Mall Hair Maladies by Kristy Jo Volchko is a retro comedy set in 1985. New girl Randi Gattano is taken under the wing of Tanya at her new school and it doesn’t take them long to strike up a friendship. They have so much in common – the big hair of the '80s, the ambitions, the dreams, boys, and Madonna. When they find out that their idol has scheduled a concert in Pittsburgh, their own hometown, they will do everything and anything it takes to get tickets for it. One thing after another stands in their way but nothing is going to stop them and hilarity ensues – along with a few valuable life lessons.

Mall Hair Maladies by Kristy Jo Volchko took me back in time to an era I remember only too well. It brought the 1980s back to life for me in vivid colors and a whole heap of memories, some I would rather have forgotten! This is one of those rare real laugh-out-loud stories that will have tears running down your face. I think that many of today’s youngsters will struggle to understand the humor here because things have changed so much, but they will see that the pains and the laughter of growing up are still there for teens. As well as a hair-raising hilarious tale, we also have a story that is grounded in reality, in life’s little lessons that we must all learn about friendship, values and family, and how they bond together to form the backdrop of our lives.

This story was written so well with fabulous characters that many of us will certainly identify with, even in some cases as ourselves. It’s a page turner, plenty of action with something new happening almost on every page, and I can only describe it as a romping good read. The ending? You won’t see it coming, I guarantee you. A real blast from the past that I thoroughly enjoyed.

The 1980s was a time of big hair, shoulder pads, leotards, jazzercise and get fit videos, well, that’s certainly how I remember it, but for two young thirteen-year-old girls in Pittsburgh, it was their time of coming of age, of discovering who they were and what really mattered to them. Randi and Tanya were absolute BFFs (best friends forever) and the one thing that bound them to each other, more than anything else, was their love of music. But more important was their complete and utter devotion to their number one cultural icon – Madonna. When Tanya realises that Madonna will be performing live at their local Pittsburgh arena, attending her concert becomes the be all and end all of these two young ladies’ lives. In Mall Hair Maladies, Kristy Jo Volchko brings us a story of friendship, love and - perhaps most importantly - hair, the one feature that '80s girls used to define their generation.

As far away from a teenage girl as it is humanly possible to be, I found Mall Hair Maladies to be an absolute breath of fresh air among the usual murder, destruction and despair that frequents most of the books I read these days. Author Kristy Jo Volchko has set out to capture the spirit, the determination and the maturity of young people and she has done it beautifully. It would be easy to dismiss the characters as frivolous teenagers with little or no responsibility, but Volchko beautifully crafted into the story some meaningful and deeper reflections on life, on karma, and most especially on friendship and what it means to be a true friend. I absolutely rode this fun tale all the way and although not a child of the eighties myself, I could see a lot of my own teenage years in their crazy adventures and their determination to do what they wanted to do. This is a wonderful book for young people especially, but also for those of us who are young at heart and tired of the continuing negativity that surrounds us in media, in film and in literature. Like Madonna, this book sings from its own song sheet and for that alone I can highly recommend it.