Sloppy Firsts: A Novel Reviews

• Light Fun With Some Good Lessons

  
  By AI9GAZ416TIM1 on 2001-11-19
  "Sloppy Firsts" is a light, fun book about some common issues that teen girls face. Filled with fun references to a lot of pop culture, this novel centers on Jessica Darling and her high school exploits. Jessica is trying to find her identity while dealing with the pressures of popularity, boys, and coping with the loss of her best friend Hope, who has moved away. Take a peek into Jessica's journal and share her ups and downs. Not too deep, but fun and entertaining.
  
  

• Teen angst at its best...

  
  By A2HR1Y2FK5KTWM on 2002-01-14
  Megan McCafferty's first novel, *Sloppy Firsts*, takes readers back to those angst-ridden days of high school when one wrong move can determine your status of popularity. I had so much fun reading the novel, I've already loaned my copy to my friends at work and told all my on-line buddies to grab a copy.

  Jessica Darling, not so aptly named, shows us a year in the life of a teenage nightmare. Her best friend, Hope, has moved away, leaving Jessica to brave high school with the rest of her friends, with whom she's not really that crazy about to begin with. Her ex-boyfriend, Scotty, still follows her around like a puppy dog, even though they dated three years ago and only for eleven days in the first place. And the dreg of society, Marcus "Krispy Kreme" Flutie, has chosen Jessica to bear the brunt of his mental games.

  I haven't read another book this year that made me laugh and groan in sympathy as much as *Sloppy Firsts*. This is definitely a keeper!
  
  

• Morally Perverse

  
  By A1ZNZ5484G5VPI on 2006-04-28
  This book was disgusting. No one should EVER let a highschool girl read it. It encourages premarital sex and drugs and underage alcohol consumption.
  
  The writing quality is very poor, as well.
  
  

• Sloppy and Sarcastic Equal First Place Novel

  
  By A3943KDQAJM85A on 2005-04-20
  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.
  
  
  

• No girl under the age of 16 should EVER read this book

  
  By A2EW1J4OFTET5Q on 2006-01-23
  Sloppy Firsts is a well written novel that has some GREAT irony in it and makes some good observations about life, but the picture that it paints about high school simply made me gag. I am a high school girl and thought that this would be a great book, but I was completely wrong. It gives the reader the impression that sex and alcohol are perfectly normal and the only way to be accepted in high school. Throughout the novel, the main character's closest friends (all 15) have had sex several times with several boys. And this is considered normal. Even though the main character "comes to the realization that she doesn't need sex" the rest of the novel clearly gives the opposite impression. It is funny and an amusing read, but NO ONE under sixteen, maybe even seventeen, should read this because it gives the completely wrong impression about high school and the acceptability of sex, drugs, and alcohol. If this is what is considered "quality literature" and a good example of high school life, I wonder what is becoming of the morals and standards of my generation.
  
  
• Not your sweet Traveling Pants book --Not for young teens!
  By AC9OFAVB14363 on 2004-06-11
  I bought this book because it was recommended if you enjoyed the Traveling Pants books. My 14 year old daughter and I loved both of the Traveling Pants books, but there is no way I would let her read Sloppy Firsts. I have never sent a new book back in my life, but after reading the first few pages of Sloppy Firsts, I decided Amazon could have this one returned. The language is foul and the sexual references are beyond the "young adult" genre scope. This is not a book a young teen should read. Save your money!
  
