Amy's View: Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt

Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt
♦publisher: Bloomsbury
♦release date: March 26, 2013
♦hardcover, 320 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦stand-alone
♦source: ALA midwinter

When Mallory’s boyfriend, Jeremy, cheats on her with an online girlfriend, Mallory decides the best way to de-Jeremy her life is to de-modernize things too. Inspired by a list of goals her grandmother made in1962, Mallory swears off technology and returns to a simpler time (when boyfriends couldn’t cheat with computer avatars). The List:
1. Run for pep club secretary
2. Host a fancy dinner party/soiree
3. Sew a dress for Homecoming
 4. Find a steady
5. Do something dangerous
But simple proves to be crazy-complicated, and the details of the past begin to change Mallory’s present. Add in a too-busy grandmother, a sassy sister, and the cute pep-club president–who just happens to be her ex’s cousin–and soon Mallory begins to wonder if going vintage is going too far.

Review:  “Adolescence is the same tragedy being performed again and again. The only things that change are the stage props.” Page 284

List maker Mallory, swears off all things electronic after she finds her boyfriend cheating on her with an internet girlfriend; no cell phone, no computer, no internet and definitely no friendspace. Longing for a simpler time, she decides on living life as if it’s 1962.  

Finding her grandmother’s old journal, filled with lists, Mallory sets out to complete the one dated- Junior Year 1962. Seeming like the perfect answer to her cyber problems, she quickly takes on the challenge of “Going Vintage”. Following her grandmother’s uncompleted list of “Junior Year Back to School Resolutions”-1) Run for prep club secretary. 2) Host a dinner party 3) Sew a homecoming dress 4) Find a steady 5) Do something dangerous. 

Mallory sets out to be truly authentic, in her seer-sucker dress and broach circa 1960’s, to the rotary phone in her room, Mallory dedicates her life totally vintage.  Discovering that she may, once again, be confident enough to conquer the vicious rumors of her breakup. However, living vintage is not as easy as just checking off each task, tasks that aren’t so 2013.  

With the new list, and new simpler lifestyle, problems still arise.  Internet school projects, minus the internet, means hours after school at the library looking through old books. Along with the truly archaic resolutions of starting a pep club, hosting a soiree with an all 1960’s menu and all without modern conveniences. Not to mention, trying to find a steady, when the last thing she wants to think about is boys.  

With the help from her sister Mallory, the epitome of sisterly love, they do their best. They stay true to the rules and conquer not only the list, but gain knowledge, friendship and a little more self confidence along the way. Causing Mallory to discover more truth than she set out looking for and closer relationships than she started with.

While this book has its many promises, it fell short of the vintage flair I was hoping for. Although the storyline was truly original and sweet, I hoped for a little more authenticity. Still fun, contemporary and entertaining, this book highlights the wonderful and amazing attributes of sisterly bonds.  Totally authentic at times, from the menu choices for the dinner party, to the clothing that Mallory chooses to wear and draw inspiration from.  A book blended with great ingredients of humor, family bonding and discovering the real meaning behind completing a goal.

Find Lindsey Leavitt online:  Website  •  Twitter  •  Facebook

Purchase Going Vintage: Amazon  •  BookDepository  •  Indiebound