Customer Reviews

Sloppy Firsts: A Jessica Darling Novel

5 star:		(269)
4 star:		(47)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This debut novel offers up a fairly pleasing take on the high-school novel, replete with cliques of teenagers, sexual (mis)discoveries, angst and confusion, slang galore, and a high dose of comedy. The breezy novel takes the form of a year's worth of teenage journal entries, interspersed with letters to an absent best friend and various comic top 5 and 10 lists. Clearly McCafferty has read and absorbed books like Bridget Jones Diary and High Fidelity and applied the lessons to her own tale for a slightly younger set. It's a very apt novel in that not a lot happens on a day by day basis, and yet quite a bit happens as teenage Jessica struggles to find her identity in the social world of a public high school on the Jersey shore. Her main source of self-pity is that her supercool best friend moved away, leaving her with no one to hang with except the "Clueless Crew"-three blonde bubblegum bimbos. Her diary entries record the latter part of her sophomore year, the summer, and the first part of junior year.

Of course a lot of the book revolves around her own ambivalence to the boys on offer at her school. There's the nice boy next door type who's maturing into an idiot jock, there's a the geeky underclassman in her French class, there's her secret crush on a senior, and there's the strange case of the stoner guy. Added to the mix is the popular theme of parents who just don't understand and a body problem (no period for many moons), and it's got all the ingredients. Of course, like many teens of film and fiction, Jessica does tend to write and analyze way above most 15-16 year-olds, but since she's the class brain, it's at least plausible. And in any event, the book is so enjoyable, one is hard pressed to care.

McCafferty has created a wholly believable teenage realm, replete with all the right pop-culture references and icons. Especially funny are all the nicknames bestowed on various cliques, as well as the teen slang. The one quibble I have is that Jessica is a huge John Hughes fan, which seems a little unlikely as his movies (Pretty in Pink, et al) were really touchstones for those (like me), who were in high school 15 years ago. But that's admittedly nitpicking on my part, because the book is a definite pleasure. I would especially recommend it to parents of high school students as a tiny window into the world of their kids.

Ever get the feeling you're trapped in your current life, and won't be able to get out for, oh, all of eternity? Are you bored with your so-called "friends," bored with your so-called good grades, bored with your so-called life? Then you'll identify with SLOPPY FIRSTS, the witty, moving debut novel from author Megan McCafferty.

SLOPPY FIRSTS is the story of 16-year-old Jessica Darling, a girl who feels completely out of sync with everyone around her with the exception of her best friend, Hope. When Hope suddenly moves out of their Pineville, New Jersey, hometown, Jess feels even more depressed than ever now that she is forced to deal with all of the people in her life that annoy her without her best friend. Faced with vapid, materialistic girls at her high school, her dad's desire to make her the best track star that ever lived, and her new desire to be with the school's resident pseudo- intellectual bad boy, Marcus Flutie, Jessica records all of her hilarious, rambling thoughts in her journal for all readers to see.

SLOPPY FIRSTS is a creative and honest book about what normal teenagers experience in their day-to-day lives. It will please not only young readers, but also adult women who want to relive those cringe-worthy high school years, and look back on the memories. It's heartbreaking, fresh, and sure to become a classic among readers who like a little angst in their lives.

Reviewed by: Amanda Dissinger

Sloppy Firsts was an average book. I am not planning to read the other books in the series. It was funny at times, insightful into a teenaged girls mind but inconsequential. The book was good but i felt as if something bigger was going to happen. But then it ended and i felt as if all it had accomplished was to allow the reader to hear a whiny girl complain about her life without taking action to change it. The few events that happened in the book didnt seem to satisfy. By the end of the book, i felt dissapointed in the ending and slightly frustrated with the main charcter. I couldnt idetnify with her and just wanted her to get over her problems and stop wallowing in self pity.

Sloppy Firsts is a great novel which I enjoyed reading very much. The narrator is Jessica Darling, a high schooler, who goes through many experiences and learns a lot along the way. What is Jessica to do when her best friend has just moved away, her dad obsesses over her high school track career, and her mom is too involved with her older sister's wedding to help her other daughter? Jessica must learn how to deal with all these things while tackling other problems which come her way, including her shallow friends, her relationship with one of her guy friends, and bad boy Marcus.

I found that Sloppy Firsts told everything like it is. It reminded me of all of the problems that normal teens go through everyday. Jessica's experiences with friends, boys, and parents really sounded like an account of any teenage girl living in America today. It also dealt with many different issues at once, so that every part of the book was interesting. I couldn't stop reading it. There were so many situations where you wished something would happen and you had to keep reading to see what actually WOULD happen. In fact, I tried to put a limit on what I could read every day (needless to say, it didn't work because I finished the book in 2 days). I just found the whole book very interesting, and thought that the way it was told was very funny. I loved how Jessica was so sarcastic and comical with the way she described everything. Sloppy Firsts is a great book! Thanks also to the reviewer who recommended "The Losers Club: Complete Restored Edition" by Richard Perez, another FUN book I loved.