  
• Sloppy Firsts is a Great Book that everyone should read.
  By A3SVA6DJLBRRIX on 2002-10-29
  I found Megan McCafferty's novel Sloppy Firsts to be enjoyable to read. The way she wrote it in diary format worked well because it really explained the main character, Jessica Darling's problems the way a teenage would really write them in a diary. Usually first person books don't thrill me, but Megan actually wrote the first person text well. It was amazing how she wrote it so it seemed like Jessica was really there. It didn't seem like an author was trying to write a book as a teenager.
  In the middle of Jessica's junior year of high school, her best friend, Hope Weaver, moves away from Pineville, New Jersey, leaving Jessica alone. Jessica's so-called friends at school turn out not to be her friends. All her mother obsesses over is her older sister, Bethany's wedding, and the only things Jessica thinks she has in common with her father are her track meets. She feels alone most of the time so she likes to write in her journal. While she's obsessing to herself that she has no one to go to, the biggest "dreg" in the school, Marcus Flutie, starts to find his way into her heart. Jessica starts to do things for him that she wouldn't normally do, like peeing in a cup for his drug test. Marcus gets sent way and when he returns, he has a totally different personality.
  A lot of things happen throughout the summer leading up to her senior year. Jessica becomes better friends with her older friend, Bridget. When Bridget goes to California to try to become an actress, Manda spends the whole summer sleeping with Bridget's boyfriend, Burke. Jessica finds out that her friend Hy, a girl that moved to Pineville from the Bronx, is really lying about who she is. She isn't a girl who came to live with her aunt while her parents figured their marriage out. Hy really is a high class caste who does drugs and has sex.
  Jessica blew up about the SOS (Summer of Shame as they called Manda's "thing") in the cafeteria one day and created a cat fight between Manda and Bridget. Marcus and Jessica talked in the middle of the night, especially when Jessica broke her ankle and couldn't run anymore that season. She finally realizes her father and her have more things in common than just running. Since Bethany never comes home after her wedding, Jessica's mom finally started spending more time with Jessica. Time would only tell about Marcus and Jessica and Hope and Jessica.
  Megan used good imagery because I could see all the scenes and all the characters in my mind like I was really there. The plot of the story was good because it focused on the main things about the story and didn't go into much detail about little silly things that didn't matter. I believe that the moral of Sloppy Firsts is one day every thing can be bad, and the next day it could turn around. You never know what is going to happen. Don't judge someone and think you know everything about them because there is usually another side to that person that you might not think they had.
  This was a really good book and should be on anyone's reading list if they enjoy cute, funny novels about teens. Megan McCafferty did an amazing job writing this book, and I can't wait to read another book by her. Sloppy Firsts went into great detail about Jessica's problems. What was most interesting about it was that it didn't end like I thought it was going to end. When I read most books, I can usually predict the ending by thirty pages into it, but this book I thought I knew the ending and I wasn't even close. I can't wait for the sequel!
  
  
• For once, an honest book
  By A1ENO8TM4JJW2T on 2001-11-24
  "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.
  
  
• GREAT FUN!
  By on 2003-09-22
  SLOPPY FIRSTS is a great novel which I truly enjoyed reading. The narrator is Jessica Darling, a high schooler, who goes through many experiences and learns a lot along the way. What is Jessica to do when her best friend has just moved away, her dad obsesses over her high school track career, and her mom is too involved with her older sister's wedding to help her other daughter? Jessica must learn how to deal with all these things while tackling other problems which come her way, including her shallow friends, her relationship with one of her guy friends, and bad boy Marcus. This book is just great FUN -- you should definitely read it! Also recommended: THE LOSERS CLUB by Richard Perez
  
  
• Managing to keep hope in her life
  By ADM7CHQGQHXKU on 2002-05-27
  Hope, who is Jessica's best friend, the only one who really understands her, has moved away. No one seems to be able to understand why Jessica is making such a big deal out of Hope's move. Among the many challenges Jessica faces is one fairly consistent, annoying one: She can't sleep at night. So, Jessica writes in a journal which sometimes helps her to get some rest from her highly active brain. The journal is filled with the ups and downs of Jessica's life: How she deals with so-called friends, boyfriend-wanna-be's, her constant thoughts that run faster than she does at track competitions, and her misery of missing her best friend. Despite the altered friendship that Jessica has with Hope (they still keep in touch via e-mail and phone calls), Jessica manages to find a new hope for herself as she follows her heart, shows her real feelings, tries new things, makes mistakes and lives to tell about it, and learns that there are other people out there that she can call "friend." A very engrossing read that I found difficult to step away from and was sorry to finish.
  
  
• Worth Buying!
  By on 2003-12-14
  SLOPPY FIRSTS is a great novel which I enjoyed reading very much. The narrator is Jessica Darling, a high schooler, who goes through many experiences and learns a lot along the way. What is Jessica to do when her best friend has just moved away, her dad obsesses over her high school track career, and her mom is too involved with her older sister's wedding to help her other daughter? Jessica must learn how to deal with all these things while tackling other problems which come her way, including her shallow friends, her relationship with one of her guy friends, and bad boy Marcus.

