Sloppy Firsts: A Jessica Darling Novel

I came across this jem at a local thrift store for only two dollars. I didn't even bother to read the summary because I was in love with the bright colors and the way the 'mouth shaped origami note' seemed to pop out from the very typical young-adult girl book cover that I loved to indulge myself in, so I bought it. The book sat on my shelf for months until finally deciding to attempt to read it. In the beginning I couldn't seem to get into the book, reading maybe two pages into it before giving up and re-reading something else I already knew that I loved. However, when I started to read it, I could not stop. This story about a straight 'A' brainiac teenage girl was like an obsession. Her "diary" consisted of everything possible, including: a best friend who moves away and leaves her with a group of snobby and fake girls that she's grown up with but just can't stand, the boy who has grown up liking her that she sees as just a friend, her beautiful crush who doesn't know she exists, and the mysterious "krispy kreme" aka Marcus Flutie who keeps getting her into trouble. The sarcastic comments are utterly hilarious and hit so close to home I for one knew I had thought freakishly similar things in my own daily life. The angst and originality of the main character, Jessica "Not-So"Darling is one that I feel every girl can connect with and learn to love. Without a doubt my favorite book in it's category.

Reading the reviews on this site I was finally encouraged enough to buy this book. I'm glad that I did because it's hilarious. I can't remember the last time I read something so funny! If you like to laugh buy this book! I also recommend the following: the perks of being a wallflower, the losers club by richard perez

I enjoyed reading this book very much, after reading it I emailed Megan Mccafferty and she e-mailed me back, I thought it was really great of her. Anyway, back to the book, in my own words this book portrays the life of a "normal" teenage girl so accurately you almost have to wonder whether or not it wasn't written by a really 16 year old girl.Jessica's world is decribed wonderfully down to very littlest detail. As an avid reader, I have read most of the teen favorites, but I wouldn't consider this book a run of the mill diary format book about teen angst. This is because Jessica is intelligent yet not perfect, she has all of the traits that human being should have. For instance, she is blantantly honest with us in her"diary", yet she is very skilled at lying. Though she says she hates her body she is not vain, she is just dealing with normal everyday teen life. Yet, Jessica is purely fictional, I applaude Megan Mccafferty for her painfully honest portrayal of any real girl's life. I assure you that when you read this book, no matter what age you will feel like she could be your best friend, who knows?, maybe you'll see a litte of yourself in her.

If ever I have read a good book (and I've read uncountably many), then Sloppy Firsts is it. Megan McCafferty's talent is undescribable. She was able to write through Jessica, the main character, without over dramatizing high school life or sounding like an adult that is trying to sound like a teenager. She was right on target with Jessica's cynical, sarcastic outlook. Also, the things that happened to Jessica in the book are things I can relate to on a very personal basis. THIS STUFF REALLY HAPPENS! Being 17, I'm always on the search for a book I can relate to and this is it. Not only are her characters real and relatable, but Marcus, the genius mystery that seems to warm his way into Jessica's heart, is one of the most beautiful characters ever written. I fell in love with him, but then I had to remind myself that he is merely a character in a book. I recommend this book to anyone, young or old, but especially those who are looking to find out who they really are, because not only do you learn everything about these characters, but you learn a lot about yourself while you read this wonderful novel.

"Sloppy Firsts" is a novel that was a lot of firsts for me. As a seventeen year old, I have found in the past that I have had to read books like "The Fountainhead" and "Catcher in the Rye" in order to relate to a character in a book these days-because modern day writers have a tendancy to magnify what is either rare but interesting about teens that make the lead characters seem fake, OR they have teens worrying about things that real teens really don't have to worry about in the first place. But "Sloppy Firsts" is different. In it, the main character Jessica Darling is a human being; she's not perfect, she makes mistakes, and she's not a fake hug-you-every-time-she-sees-you type of girly-girl. She sees the world as it is, taking the good with the bad. It only took me about four hours to finish this novel. I won't call it a page-turner, because that doesn't do it any justice; it was more of a (I know this is going to sound cheesy)"self-discovery" thing for me. I mean, when I read it, (the day before yesterday) all I was looking for was SOMETHING to give me some comfort; I had no idea I would get so attached to the people in this book, and find myself relating to Jessica in almost every way. READ THIS BOOK. There is no way, no matter how young or old you are, that you will be dissappointed.