Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (August 28th, 2001) Reading Level: Young Adult Paperback: 298 pages Series: Jessica Darling #1 Rating: 3 of 5 stars “My parents suck ass. Banning me from the phone and restricting my computer privileges are the most tyrannical parental gestures I can think of. Don’t they realize that Hope’s the only one who keeps me sane?.. I don’t see how things could get any worse.”
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?
Review:
I really wanted to like this book. I had heard it was great and I had high hopes it would be. I just couldn't get into it. I kept waiting for it to really grab me but that just didn't happen. Sloppy Firsts is from Jessica's POV. She is a 16-year-old girl who just had to deal with her best friend moving. She doesn't know how to be happy anymore, or how to deal with her other friends at school.
The idea of this book was a good one. I usually enjoy stories where young girls are faced with new obstacles, especially when a lot of humor is involved. While this book is funny at times, it wasn't enough to really make me all that interested. I guess mainly I didn't understand why Jessica surrounded herself with people who she really didn't like. But Jessica was a really funny character.
She had a lot of great qualities and I completely believed how devastated she was after Hope moved. I also really liked her interactions with Marcus. Marcus may have had issues but he did seem very realistic. Their slight friendship seemed to really make Jessica question a lot of what was going on around her. I loved that. The situations were also true to what many teenagers go through: friends leaving, crushes that lead to heartbreak, questioning what you really want.
I think that if the story wasn't portrayed as journal entries I would have definitely been more invested in the book. But I just mainly felt like it was being told to me instead of really seeing the story from the character's point-of-view. I'm very visual and I just didn't get enough of that in this book. Megan McCafferty did do a great job portraying the obstacles a typical teenage girl goes through, and I could really see the differences in Jessica's personality by the end of the book.
I know a ton of other people who enjoyed this more than I did so don't count it out! It does have a lot of perks.
Recommended: Contemporary fans looking for a cute, coming-of-age story.
This week's guest reviewer is Sandy from Pirate Penguin's Reads! Welcome Sandy!
********************* Synopsis:When a mandatory course forces Fiona to “try the knot” with super-jock Todd Harding, she’s convinced life could not possibly get any worse. Until moments later, when her long-time crush is paired with her arch-enemy (otherwise known as Todd’s obscenely hot, slightly sadistic girlfriend). But that’s nothing compared to her best friend’s fate – a year with the very shy, very goofy, very big Johnny Mercer. A series of hilarious pranks and misunderstandings leave Fiona wondering: is there something her supposed “best friend” hasn’t told her? Could there be more to Johnny Mercer than a deep voice and an awesome music collection? And perhaps most intriguing of all, is it possible that Todd Harding could actually have a heart – and a brain – beneath his pretty-boy exterior? The idea of being forcibly "married" to someone you hate for one year is a rather scary thought isn't it? This is precisely what happens to Fiona Sheehan, our geeky, sarcastic, I-don't-give-a-crap-about-you-think-of-me! main character. Paired up with her "husband" Todd Harding, a popular male cheerleader, Fiona doesn't think it could get any worse — but of course it does — when Todd's gorgeous cheerleader girlfriend gets Gabe Webber, Fee's long-time crush for a partner. With her diploma dangling in the process, Fee's stuck with Todd and forced to endure one year of "holy" (hellish) matrimony. Within the first few pages I was hooked; Fiona had such a strong, witty personality that it was hard to ignore her (which basically means I couldn't put the book down!). In high school, everyone's guilty of being judgmental and Fee's no exception. She makes quick judgment calls on everybody she knows but Todd calls her out on it. The bantering and pranks between these two were hilarious! Whenever Fiona was especially snarky, she reminded me a little of Jessica Darling (who is the queen of snark). I kept laughing out loud when they'd have their fights. Every character had a great personality, even the minor ones like Sam, the little girl Fiona babysits. The added element of a surprise romance made the story even more enjoyable. But when it comes down to it, A Match Made in High School is really about Fiona learning to see people for who they are and not what they seem to be (a high school lesson that everyone learns at some point). Kristin Walker managed to create this funny, wildly entertaining story with a good lesson to be learned. This is easily one of my favorites of the year and definitely pre-order worthy:) ********************** Thank you Sandy for such a wonderful review. Please visit her at Pirate Penguin's Reads and read her original review. I'm definitely taking your advice and putting this on my TBR list!
BBAW is finally here and I am so excited to welcome Chachic from Chachic Book's Nook.