  I found that SLOPPY FIRSTS told everything like it is. It reminded me of all of the problems that normal teens go through everyday. Jessica's experiences with friends, boys, and parents really sounded like an account of any teenage girl living in America today. It also dealt with many different issues at once, so that every part of the book was interesting. I couldn't stop reading it. There were so many situations where you wished something would happen and you had to keep reading to see what actually WOULD happen. In fact, I tried to put a limit on what I could read every day (needless to say, it didn't work because I finished the book in 2 days). I just found the whole book very interesting, and thought that the way it was told was very funny. I loved how Jessica was so sarcastic and comical with the way she described everything. This is a great book! I also agree with another reviewer who recommended THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez. These last two books are my favorite Amazon.com purchases for the year. Highly recommended!
  
  

• "Sloppy firsts" doesn't begin to describe it!
  By A24C9T4TXRVKPT on 2002-02-22
  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.
  
  
• Oddly Familiar
  By on 2002-07-30
  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.
  
  
• A Hilarious Novel!
  By on 2003-09-30
  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 Am Jessica Darling
  By A1WUPRPQBV4FB8 on 2006-05-08
  This story is not unique. I can be Jessica Darling. You can be Jessica Darling. Any 16-year-old girl in an American high school can be Jessica Darling. In other words, this is relatable material, focusing on a year in the life of a young girl dealing with mostly typical teenage angst. Jessica Darling, a self-proclaimed brainiac, deals with her best friend moving away, and trying to fit in with a group of girls she dislikes. Meanwhile, she struggles with her mother, who is obsessively planning her older sister's wedding, with a sort-of boyfriend, and a head-game happy boy genius who stimulates her intellect and likes her "as a friend."
  
  Jessica is wise beyond her years and that appeals to me since I've been out of high school for a VERY long time. It made me wish I were that smart when I was a confused high school girl. Overall I found her take on the world quite entertaining. The writing is fast-paced, crisp, and funny. I'm not sure I'd let my daughters read this, due to the frank outlay of sex and drugs in the plot; however, for more mature readers, it's a bit of a romp into a juvenile, chick-lit world that made me think, "been-there/done that."
  
  Michele Cozzens, Author of A Line Between Friends and The Things I Wish I'd Said.
  
  
• Not appropriate!!!
  By on 2004-07-19
  Wow! I thought this book was going to be good, but when I started to read it, I found it very unsuitable for people of any age! There is so much profanity in it that is not the least bit enjoyable! I haven't even finished it! It is defintely not worth reading! It encourages premarrital*sp sex, along with drinking, drugs, and other various things. So if you are looking for a pleasant and enjoyable read, this ISN'T the book!!!! I'm very disappointed in this author's work!
  
  
• A great new Diary book!
  By A2WZON0QPX7C9X on 2001-10-21
  Jessica Darling hates her life. Her best friend Hope has just moved away from her town leaving her all alone. Her only freinds now are her Diary and the fake "popular crew" who she cannot stand. Though she writes to her friend as much as she can she still finds it hard to go along with daily life. She has to deal with being the smart one, and her fathers pressure to be the star track runner. Her best friend Scotty has a crush on her and her crush, Paul, dosen't even know she exists. And to top it off she has a strange boy named Marcus following her around and it's been months since she had her period and she dosen't know why.

  After reading such books as Angus Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging and the Two Princess Diaries I have taken a liking to Diary style books. This one, I was very impressed with. Jessica Darling's story is not only entertaining but it's less PG style than other diary books making it even better for older teens like me. I found Jessica to be a great charecter and esay to relate to. Ms. McCafferty is working on another book about Jessica and I can't wait for it to come out. If you enjoy Diary books I really reccomend this!
  
  

• AMAZING
  By AMNFQXRGTTQ9C on 2002-09-22
  This is my all time favorite book. It's about Jessica Darling, a 16 year-old high school student who feels aleinated at school when her best friend moves to Tenasee. Jessica has a clear, interesting writing style that is very true to life. This book makes a lot of references to pop culture and I bet a lot of teenagers will be able to relate to it. The format is great too, much better than that of many diaries. The other kids in this book are so much like the ones in many American public schools nowadays. The way she talks about her school are so true to life. An example, about the prom: "...But enough girls are going with upperclassmen that I feel like a loser because no junior or senior boy wants to get me drunk off Boone's Strawberry Hill so he can cop easy sex off me in the backseat of his parent's SUV. Jesus Christ. What's wrong with me?" Jessica is very smart and witty, thus making this book fun to read. I would recommend this book for anyone between 13-100, but probably not younger because it deals with some mature themes such as drug abuse and teen sex. However, it's a great read and I'm looking forward to the second novel in spring 2003!
  
