Author : Charles o " Connor
Format : Paperback, 112 pages
Published May 11th 2004 by Grosset & Dunlap
edition language : English
Synopsis
Locked in The Bratz's trip to the mall turns into a nightmare when they accidentally get locked in at closing time. The mall's a very quiet place at night-too quiet. But then they realize they can crank up the music, grab some eats and try on whatever they want...party time Maybe an overnight at the mall isn't such a bad thing.
Review
“Having a fantasy where you are trapped in a mall and able to go into any stores, try on anything, listen to anything, look at anything, etc, isn't that bad of a fantasy, and it's probably fairly common.
On the other hand, actually doing that, with the consequences and probabilities of what would happen, is not so good.
Thus, this story is fine if one reads it in the lines of being a total fantasy, and has a total “suspension of disbelief.” The girls are trapped in a mall overnight, and spend the night trying on clothes and makeup, eating, listening to music, dancing, etc. They really have a major fun time doing so.
However, the moment one starts to actually think about such a situation, a bunch of problems with the story appear.
1. The people who work in the store would certainly have checked the store before closing and found the girls trying on clothes.
2. The girls didn't use their cell phones. Even if one had been not able to acquire a signal, surely at least one of their phones would have.
3. The pay phones don't work. But, each store would have its own phone, and all the girls would have to do is go into a store and use the store's phone. Unless every single one of those, by happenstance, doesn't work either.
4. I don't know if every single mall in the country does this, but the ones I do not about have metal mesh-like things that they pull down at night, closing the front of the store. In the story, only the store the girls are in seems to have a front, which was locked; none of the others do. Very unrealistic.
5. What about internal security? The only security the girls run into at night are three dogs. Wouldn't there be various alarm systems that would notify the local police that someone was in the mall at night?
6. Most, if not all of the stores, would have a back room where merchandise is delivered, opened, and prepared for sale. Most, if not all, of those rooms would have an emergency exit. Granted, that would set off an alarm, but at least it would be a way of getting out of the mall.
7. The girls turn on the mall lights. Wouldn't at least one patrol car be in the area at some time during the night and notice lights being on when they shouldn't be, and then investigate?
8. The girls do put everything back, and they don't damage any of the clothes, etc. However, they do get something to eat in the food court. That means they are using materials from the restaurants and they don't pay for them.
9. The girls are very, very popular. There's a major dance at the school, and not one of the girls shows up. Wouldn't their friends think something was wrong and try to call them? If they couldn't get the girls, wouldn't they try to call their parents?
I think the story should have been done as some type of collective dream or something, rather than an “actual” event that would have all these problems, and probably others.”
Reading level : young reader
Rating 3 stars
Review ini disertakan dalam challenge book in English , and Finding New Author
