Sloppy Firsts (Jessica Darling #1) by Megan McCafferty

Feb 11, 2011 by Peeptastic

When her best friend, Hope Weaver, moves away from Pineville, New Jersey, hyperobservant sixteen-year-old Jessica Darling is devastated. A fish out of water at school and a stranger at home, Jessica feels more lost than ever now that the only person with whom she could really communicate has gone. How is she supposed to deal with the boy- and shopping-crazy girls at school, her dad’s obsession with her track meets, her mother salivating over big sister Bethany’s lavish wedding, and her nonexistent love life?

A fresh, funny, utterly compelling fiction debut by first-time novelist Megan McCafferty, Sloppy Firsts is an insightful, true-to-life look at Jessica’s predicament as she embarks on another year of teenage torment–from the dark days of Hope’s departure through her months as a type-A personality turned insomniac to her completely mixed-up feelings about Marcus Flutie, the intelligent and mysterious “Dreg” who works his way into her heart. Like a John Hughes for the twenty-first century, Megan McCafferty taps into the inherent humor and drama of the teen experience. This poignant, hilarious novel is sure to appeal to readers who are still going through it, as well as those who are grateful that they don’t have to go back and grow up all over again.

Sorry ladies! I didn’t like this one. Jess really, really annoyed me. I think I would have liked the book better if she had seen a psychiatrist and worked on her issues. She really just wasn’t likable to me and obviously I have a hard time liking a book when the main girl annoys me. She was mean to pretty much everyone around her. I felt bad that she treated her mom like she did. She may have had some legitimate reasons but she still had faults of her own. She didn’t mind writing everything in her journal, how hard would it have been for her to write her mom a letter explaining her issues with her???

And really, if she hated her friends so much, why did she hang out with them at all? Why couldn’t she find other friends? I kinda felt bad for Scotty. Pepe was adorable. I loved reading about their interactions. I wonder if they’ll end up together? I liked how they introduced Heath, I wanted to know more about him, too. I actually liked Marcus, he seemed really interesting. I’d like to know more about his life and what’s going on with him. Garsh, I liked all the guys – go figure!

One of the funniest parts was when she was talking about being a kid. Adults would try to talk to her and she’d yell BOR-ING and run away. HAHAHAHAHAHA.

In the end I just didn’t like this book. Too much language (ha, coming from someone who liked BDB!) and other things that I’d like to think teens aren’t doing. This book is definitely not recommended for teens. It’s focused on teens but could have easily been set in an adult/college world. Now that I think about it, would I have given it more stars had it been adults?? Who knows. Obviously this is another book that everyone else liked except for me so don’t skip it on my account, just use your judgment.