  
• Sloppy Firsts
  By on 2002-12-21
  First of all, I confess, I didn't finish this book. As I was reading, it seemed that the author used profanity and crude language because she thought it sounded cool and hip and trendy, rather than because it was necessary to portray the characters correctly, or to set the tone, or advance the plot. I bought this book for my 14 year old daughter, but didn't pass it along after what I read. Not only was it crude for no apparent reason, it also wasn't very good.
  
  
• Get a grip Jessica! Or therapy...
  By A1TFLNSIFNTZ8O on 2004-01-24
  There seem to be so many "diaries" about teenage girls these days. They are literally everywhere, all complaining about all the tough **** we need to go through. I've read quite a few of these type books and mostly enjoyed them. Except for this one, I hated it. The other diaries took an ironic look at the petty things girls worry about, while this one took them way to seriously. Jessica was irritating. The plot did not keep me interested, everytime I picked up the book I had to recap just because nothing was interesting enough to stick with me. SO if you are going to read a teen girl diary and are confused about which to choose, stay away from this one and choose something a bit less depressing such as the Georgia Nicholson books.
  
  
• god, what were they thinking? WERE they thinking?
  By A39UNGGU5NTXHE on 2004-02-08
  possibly one of the shallowest reads of the past few years, definitely one of the least enjoyable. yes, jessica hardly has it easy. being a spoiled, shallow girl suffering from ridiculous bouts of teen angst is a dirty job, but as the saying goes, someone must do it. i just don't want to have to read about it. the author manages to somehow twist and contort each and every worn out teenage cliche into looking like a worn out cliche posing as an edgy idea. jessica gripes about the obnoxious people in her life throughout the book. that's really about it. truthfully, with characters as one dimensional and hopelessly stereotyped as these, can you really blame her? also, jessica's writings are fantastically stupid and lacking in all originality and passion of any kind. would an 'incredibly smart girl' who's also a free-thinking loner sound like one of the kids writing to 'seventeen' magazine about boyfriends and zits? i think not.
  if you want to waste your time, or if you're in a masochistic mood, buy this book. if you must give it as a gift to someone, make sure it's someone you really hate. if they can think at all, they'll hate you for giving it to them after five pages of this vapid, vacuous read.
  
  
• High school hell has never been so funny
  By A2S426VHZRHPVJ on 2006-03-08
  
  Sick of chick lit about women with glamorous jobs in fashion, journalism, or TV media and their endless serial-dating in the pursuit of love? Ugh...Me too. Thank you Megan McCafferty for writing about somewhere we've all been - (Cue scary music) HIGH SCHOOL.
  
  I didn't buy this book in the "teen" section. I was surprised that many considered this a teen book. But who cares?
  
  I LOVED IT!!!!
  
  This book is SO funny. It completely transports you back in time to those high school years and all the things that you THOUGHT were SO important, back then...You know, the things that you look back on 15 years later and laugh about?
  
  Teens will read it and say, "Wow...that's how I feel!" and will love the book because they can relate with the angst. Adults will read it and thank GOD that time in their lives is OVER and laugh at the things they once thought were matters of life or death back then.
  
  Immature teenage boys, teenage social classes, long lost best friends, high school dramas, everything-but virgins, overbearing parents, older-guy crushes, unlikely first loves, bad summer jobs, evil older sisters, yearbook cliches, the pain of exclusion, friends who don't understand you...it's all in this book and dealt with through the eyes of a sarcastic young woman feeling lost in a world she can't control.
  
  It's like getting inside on the juicy gossip that only flourishes unabandoned in a setting like today's high schools. Step into the life of Jessica Darling - whose name suits her like a pit bull tied in a pink ribbon - and remember the soap opera called high school.
  