You're from the Philippines! That is so cool! Are there other book bloggers in your area? If so, what are they! I'd love to visit their blogs! I'm so glad you think it's cool that I'm from the Philippines! There are actually a number of book bloggers here. I only started blogging this year but I noticed that there have been Filipino book bloggers for several years and more and more are popping out lately. I noticed that we didn't have a site that brings together all Filipino book bloggers so I decided to create Filipino Book Bloggers (http://filipinobookbloggers.wordpress.com/) . I know the name isn't that creative but I'm happy to get to know some of the book bloggers out there. We're having our first meet up soon and I'm really excited for that.
That's so awesome about the meet up! I hope it goes awesome! Because English is your second language, is it hard to read YA novels written in English? What about writing the reviews? Here in the Philippines, we actually use English as the medium of instruction. The Philippines was colonized by the United States and it was Americans who established education in the Philippines. All of our subjects, starting from nursery up to college, are taught in English except for Filipino and a couple of other History subjects. That's why English books aren't translated to Filipino over here and I'm comfortable with reading books and writing reviews in English. Also, I've never mentioned this on my blog but I actually work with Americans. I'm a research analyst for a Business Process Outsourcing company and I report directly to people in the US.
As an international book blogger, what differences in book blogging have your noticed between international and US book blogging? One of the main differences is we don't get review copies. International shipping is really expensive so I understand that publishers would have a hard time sending review copies and it also takes a couple of weeks for the books to get here. I've never received a copy for review and most of the other Filipino book bloggers that I've talked to also haven't received any review copies. The books that I review on the blog are given as gifts, bought, or borrowed.
On a positive note, I love it when US book bloggers are amazed with some of the things that I mention in reviews like how I've never seen snow or how we don't have public libraries over here. You don't have public libraries! Wow, that really makes me appreciate my library. You host a meme called "Want Books?" where readers can highlight books that they want but can't have either to it not being released in their country yet, not having the money for it, a far-out release date, etc. Where did you come with the idea? When is your weekly post up? How many bloggers generally participate? I love the photo too! Are you familiar with the meme Waiting on Wednesday (WoW), which is hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine (http://breakingthespine.blogspot.com/) ? In WoW, you can feature upcoming releases that you're eagerly waiting for. I used to use that meme but then I realized that it would be better if there's a meme that lets you feature books that have already come out that you can't get for some reason. Instead of complaining about books not being available here, I thought it would be better if I could create a meme to highlight them. So that's how I came up with Want Books. I put up a post every Saturday and anyone can participate. It isn't a popular meme though and only a handful of book blogger friends have participated. I don't mind because I don't think I'll ever run out of material for the meme, there will always be books in my wishlist.:)
I see that you have a giveaway ending TOMORROW! What is it and who is eligible? Yes! I have a Mortal Instruments giveaway but sadly, it's only for residents of the Philippines. All you need to do to enter is tell me what review of mine is your favorite and why. Learn more about it here. We both read a lot of YA, what books would you recommend to struggling young adult readers? Oh gosh, I have so many recommendations! Here you go:
Fantasy The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith Sasharia En Garde duology by Sherwood Smith The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley Graceling and Fire by Kristin Cashore His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud The Changeover by Margaret Mahy
Fairy Tale Retellings Beauty by Robin McKinley The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
YA Contemporary Fiction Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols Jessica Darling books by Megan McCafferty
Historical Fiction Sunbird, The Lion Hunters, The Empty Kingdom by Elizabeth Wein A Countess Below Stairs, The Reluctant Heiress and A Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotson Thanks for all the great recommendations! Wow! I'm going to steal one of your questions because it was so good! What is your "good read" preference — contemporary YA, epic fantasy, urban fantasy, science fiction or dystopian? I read read books from all of those genres but I have a special place in my heart for epic fantasy.
What are your comfort reads? Books that you go to on a rainy day for a reread when nothing seems to be going your way. The books that I listed in the recommendations section are my favorites so they're really my comfort reads. I've reread most of those several times already.
What book are you pinning for — that you can't wait to get your hands on? Oh so many! Check out my Want Books meme because I have weekly posts on books that I'm pining for. Although if you're asking for books that are yet to be released, I can't wait to get Bayou Moon and Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews, Pegasus by Robin McKinley and Seer of Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier.
Chachic, thank you so much for stopping by! It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know you and discovering your blog. Readers, please remember to stop by and visit Chachic at Chachic Book's Nook.
