Sloppy Firsts

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Sloppy Firsts is Megan McCafferty’s debut novel, followed by Second Helpings, and Charmed Thirds. This novel is about the struggles that Jessica Darling, a smart athletic cynic, endures after her best friend Hope moves away in the middle of their sophomore year. In the novel, she has to deal with her obligatory friendship to girls she has known since grade school and has since dubbed The Clueless Crew. She also battles the usual peer pressure of teen years and immense parental demands. While doing these things, she shares a hilarious insight to the teenaged female life.

What make this more than the usual teenage angst novel are the relatively smart decisions Jessica makes as such things as drugs, alcohol, and sex are painted in a harsh light. There are some major issues that Jessica examines and deals with using a startling amount of tact. She tackles matters such as death, homosexuality, and living up to expectations. She talks about these issues with utter clarity and understanding. Several plots are implemented to take the reader along with Jessica in her journal-style writings, such as a budding relationship with someone totally unexpected and the high school rocked by an editorial by Jessica herself along with an exposé from a surprising author. This book is a poignant young adult novel that teaches positive lessons with hilarious diction about the mores of high school and being an individual. Girls, teenaged or above, will love this novel because they can relate to Jessica and her friends. Guys will enjoy it to understand a little better what is going on in the female psyche. With the two sequels and perhaps more installments to come, Megan McCafferty is sure to keep young adults continually reading and awaiting Jessica Darling’s next insightful and hilarious adventures.