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From Publishers Weekly
"Every day, I wait for that doomsday shoe to drop on my head and crush my spirit," laments New Jersey high schooler Jessica Darling. This hilarious, candid sequel to Sloppy Firsts opens the summer before Jessica's senior year of high school, when the precocious misfit is at a New Jersey academic enrichment camp whose competitive enrollment is belied by its acronym-SPECIAL. There, she meets Prof. Samuel MacDougall, a handsome writing teacher with "three novels, two works of nonfiction and one hot piece of ass to his name," who challenges Jessica to imagine the world outside of her native suburbia. She also runs into her former "crush-to-end-all-crushes" Paul Parlipiano (he's gay, of course), who introduces her to Columbia University-which she decides she must attend. Come September, Jessica works on her college applications, dearly misses her best friend, Hope, who has moved to Tennessee, and spends much of her time trying not to think about bad boy Marcus Flutie, who broke her heart last winter when he confessed that he only asked her out as an experiment. As her senior year progresses, Jessica starts dating Len Levy, her rival for class valedictorian, and becomes the subject of the school's new anonymous gossip rag. The material is typical teen fare, but Jessica is a captivating, intelligent, acidly funny-but always believably adolescent-narrator who is unsparing in her sketches of Pineville High "society" yet touchingly alive to her own vulnerabilities. Though the happy ending seems targeted to a YA crowd, adults will also enjoy Jessica's winning observations.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Jessica Darling, the lovably cynical heroine of Sloppy Firsts (2001), is about to begin her final year of high school. She is not looking forward to it. Her best friend, Hope, has moved away, leaving her with only budding-movie-star Bridget to confide in. She also is doing her best to forget Marcus Flutie, the oh-so-sexy guy who captured her heart the year before, only to break it. Jessica has resolved to apply to Columbia University, but after the 9/11 attack, she's doubly certain her parents won't hear of her going to school in New York City. She's flattered by the attentions of Len Levy, a hot brainiac, who just might be the one to drive Marcus from her mind, not to mention relieve her of her virginity. As the time to graduation ticks down, Jessica discovers she knows less about Bridget, Marcus, and the other people who surround her than she thought she did. Smart, tentative, and funny, Jessica is a likable and wry observer of the competitive, gossipy high-school world. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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I can't believe I used to do this nearly every day. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
I can't believe I used to do this nearly every day. Read the first page
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too,
By TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Second Helpings: A Jessica Darling Novel (Paperback)
In SLOPPY FIRSTS, Jessica Darling dealt with adjusting to life without her best friend, Hope, having feelings for the school rebel, Marcus, and finding who she really is as a person. You know, typical teenager stuff.In the sequel to SLOPPY FIRSTS, SECOND HELPINGS, Jess finds herself dealing with even more problems as she starts her senior year of high school. After spending the summer at SPECIAL, a summer writing camp for (you guessed it) special high school students, Jess decides that she wants to 1). become a writer and 2). attend the prestigious Columbia University in New York City. The only problem is that she now has the tough job of convincing her parents. With Len Levy, her brilliant competition for Valedictorian, crushing on her, and her determination to get over Marcus with only the help of her blonde Barbie doll neighbor, Bridget, Jess gets more than she bargains for as she struggles to plan her future and rediscover her past. In my opinion, SECOND HELPINGS is even better than the terrific prequel SLOPPY FIRSTS. Through her shocking and entertaining observations about everything from her high school peers to "hot" writing instructors, readers identify with Jess's plights as she tries to reach her dream of getting out of New Jersey suburbia. Another touching book, another realistic story, another fantastic read from Megan McCafferty. Reviewed by: Amanda Dissinger
5.0 out of 5 stars
ANOTHER WINNER!,
By Jessica Tibbs (Ashville, NC) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Second Helpings: A Jessica Darling Novel (Paperback)
SECOND HELPINGS is a story of realization, friendship and growing up. Aided by a childhood friend (and onetime Clueless Crew member) and another friend, Jessica dusts herself off after heartbreak and pushes forward. A scene where she's told how Marcus feels about her is one of the best in the book. Marcus might be the best character in the book, being that he's always highly intelligent yet not always in control. Megan McCafferty shows us two characters who are both head and shoulders above their peers intellectually, but also both in need of friendship (namely each other's). No matter how intelligent Marcus is, he's almost unable to make Jessica warm up to him. Regardless of how vulnerable Jessica feels, she won't let Marcus inside, possibly out of fear for his motivations, intentions and past. Subplots in the story include Jessica's search for a college to attend, her struggles with the track team, the ongoing gossip trail of her friends (most of them from SLOPPY FIRSTS), meeting up with her old crush, and her family. All roads lead to growing up, and each subplot is a part of that. It's a tightly woven story and while it's significantly longer than SLOPPY FIRSTS, the two stories merge together well, and there's realistic character development. In short, it's a fine novel and improves upon SLOPPY FIRSTS. Also recommended: "THE LOSERS' CLUB: Complete Restored Edition" by Richard Perez. Who says there aren't any good books!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow,
By Jen "Jen" (US) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Second Helpings: A Jessica Darling Novel (Paperback)
Probably the best book sequel I've ever read. It matches the first one with originality and style and doesn't lean too much on the first book for a storyline, but still manages to tie up all loose ends. A great, great read.
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