Book Review and Giveaway: I Lost My Mobile At The Mall

Title: I Lost My Mobile At The Mall: Teenages on the Edge of Technological Breakdown
Author: Wendy Harmer
Pages: 262
To Be Released on March 1st, 2011
Book Website: http://www.mobileatthemall.com/


Kane Miller, A Division of EDC Publishing, is the US publisher of the book 

from http://www.girl.com.au/i-lost-my-mobile-at-the-mall.htm

I Lost my Mobile at the Mall

Teenager on the edge of a technological breakdown.

Australian comedienne Wendy Harmer needs no introduction. A playwright, TV presenter, radio personality, author, mother and staunch supporter of Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, she has just turned her hand to writing her first novel for teenagers. I Lost My Mobile at the Mall is fantastic, utterly believable story that has lots of laughs and surprising depth.

The novel stars fifteen-year-old Elly Pickering. After losing her mobile, Elly feels she is facing certain social death. Her best friend has moved hundreds of kilometers away, her other best friend is acting stranger than usual and her parents are distracted by ‘the Global Financial Crisis’… and everything’ To top it all off, Elly’s boyfriend is giving her the silent treatment and there are embarrassing photos of her on the web-which she can’t see for herself, as she can’t get to the computer either.

I Lost My Mobile at the Mall present topical issues such as cyber-bullying, peer pressure and finding your voice and your beliefs in a fun way. Random House Australia is also offering teens an exciting new way to extend the book experience via dedicated website designed especially to be viewed on mobile phones. In an Australia publishing industry first, readers can access the site via scanning the QR code published on the back cover of the book. This allows potential readers while browsing in a bookstore to enter competition, watch a video from Wendy, access social networking sites and read what others thought of the book- all before buying a copy.




My Thoughts


This is the perfect book for teenage girls. That is all I kept thinking about while reading this novel. I told my daughter if you were a teenager this would be the book for you. Elly, the main character cracks me up. She is real, she is authentic. What I liked about her was the fact that you gained the sense of drama that comes with growing up, but it was not whiny drama. She is in love, she has friends, she wants to fit in, but when her phones turns up lost everything falls apart. 


I found this to be quite a humorous story. I laughed quite a few times throughout the story. I also liked the message of the story. It opened up my eyes when I started to think about how kids today probably don’t have letters that they write back and forth anymore like we used to. They don’t write letters and send in the mail. There is something so personal and powerful in receiving a letter that these kids are missing out on. It has caused me to think about writing more letters from now on.


I hope to read more from this author as I think she has done a good job with her novel. Being that it was written in Australia I learned a few things. One, they don’t call 911 for an emergency, but they dial 000. That is crazy! I also learned a whole new language of text messages. Some of the phrases I had to look up to see what they stood for. Another sign I am getting old.


This book contains a great message, how to cope without technology. It addresses the realistic thoughts of a teenagers as their brains are filled with ADHD as they bounce around from being mad at mom, to sarcastic remarks, feeling hunger, and then wondering about the weather all at the same time.


Giveaway Details


I am going to give this book away to one lucky winner. It needs to be shared and spread around here in the US. So, here is how you can enter to the giveaway.


Leave a comment with the following information


1. Your email for me to contact you in case you win 
2. Become a follower +1
3. Share this on the web via Twitter, other sites, Facebook, etc. +1 for each one(please share links)
4. One of your favorite quotes +1


I will declare a winner on March 2nd


Good luck!

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