It's a Mall World After All; and The King of Attolia

It’s a Mall World After All by Janette Rallison, 2006
Charlotte works at the mall spraying perfume she thinks is too ridiculously expensive to think anyone should buy some. After seeing her best friend’s boyfriend flirting with another girl, she thinks her friend has a right to know and tells her about it. Expecting her to be sad and needing comfort, she is surprised the next day at school to find Brianna and Bryant still together. Bryant’s best friend Colton backs his story and continues to, even though Charlotte continues to have her suspicions. After contriving an invitation to a prep school party to spy on Bryant, she confronts interference from Colton who convinces her to leave Bryant alone in exchange for $1,000 from his dad’s company to fund a sub-for-santa service project for a school of a couple of kids she’s met at the mall, one of whom needs new shoes for his mom. Is that deal morally reprehensible? Has she sold her soul? When Colton asks Bryant to say he’s sorry for teasing Charlotte incessantly during junior high and he does without hesitation, can Charlotte start giving him the benefit of a doubt about this other girl?

I thoroughly enjoyed the story. It read like a long short story and captured the self-doubt and awkwardness of high school. It was a funny story about letting go of past resentments and forming relationships of trust.

Some additional memory-jogging tags: Bloomingdale’s. Santa and his elf. Sub for Santa. Service projects. School dance. NHS (National Honor Society). Economic disparity. Country club set. Private prep school. Wrestling. Shopping habits. California.


King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner, 2006
Though Eugenides gets homesick sometimes and wants to return to his homeland of Eddis, he wants to be married to the Queen of Attolia. But just because he is married to the queen doesn’t mean he wants to be king, and his attendants don’t want him, either. They play constant pranks on him, ranging from the annoying, such as serving food he can’t manage with just one hand, to the dangerous, such as releasing the dogs as he is passing. But he is still the Thief of Eddis with incredible skills at getting to the bottom of intrigue with a matching patience to wait until the truly guilty can be exposed and dealt with. With the unwitting help of the young and naïve guard Costis, Eugenides dismantles a threatening baron and his family, and succeeds in winning the respect and loyalty of the queen’s, and now also king’s, guard.

I was enthralled with this world and thoroughly enjoyed these stories with its political maneuvering and battle of the wits.

Some additional memory-jogging tags: Nobility. Court. Amputee. Kings and queens. Greek-like gods. Loyalty. Assassins and assassinations. Poison. Political intrigue. Sword fights. Homesickness. Playing the buffoon.