  
• GREAT diary book!
  By A2D1TWKFWALO5A on 2003-03-04
  This book was....indescribable. The author did an AMAZING job bringing in the right pop culture and making this book an enjoyable read for all.
  Jessica Darling, a brainiac who is a phemonenal runner, is depressed. Her best friend, Hope Weaver, has just moved away from their hometown of Pineville, New Jersey. Now Jessica is stuck with the "Clueless Crew", her group of friends that are anything but friends, Scotty Glazer, the jock that loves her, her sister Bethany's wedding to "G money", AND the mysterious Marcus Flutie. Find out what happens to Jess Darling in her junior year at high school.
  I absolutely LOVED this book! I read it in a day, Jess Darling is just so believable. The author's writing style was so honest, it just made you want to keep reading to see what other brillant pop-culture references came up next. (my favorite: Hey Alice, welcome to Wonderbreadland.) I think there is a Jess Darling in all of us. :)
  
  
• Sloppy Firsts <3
  By A3KA4W486MBC4U on 2006-04-18
  This book was overly amazing so much like my everyday life but better and more exciting...... this book was so interesting that most of my spring break was spent reading this book..... i am now getting second helpings and can't wait to enjoy another year of Jessica Darlings life and all the exciting things that happen to her.... even after lossing her best friend she still tries to make things happen... i understand because i just moved and would have loved to ahev a friend like Jessica writting me everyday....
  
  
  This book is spectacular, helps teenage girls realize that their lifes are not as bad as they seem and many interesting things can happen to you even when you dont expect them to.
  
  
  An over the top knock-out, you will laugh, cry, hate boys, love boys, miss your best friend, adn realize your life is not that bad
  
  *I loved this book*
  
  
• "Sloppy Firsts"
  By on 2003-04-18
  Being a 14 year old girl, I could identify with Jessica Darling in this book. I feel the same frustration and worry she does, but this book just didn't do it for me. The author simply tried too hard to write like a teen would, in my opinion. The recent pop culture references fell flat, especially considering that most of them relate to 'flash-in-the-pan' fads.

  The cliques came off as over-exaggerated. Of course there are cliques and groups at my high school, but none are so blatantly obvious and territorial as these.

  The characters were often extremely annoying to me, as well, especially Jessica. She came off as too self-righteous, passing off almost everything and everyone as a waste of her time.

  All in all, I thought this book was okay. It can be hard to find a good book for my age group, so this one will do. I will probably read the sequel coming out in a few days, but this book certainly didn't make a dent in my favorite book list.
  
  

• Sloppy Firsts
  By A172VRBP4BZXK6 on 2004-01-06
  Sloppy Firsts
  By: Megan McCafferty
  * * * * *

  Sloppy Firsts is one of the best books I have ever read! I would suggest this book to any teenage girl! That's probably the only bad thing about this book: guys won't enjoy or understand it as well as girls. If they do read it though, they would learn a lot about girls!
  Jessica Darling is the main character. She feels like she has no life after her best friend. Hope moves away. But she does have a life; a very complex life! Jessica thinks just like any other teenage girl: about friendships, school, her social life, her looks, and other things that you will love to read about. This book is basically Jessica's journal with some e-mails to Hope. So it is neat to follow along with her life as it happens.
  Whenever everything seems to go wrong in her life, Jess runs into Marcus Flutie. He becomes a big part of her life. She has always said that her boyfriend should be like a "male Hope". That's exactly what Marcus is because him and Hope are the only ones who truly understand her, but Jess just cant make herself realize that.....until the end.
  I believe that any teenage girl will be able to relate to this story. It will make you laugh out loud the whole time your reading. It also makes you think about your own life and how to handle your problems. You will find yourself trying to be a better friend and realizing who your true friends are!
  
  
  

• I loved this book!
  By on 2004-06-24
  This book was great! It written in a way where it's not sugar-coated. The main character, is in no way, perfect. Neither is any other characters. The book shows the vices of people, and how replusive some can be. Jess is incredible relatable to me. The writing style that Megan McCafferty uses is unique. Jess' vices make her more human than some other people in other books, but how she tells them through her journal makes you find a way to love her. Many of the parts of the book are parts that you can laugh out loud or to yourself. The way events are described in the story, often had me agreeing with Jess. Her angst-ridden personality drives her to do many unexpected things and can cause her to blow-up at inopportune moments. Some moments in the book, I found myself nodding along or thinking, "wow, this seems so familar." Megan McCafferty's writing is relatable but no predictable. The only part I didn't like was the ending, but that is no reason for me to decrease to rating over just one part. I highly recommend this book to anyone.
  
