Weekend of Fear

by Virginia Nielsen

The jewels were hidden where everyone in town could see them but no one knew they were there!

Genres: Mystery

176 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1988

Reviews

[Grace Chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weekend of Fear?? More like Weekend of FUN!! Trapped in an 80's department store with 2 thieves after you while you get to munch on all the chocolate your heart desires, try on clothes and wigs, and do arts & crafts "HELP I AM A HOSTAGE" signs to put on the window? Weeeeeeee, how exciting!! 🤣🤣

Out girl Jacey just got handed like a million dollars worth of jewels for safe keeping from some cute dude named Brick (BRICK!!) at school, who has just fallen heir to them. He senses he's in trouble and being followed so he peaces out, leaving her with the jewels until God knows when. Ummmm, GIRL. If someone hands you millions of dollars worth of fancy jewelry for temporary safe-keepimg, you say NO. But here we are, locked inside the department store she works at, WITH the aforementioned jewels, with the fire alarms turned off and telephone lines down, and with 2 thieves who will stop at nothing to get their greedy grubby hands on the bounty.

I'm a sucker for a good "trapped in the mall" book, and this one did not disappoint. If I'm ever trapped in a department store with 2 bad guys after me, I now know to take off my shoes to be more quiet and clandestine. Also in a quick pinch with no time to spare before the thief spots me, I know I can jump on a platform and make like Kim Cattrall in "Mannequin". Que "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship, please.

4 out of 5 shiny expensive baubles for this one. Brick, you owe Jacey big time!! 💎💎💎💎

[Erica Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally, a Windswept that takes place in a MALL! 😍 Okay, so our heroine spends a majority of the book trapped and hiding in various store departments after hours, ~disguised in a bathrobe and wig (and later a velour jumpsuit!), sustaining herself with gourmet chocolates (SO MANY CHOCOLATES), but it is still v much enjoyable

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of my Windswept reads, read along with Sally & Matthew.
Honestly I think I picked this one because I love the trapped-in-the-mall idea. It’s a fantasy of mine since I was a kid and I still think about it tons, from what would you do in a zombie apocalypse? To what if you could take whatever you wanted in a shopping spree? Billie Eilish lives out the dream in her music video for Therefore I Am.
Jacey’s unfortunately trapped in the mall with a fortune in jewelry while jewel thieves stalk her throughout the weekend. She’s actually just really stuck inside a smallish department store with three levels - stairs on non-running up/down escalators. The tension really comes into play with the fact that she’s stuck in the store from Friday night (?) to Monday morning. In the space of time with daylight and nighttime hours, it actually does seem pretty hard to avoid the pursuers. Overall it was pretty tame and we got some interesting outfit choices, a lot of pilfered chocolate, and a smart hiding choice or two. Taking notes!

Scare level - 0
Romance - 2
Cheese factor - 9

Perfect for fans of silly 1980s teen thrillers 🥰

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I randomly remembered this book recently and was excited to find the name of it with an internet search of what little I remembered of the plot. I figure if I can recall a book from my childhood, it deserves 5 stars even if it probably wasn't actually that good. 🤣

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book when I was in Jr. High. This was the first time I ever read a book twice. I was kind of obsessed!

[Sarah Rigg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was actually first published in 1984, which you can discover through some Googling. I know I read it in 1985, part of a batch of books I ordered from Scholastic. These YA thrillers were brain candy and pretty forgettable.

[Mell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved this teen thriller back when my tween friends and I swapped books. (Babysitting money only stretched so far.) I remember the main character gets trapped in a department store over the weekend (or something), and has to constantly hide and be on the move to avoid the bad guys.