Jessica Darling

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Jessica Lynn Darling is the fictional protagonist in Megan McCafferty's first four novels: Sloppy Firsts (2001), Second Helpings (2003), Charmed Thirds (2006), and Fourth Comings (2007).

Witty and sarcastic, Jessica is known for her sardonic editorial views and entertains readers in a diary style format throughout the series. Originally, she is a track star, before sustaining an injury that causes her to lose some of her talent and all of her motivation.

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[edit] Likes and dislikes

Jessica is an avid fan of retro 1980s pop culture but isn't interested in current pop culture, and is especially addicted to the MTV reality show The Real World until a wake-up call causes her to have a falling out with the show. She is a fan of musical groups such as Morrissey and has an appreciation of Barry Manilow, the "showman of our time."

[edit] Residency and high school

Her parents reside in Pineville, New Jersey, where Jessica grows up before moving on to Columbia University, where she majors in psychology and graduates early. She attends Pineville High School and is voted both Class Brainiac and Most Likely to Succeed for Senior Superlatives. During her senior year, Jessica dates an intelligent, driven male named Len Levy, who participates in a band called Chaos Called Creation and goes onto attend Cornell University in hopes of becoming a cardiologist.

Jessica participates actively in her high school's newspaper, The Seagull's Voice, until she quits in senior year after a disagreement with her English teacher when the administration threatens to cut off funding for the paper if one of Jessica's more controversial articles is published. Before she quits, she writes several articles for the paper speculating on topics such as high school "hierarchy" and popularity contests.

[edit] Family

Jessica has one older sister, Bethany, who has a daughter, Marin, with husband, Grant. Grant is referred to as G-Money because he is all about money, not about family.

Additionally, her father's mother, who is referred to as "Gladdie" throughout the novels, plays a key role in Jessica's life even after she dies in Second Helpings, by leaving Jessica money to spend for her choice college, along with elderly advice to go with it.

Jessica has many problems in her relationships with each of her parents. Her mother, Helen, who almost always gets along with sister Bethany, is fervently against her daughter's choice to attend school in New York City, and does not approve of Jessica's boyfriend Marcus. She never seems to agree with Jessica. Jessica's father is solitary and spends most of his time either riding his bike or on his computer. Jessica often finds that it is very difficult for them to relate, but he seems easier to talk to than her mother. He is extremely disappointed when she quits track senior year.

[edit] Notable characters

Notable characters in her life include her mysterious love Marcus Flutie, her long distance best friend Hope Weaver (who moves to Tennessee in McCafferty's first novel, much to the dismay of Jessica), her neighborhood friend and early playmate Bridget Milhokovich, homosexual mentor Mac, the "PACO" activist Paul Parlipiano, and Percy (her high school friend and Bridget's fiancé).

Marcus Flutie
He was originally a druggie, and went from girl to girl. He was given the nickname Krispy Kreme, a reference to doughnuts, which is in term a reference to female genitalia. He was known for doing drugs. His childhood friend was Jessica's best friend Hope's older brother, Heath. Heath died from a drug overdose, which caused Marcus a lot of pain and Hope to move to Tennessee. This caused Jessica to blame him indirectly for causing Hope to move away from her, as well as the death of her best friend's brother.

In the fourth book of the series (Fourth Comings) it is also found out that Marcus Flutie also happened to be childhood best friends with Jessica's best friend, Hope. They also happened to be soul mates when they were younger and actually held a false wedding together in the fifth grade on the baseball diamond.

[edit] Books

  • Sloppy Firsts (2001)
  • Second Helpings (2003)
  • Charmed Thirds (2006)
  • Fourth Comings (2007)