cheated on; a stolen bra representing her first date). Through re-experiencing her memories and examining her own flaws and those of the people around her (her mother's constant harping on appearance amounts to abuse), Tessa predictably learns to love herself. A quick read with a commercial angle and an excellent cover (each word in a font evoking a different store), this will please readers but will be easily forgotten—much like your average day at the mall. (Fiction. 13+)

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-With a dodge ball soaring toward her head, time slows as Tessa considers all of the trivial things floating through her mind; an Ashlee Simpson song, the wedgie she has from her gym shorts, and the color of the dodge ball. But the final thought she must consider is the question she needs to answer-if only she could remember it. At 16, Tessa finds herself in heaven taking a journey through past events in her life while she wavers in and out of consciousness in the hospital. Written in verse, her recollections span her earliest memories as a toddler to her most recent memories leading up to the gym-class accident. Tessa's witty and honest voice tells the story of a girl who struggles to make friends, maintain family relationships, and to be honest with herself. Before she can return from where the accident has taken her, she must face the reality of her life and her role in creating that reality. However, what Tessa discovers is a truth that is far more optimistic and promising than she gave herself credit for. Tessa's journey and authentic voice is one that readers will appreciate. Her tendency to turn a blind eye to the good in others and herself is a trait that many teens have in common. What makes this novel unique is its ability to bring the character to this realization without being preachy or condescending. Funny, thought-provoking, and at times heartbreaking, this story will entertain and inspire readers.-Lynn Rashid, Marriots Ridge High School, Marriotsville, MD Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Voice of Youth Advocates

Following a tragic dodgeball accident, Tessa finds herself wandering around the local mall. It was her favorite place, so she assumes that it is heaven now. She is led to the mall's lost and found and gets the chance to view her life through the lens of things that she has purchased, like a yellow cup, pencil box, bra, and prom dress. Each represents a chapter in her life-and in the book-that changes Tessa and often costs her a part of her self-respect, such as the yellow cups for the lemonade stand that she ran in grade school. Tessa was excited to earn money to donate for homeless cats. No one stopped at her booth, though, and her class voted to use the money that they earned to get new chairs for the auditorium. The prom dress made her feel beautiful, but it was ruined when her prom night ended in disaster. These disappointments slowly compound to make Tessa dislike herself and expect others to dislike her too. Looking back on them objectively, she is able to see herself as a regular person who is flawed but redeemable. Mass is the author of the heartwarming A Mango-Shaped Space (Little, Brown, 2003/VOYA April 2003) and Leap Day (2004/VOYA February 2004). Although this book is not as engrossing her earlier work or original as other life-after-death young adult books, such as Zevin's Elsewhere (Farrar Straus Giroux, 2005/VOYA October 2005) and Soto's Afterlife (Harcourt, 2003/VOYA February 2004), it is still an entertaining and thought-provoking story that teens will enjoy. The short, free-verse format might entice reluctant readers to pick up the book.-Stephanie L. Petruso.