Going Vintage

by Lindsey Leavitt

When sixteen-year-old Mallory learns that her boyfriend, Jeremy, is cheating on her with his cyber "wife," she rebels against technology by following her grandmother's list of goals from 1962, with help from her younger sister, Ginnie.

• ISBN10: 1599907879
• ISBN13: 9781599907871
• Publish Date: 26 March 2013
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 12 August 2021
• Imprint: Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children's Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

Going Vintage has been waiting for me to read it for way to long. It's a cute--if superficial--read about Mallory, who just broke up with her first boyfriend and is feeling quite lost. While sorting through some of her grandmother's belongings, she find some things that she believes will help her find her way: a list, a photograph, and a necklace. The is list is of tasks her grandmother wanted to accomplish during her junior year of high school in 1962. The photograph is of her wearing a cute dress (which Mallory also takes), and the necklace makes Mallory feel closer to her grandmother. What is she going to do with all this stuff? Go vintage, of course!

Going Vintage is essentially Mallory romanticizing the early '60s. She believes it was a much simpler time, since there was no technology. She has a bit of a grudge against technology at the moment, since she caught her boyfriend cyber-cheating. Then the whole thing went viral on social media before her phone started getting blown up with texts from strangers who are on her ex's side. Yeah, I'd want to take a step back too. But not all the way back fifty years. But completing her grandmother's list herself gives Mallory something to focus on. At least for a little while.

I actually really liked how a social media game prompted the breakup. Jeremy was addicted to this life simulation game, which he left open, and Mallory saw that he had an online wife! However, their relationship did blur the lines between online and real life. Mallory was right to dump him. It seems silly, and maybe it is, but these things happen. Not just to teens either. Then the internet rears its ugly head again when Mallory finds something on her mom's computer.

At the end of Going Vintage, Mallory does find her way but not in the way that she thought. Her plan doesn't go exactly to plan, but that's okay. She found out the truth about her grandmother's past, she told her parents how she was feeling, she found a boy who actually likes her, and she comes to appreciate modern technology.

Going Vintage was a light read. It wasn't very deep and the point it made wasn't very profound. It was a quick and light read perfect for taking a break between deep and emotional books.

[ladygrey]

This is a delightfully bright, fun young adult read with an emotional core.

I liked how balanced the story was - even though there were extreme emotions there was no character that was wholly bad. Everyone had their reasons for different things and the protagonist was pleasantly able to recognize those things. In the end I genuinely like all the characters. It still had the authentic voice of a teenager who sees and feels things in extremes or can be irrational but it was balanced by a great perspective and a lot of honesty.

Plus it was funny and cute and sweet. [a:Lindsey Leavitt|2945688|Lindsey Leavitt|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1354770137p2/2945688.jpg]'s style is both realistically idiosyncratic and authentic (because I could totally relate to the way her thoughts flowed and the ways she tried to convince herself of certain decisions or emotions)and heartfelt. It's so much fun to read.

Plus the romance is so charming and... I'm running out of synonyms for sweet and cute. But none of it is childish or simplistic. It's the like perfect young adult blend of cute and sweet with emotional resonance and honesty.

[Ashley]

BookNook — Young Adult book reviews

Going Vintage isn't exactly a mind-blowing piece of work. It's cute, it's fluffy, it's not quite perfect, and it's a good "in-between" book—meaning it's something you read in between amazing books, but it's not an amazing book in itself.

I felt like Going Vintage started out quite strong for me: it was fun, quirky, and I loved Mallory's voice. But towards the end, it definitely fizzled. I started getting a bit annoyed with Mallory and found her to be a stubborn, naïve girl. But before we dig into that, let's go back and start with the good.

At first, I loved Mallory. She has this thing with lists. She loves lists. She makes lists of things to do, lists of good boyfriend qualities, lists of goals.. everything. Overall, I felt like Mallory's voice really shone through the writing as fun and unique; it definitely pulled me into the story! And even though the whole "going vintage" thing was something I would never do, I kind of thought her little goal was cute, and I was curious to see how it would play out!

"Jeremy elopes with a flavor of gum and I'm the bad guy."

I also enjoyed some of the family dynamics in the book. Mallory's sister was a GREAT character and I liked the situation with Mallory's grandmother. But the family dynamics were half good and half bad. I loved the points I just mentioned, but then I felt like the whole mother/father situation was really underdeveloped. Throughout the entire book I felt like I couldn't quite figure it out.

Then, towards the end of the middle, Mallory started to piss me off. I hated she was OBSESSED with going online. Honestly, I'm not a big Facebook girl, so I thought it was a little pathetic how she felt like she needed "Friendspace" so she could know what her friends were doing at all hours of the day (practically her exact words). And at one point, she made plans with a friend, blew him off, and consciously made the decision to NOT call him and inform him that she wasn't going to make it. And when he asked why, she thought to herself: "I'm flaky, that's who I am." Um, what? She said it like it was so cool and normal.. but she just came off as a complete brat! Then she was PISSED at her mom for what I thought was an insignificant reason. So what if her mom blogs about her family? I honestly didn't think it was that big of a deal.. but maybe that's because I am a blogger?

There were also times when I felt like the story dragged a little. I think after a certain point, the story lost a little bit of its charm and I was just ready for it to end.

But that being said, this wasn't a bad book. It had some interesting parts to it, even though it wasn't exactly a groundbreaking book. It's certainly more of a "fluff" book, which is fine. Fluff books have their place too. It's cute, it's fun, and it's a little different. I just think this is the kind of book you have to be in a certain mood for.

[kimbacaffeinate]

3.5 sweet,fun and fresh. review to post soon