SLOPPY FIRSTS is a surprisingly good read. More often then not, when a 30-something author tries to write from the perspective of a High School student, the book is forced and full of odd witticisms that I assume are meant to be "cool" slang. This is not the case with McCafferty's novel. She writes honestly and offers an intelligent, insightful view into a teenage girl's mind. Jessica Darling is a realistic character. She is not a stereotype or stock character- she has different dimensions that teenage girls everywhere can relate to. She's smart, but she makes mistakes. She's friends with the popular crowd, but can think for herself. She feels pressure from herself, her family, and her peers. Jessica is the manifestation of the myriad of emotions that teenage girls often feel. She is one of the first realistic, stereotype-free teenage characters that I've ever seen. This alone is enough to impress, but McCafferty's usage of honesty and real-to-life characters paired with humor and an attention-grabbing storyline mystifies. There is only one (semi) fault within the book. The novel ends suddenly with an unexpected twist that can leave chick-flick loving saps a tad bit upset. At the same time, it gives hope to the predominant theme of friendship. SLOPPY FIRSTS is a fun, funny, and sincere book that is sure to be enjoyed. Along with "THE LOSERS' CLUB: Complete Restored Edition" by Richard Perez -- it was the best novel I've read in more than a year!

After reading this book, one thing really struck me, how much it reminded me of real life, most of the time anyway. The main character Jessica is about my age, and the book was pretty funny at times. However, I found that after I had read it, I wasn't really fulfilled, as if I wanted to read it again just to get something out of it. I have a habit of reading a book, just waiting for it to get good, and i guess that only sets me up for failure, especially with this book, mainly because the only real shock for me was the whole Marcus thing. I didn't really like how you could only see Jessica's letters, it seemed pretty one-sided, and some things mentioned in it were just unrealistic. But all in all, it was an easy read, pretty entertaining (the main character is pretty witty) and it does tell alot about the superficial world of high school, or cliques in general for that matter. I would recommend this book for teens who enjoy laughing how absurd the popularity contest of high school is.
enjoy

I loved this book! I finished it within two days, but only because I had to go to bed.I couldn't put it down.

Jessica Darling is the main character, and this is her journal after her best friend, Hope, moves away. Like any teenager, she's got angst and pent-up frustration, and as I was reading, I could relate to all the emotions she felt.

Also, I loved reading about Jessica and her growing relationship with a mysterious boy named Marcus Flutie. It's a shame about what happens at the end of this book but I cant wait to see what comes next on Second Helpings!!

You never thought a book could be so honest. It is the perfect book, well-rounded, complex and unpredictable, all while the subject matter is dead-on with teenage girls. A great, great book. Hilarious and well-written. The sequel is just as good, with a fresh, new storyline. Don't miss out on this book!

I LOVED this book, Jessica is the kind of girl that all teenage readers can relate to. she is smart, funny and she is real. Megan McCafferty did a great job with Jessica and the rest of the characters development. I loved Marcus Flutie and The Clueless Crew were hilarious. I recommend this book to everyone.
~I also recommend Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging series, The Gossip Girl series and of course, Second Helpings~

As a woman old enough to have a daughter the age of Jessica Darling, this story's heroine, I can attest to the fact that you don't have to be a teenager to enjoy and relate to this book. Jessica has deeper thoughts than most of the kids at her school. Her mother describes her as "complicated". She's a very mature, super-intelligent girl and a very likable character. I easily related to her feelings of loneliness and discomfort with her surroundings. She really can't stand her "friends" but tolerates them just to keep up the appearance of being normal. This also helps to keep her mom off her back. She doesn't understand Jessica because they are just totally different personalities. On a rare mother-daughter outing, she even tells Jessica that their relationship would be easier if Jessica were less complicated, like her older sister Bethany. Her dad only talks to her about track, and his pushing sucks all the enjoyment out of it for her. After Jessica's best friend Hope, the only person in the world who understands her, moves away, she feels like she'll never have a connection like that with anyone again. She finds one in the strangest of places: a "slutty", drug-using criminal named Marcus, a fellow student and former friend of Hope's brother. Their unusual relationship confuses Jessica and leaves the reader hanging on the edge of her seat, dying to start the sequel, Second Helpings. Although it would be most appreciated by girls, I recommend this book for anyone 14 and older.