Perfect Fifths by Megan McCafferty

******You've been warned: Spoilers contained herein!!

And now finally, we come to the fifth and final book in Megan McCafferty's Jessica Darling series. Jessica hasn't seen or heard from Marcus Flutie after finally breaking things off three years earlier when he asked her to marry him. As she is hurrying to catch a flight for Bridget and Percy's wedding(!), Jessica literally runs smack into Marcus. Utterly unprepared for any such meeting, Jessica and Marcus both find themselves questioning their past relationship and if fate truly had a hand in bringing them together once again or if it was just plain dumb luck.

Alrighty then. Y'all all know how I've gone back and forth on this series and Perfect Fifths is no different. Basically, I am divided right down the middle regarding this fifth and final book in the Jessica Darling series. On the one hand, I loved how Megan McCafferty tied up all of Jessica and Marcus' loose ends. The shift from Jessica's first-person tell-all narrative to a third person narrator expertly showcased the idea that this them was telling 'their story.' And unlike the previous novels, I never felt like we were missing out on details since the entire novel only spans about a day. It was a very subtle yet effective way of underscoring the differences in their current relationship. And really, I don't know if there is anyone out that who wasn't thrilled to finally (FINALLY) get a glimpse into Marcus' head after all these years. His insecurities and left-over feelings for Jessica made him so much more human (and therefore likable) than anything else he had done previously as the Game Master.

And how refreshing it was to see Jessica become this confident, if not overworked, responsible grown up. Imagine my surprise to discover that she now went out of her way to try to make others feel better during conversations rather than the 'say anything and to heck with the consequences' method of her youth. It's about time you learned a little thing called compassion honey.

On the flip side, there were numerous details about this book that grated my nerves to no end.

1. The pretentious dialogue. Man, oh man. I get it that Jessica and Marcus are geniuses or something, but did it really have to get beaten over our heads every second of their entire conversation? After a while even I got pretty fed up with having to turn to wikipedia to sort out their latest esoteric reference.

2. Marcus as the ultimate desirable man. Frankly, his unthinkable antics in the previous books pretty much sealed my ambivalence for this guy. Also, I really didn't need the near constant reminders on his incredible sexiness. Seriously. Is there a breathing female that Megan McCafferty writes that doesn't drool over and/or shed her clothes after only a glimpse of him? And that shower scene did nothing to help. Totally awkward and borderline icky.

3. Jessica's breakdown after Sunny's accident. Okay -- rewind. I am so crazy happy that Jessica has finally found a 'calling' in life - something she could put all that passion and extra brain-power towards yet her whole reaction to Sunny's accident was very odd and never quite developed to its fullest potential. Not to mention her utter unwillingness to talk about it with anyone. And I'm not even going to go into Sunny's far-fetched miraculous recovery.

4. Jessica's freaky dream sequences. I can't really even begin to explain these besides to say...whaaaaat?!?

So overall, am I glad I finished reading this series? Yes. I was glad to finally have some closure for Jessica and to actually see her turn into a mature, responsible adult (sometimes I truly worried folks). But there were still many, many moments of sheer frustration. So there you have it. Die-hard Jessica (and Marcus) fans will probably love this one, but I'm okay with returning it back to the library.

series reading order:
~ Sloppy Firsts - my review
~ Second Helpings - my review
~ Charmed Thirds - my review
~ Fourth Comings - my review
~ Perfect Fifths

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
Great Books and Fresh Coffee review (a clever review in haiku format)
S. Krishna's Books review 
The Story Siren review
The Reading Zone review
Wondrous Reads review
Write Meg! review

book source: my local library

Fourth Comings by Megan McCafferty

Finally finished with her expensive college experience, Jessica has no clue what to do with her future. She's freelancing for an obscure journal, which doesn't even begin to cover her student loans - and looking for that perfect job to come her way. Although Jessica and Marcus have reunited after his long absence, she's feeling particularly unsettled in their relationship especially with Marcus' newest decision to attend Princeton University as a freshman at age 23. And most confusing of all is that Marcus wants her to marry him (!!!). Understandably, Jessica asks for time to consider this crazy proposal from her soul mate and is given a week to come up with an answer. To help explain all her different reasons for her final choice to Marcus she decides to keep a detailed journal for the next week and therein documents all her experiences with job hunting, family drama, her relationship with friends, and most of all her conflicted feelings for Marcus.  

Even though I had gotten really fed up with Jessica (and Marcus) in the previous book, I decided to give our heroine one more chance. And I am so glad I did! Fourth Comings returned to everything I loved about Sloppy Firsts - mainly Jessica's intense daily observations (not the filtered time-warp jumps we were getting before) and time away from Marcus to just be herself. Yes, she talks about Marcus and their past, but he's not physically around for the week written about in Fourth Comings. Frankly, I still was pretty fed up with Marcus from the previous couple of books and was very glad to see him take a backseat to Jessica's running dialogue here. Fourth Comings is simply Jessica living her life without anyone trying to pull the strings. Trust me, she's drama enough to handle without all that extra added in. 

As far as development goes, I felt like in Fourth Comings, Jessica and Marcus both finally grew up a bit and really got what they needed. Oh, they are both still very young and make stupid choices - but they seem to recognize that now. There was so much character growth and overall development that I couldn't help but be enthralled with Jessica's insightful, no-holds-barred narrative. It's like Jessica especially finally became comfortable enough in her own skin to be able to do those things she knows are hard but that are still best for her. And although it couldn't have been a more difficult road for Jessica to walk, I fully love the ending Megan McCafferty crafted. Hard as it was for her to decide, it was time and I'm glad the author was able to take that crucial step.

series reading order:
~ Sloppy Firsts - my review
~ Second Helpings - my review
~ Charmed Thirds - my review
~ Fourth Comings
~ Perfect Fifths

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
Liv's Book Reviews
Great Books and Fresh Coffee review
Oops...Wrong Cookie review
Reading and Ruminations review
The YA YA YAs review

book source: my local library

Second Helpings & Charmed Thirds

A few months ago I read and absolutely fell in love with one Jessica Darling from Megan McCafferty's Sloppy Firsts. From page one, I fell in love with her humor, her sarcasm and of course her brains. And so I blithely tripped along to the library hoping for more of Jessica (and of course, Mr. Marcus Flutie). But then the unthinkable happened. I got bogged down in the middle of the series and really had a hard time continuing. But luckily I did. Very luckily in fact. Second Helpings and Charmed Thirds were really my Achilles heels in this series so I decided to do a double-mini review in hopes of off-setting some of my disappointment. 

Also, let's talk about these covers! I'm so in love with the titles first of all, but I'm also head over heels for those unique little objects on each cover that specifically relate to the story. The t-shirt, the postcard, etc. All very clever and intriguing.

***Just be warned - if you haven't read this series, there WILL BE SPOILERS. I hate to do that, but to talk about one book to the next, you gotta know the plot developments.

Annndddd.... here we go!

After learning of Marcus' betrayal and vowing to never speak his name again, Jessica prepares for her senior year by getting the heck out of dodge...er...Pineville by enrolling in a teenage writers camp called SPECIAL. SPECIAL doesn't really turn out to be the escape Jessica hopes. As if lusting after her writing mentor weren't enough, Jessica is now stuck for the next six weeks dealing with a bunch of hormone-crazed or suicidal teens she has nothing in common with. That is until she accidentally turns in her actual journal instead of her class-required journal for credit and her mentor is suitably impressed. Embarrassed by his praise but full of new ambitions for college and life after Pineville High, Jessica returns to face her senior year and the one boy she wishes she'd never laid eyes on. That is until he turns her world upside down. Again.

Since I fell hard and fast for practically every single thing about Sloppy Firsts I couldn't help but be a little disappointed with Second Helpings. There were tons of great things about this book - Jessica is dead-on with her descriptions of the sheer terror every teen faces in trying to decided what college to attend (I mean really, it's only your ENTIRE FUTURE we're talking about here people) and the odd, bittersweet goodbyes of any senior year. Every bit of that was totally relate-able and hilarious as always. It was Jessica's somewhat subtle change in tone and her sex-crazed mission that put me off this time. Instead of finding her voice snarky and irreverent, she became whiny and pessimistic and downright annoying. But that's not what really got me - it was her whole 'I'm not with Marcus, so I'm gonna be with somebody' motto that lead to her ill-advised quest to lose her virginity with Len. To be honest, I was actually a bit bored until Marcus entered the picture once again - so of course, I was delighted with the ending, it was just a lot of the details leading up to the big finale that left me with mixed feelings on this one.

****

Finally free of dull Pineville, Jessica makes her way to prestigious Columbia University full of wide-eyed enthusiasm. Well as much enthusiasm Jessica is capable of when her boyfriend Marcus is also heading off to college, just all the way across the country in California. And once again, Jessica, who over-thinks everything, begins to over-think their odd relationship. Especially after Marcus begins sending cryptic one-word postcards does she feel like losing her sanity. But financial and family troubles quickly send Jessica into college-overdrive mode and there isn't much room left in her life for anything else.

If I was mildly annoyed with Second Helpings, then Charmed Thirds frustrated me to no end. For the first half of the novel Jessica spends all her time complaining to Marcus that she doesn't want to be 'that girl' who doesn't have a life without her boyfriend (BUT SHE IS). And then the second half is spent complaining about their lack of communication - but doesn't really do anything about it - and that she's too poor. I had truly been looking forward to Jessica's descriptions of college life and the people she meets, yet Megan McCafferty completely blanks out that entire period of Jessica's life. Charmed Thirds covers her entire three years at Columbia yet never once do we hear about it. The narrative simply stops and starts around each school holiday break or return to Pineville. Not exactly what I was hoping for. 

Maybe it was the almost complete lack of Marcus in this installment but I also became seriously disillusioned with the Game Master. Perhaps it was Jessica's narrative influencing me, but I was so annoyed with his vow of silence and his choice to go to 'cowboy camp' that allowed him no outside contact for two years -- yet never having the decency to break up with Jessica. Grrr. I'm sorry, but little to no communication over an almost three year period does not a relationship make.

But don't worry, I'll be back in a couple of days with my thoughts on Fourth Comings (which are MUCH nicer, I promise!).

series reading order:
~ Sloppy Firsts - my review
~ Second Helpings
~ Charmed Thirds
~ Fourth Comings
~ Perfect Fifths

book source: my local library

Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty

A while back my good book friend Chachic asked me to participate in her very fun We Love YA feature and at the end, recommended several YA books that I hadn't yet tried. Among this great list was the Jessica Darling books by Megan McCafferty. This past week I was in great need of a happiness-inducing, pick-me-up read and so finally made my way to Sloppy Firsts. Let me tell you, it was a match made in heaven.

After the sudden departure of her best friend Hope, Jessica Darling is left floundering with a group of boy-obsessed girlfriends she hates, otherwise known as the Clueless Crew. Jessica doesn't expect to find any compassion for her situation at home as she's felt like an outcast her entire life - especially now that her perfect sister has turned into a world-class bridezilla planning her upcoming nuptials with the help of Jessica's equally incomprehensible mother. Running track and attending a school physically incapable of challenging Jessica academically seem to function merely as ways of taking up her time. That is until the "Dreg" Marcus Flutie begins showing up unexpectedly - and always with unnervingly accurate descriptions of Jessica's thoughts and personality. Feeling like she's losing herself to insanity, Jessica enters into a confusingly, bizarre 'relationship' with the one person who seems understand her completely although she can't even begin to figure him out.

Okay seriously folks. I am in love. Sloppy Firsts was like a revelation to me. Coming in at a time when I desperately needed to find some humor I was rewarded with a kindred spirit in Jessica Darling. I love this girl to pieces. She's smart, she's odd, she has the craziest sense of humor, she obsesses about the randomest situations, and tends to mope when things aren't going right in her life. And no topic is sacred - everything comes out in this blindingly honest teenage soul-searching diary for answers to questions on love, family, friends, and life in general. All of Jessica's random musings are quote-worthy -- but I particularly love her descriptions of trying to deal with insomnia:

My insomnia kicked in three months ago, right after Hope told me she was crossing the Mason-Dixon Line. Since then, I've learned to hate every inch of my body.

I'll be lying there in the dark urging myself to sleep, when I'll suddenly become excruciatingly aware of how sweaty my thighs get when stuck together in the fetal position. So I have to shift them. Then my thighs are okay, but a lock of hair falls across my forehead and I can't stand the weight of it on my brow. So I brush it aside. Then my forehead is okay, but the toes of my right foot get all cramped up. So I have to crack them. Then my toes are okay, but I get an itch on my butt. So I have to scratch it...

This goes on for hours with every conceivable combination of body parts and complaints. I've tried warm milk, counting sheep, even the I-dare-myself-to-stay-awake reverse-psychology trick. Nothing works. I've stopped short of Tylenol PM because I don't want to be a person who required drugs to get in and out of bed. As if Heath weren't enough of a warning, I've seen too many Behind the Musics to let that happen.

There is only one good thing about my middle-of-the-night restlessness. I have some crazy-ass dreams that are really easy to remember when I wake up.

Who has not experienced any or all of these symptoms during restless nights? Jessica nails each to a T and it simply cracks me up to no end. And as for her dreams... Well, you'll just have to read the books to find out what happens. hehehe. Plus the girl makes lists. And charts(!). I am so head over heels here it's not even funny. I can't begin to thank Chachic (and the many others) who suggested I give these books a go, because I adore Jessica. And Marcus. And now I am dying because I want to find out (LIKE RIGHT NOW) what happens between her and Marcus. An added bonus is that I hear the books actually continue through Jessica's college days -- a fact I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am about. So few good YA books follow characters as they get older and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for Jessica (and of course, Marcus).

And as a totally random aside can I tell you how happy these titles make me? First of all, they are just plain witty, but secondly -- NUMBERS! Scrambling around, trying in vain to identify the correct reading order for a series is always a major headache, so I must thank whatever genius decided to put the book number as part of the titles. My little OCD heart thanks you. I just wish every other series would follow suit.

series reading order:
~ Sloppy Firsts
~ Second Helpings
~ Charmed Thirds
~ Fourth Comings
~ Perfect Fifths

Because Everyone Likes a Second Opinion:
BookNAround review
Forever Young Adult review of the entire series
Liv's Book Reviews
Reading and Ruminations review

book source: my local library