  
• like it or not, this is a real depiction of high school
  By A3AEN0C9UW3B3Q on 2004-07-27
  Wow! The person who said this book was inappropriate is way out of line. Like it or not sex, drugs, and alcohol happen in high schools everywhere and we should be glad to have a novel that kids can read and learn from. Readers of this book are lucky to have characters that have experimented with these vices and decided that they are not the answer and that they are not for everyone. The main character's best friend's older brother died from a drug overdose, sending his sister into a mind set that drugs are the worst thing in the world. The main character herself isn't into the "party scene" and she still manages to survive. Yes, the main character seems tortured and depressed at times, but honestly, isn't everyone in some way, especially in high school. Sex, drugs, and alcohol don't automatically make you "cool" like a lot of peer pressure in school today says, by reading this book kids become aware of that. If anything this book teaches readers that there are other ways than illegal activity to spend their time. The fact that the main character is guilted into participating in a sport that she hates by her father and her inability to get along with her mother are situations that millions of kids face themselves. Who honestly gets long with their parents in high school? Anyone who read this book can learn from these characters. I think this book is amazing and I think the sequel is even better
  
  
• Sloppy Firsts is far from "sloppy"
  By A2JNR9L50BX7UU on 2004-10-01
  High school can be a drag, we all know that. And for those of you who aren't swimming with the "upper-crusts," you can totally relate. This novel is a look into a not-so typical teen's world and her crazy stories about her unusual life.
  
  Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty is a first hand look into a high school student's life. Jessica Darling is not your typical, happy-go-lucky teenage girl though. She's a top of the line brain, who's also a track star in the making... sounds like all the other teen novels? You just wait. Her best friend Hope recently moved away from their little town of Newberry, New Jersey. She left her with a group of friends she has dubbed "the clueless crew" (she really only hangs with those wanna-be-bimbos because, according to her, without them she'd have no friends).
  
  Jess has to deal with her best friend moving, keeping her 99.66 GPA, track, her sister's marriage (which goes hand in hand with her mother's crazy behavior) , Scotty, the only guy who's actually interested in her, an unhealthy crush on Paul Parlipiano, her PMSing because of her MIA period (she's told it's from stress... THAT I can believe) and tons more of crazy problems she finds thrown in her face. Oh, and her biggest problem, Marcus Flutie.
  
  Marcus Flutie aka Krispy Kreme is the school's biggest dreg. He used to hang out with Hope's brother Heath, before Heath overdosed and died (which is the reason why Hope was flown out of New Jersey faster than you can say watermelon). Jessica would have never talked to the kid if it wasn't for her forgetting her locker combo (another result of way too much stress) and having to go to the office. When she trips over his legs in the office their interesting "connection" begins. In the nurses office a couple weeks later she helps him fake a drug test and everything begins to escalate from there. Marcus isn't her type, yes, but ever since that first encounter Jess isn't able to shake him from her mind. Could the class brainiac be falling for Krispy Kreme?
  Sloppy Firsts is an easy read and is written in a fun diary format. Jessica's witty and down to earth honesty is what kept me up all night reading. The novel is full of surprise situations, funny stories, and tales of this poor girl's crazy depression. Check out this excerpt: "I was feeling so optimistic that I made a vow to myself then and there: I will be normal. I will accept that Hope is gone. I will not be afraid of being friends with Hy. I will face up to the fact that Paul Parlipiano will not devirginize me. I will stop thinking that Marcus Flutie is trying to corrupt me. I will be normal."
  I'd say it's hard to put the book down once you start. It's just so funny and addictive. I think teen girls can best relate to this book, but it's honestly fun for all ages as well! I also loved this novel even more since it has a part two, Second Helpings (cause boy let me tell you, once you finish the first you'll be ecstatic that the story continues!) . So if you're looking for a great novel you can relate to or just a fun, easy read, read Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty. It has the perfect balance of drama, depression, and unpredictable situations to make you want more!
  
  
  
• Enjoyable enough for a parent and a teenager
  By A3P35EWB9J7MNV on 2001-10-02
  I was enjoying this book so much that I gave it to my 14-year old daughter to read. Needless to say, I didn't get it back any time soon. She loved it and recommended it to many of her friends. I loved that the main character wasn't a drug addict - did well in school - was active in sports - and didn't feel the need to have sex as an extra-curricular activity yet was still a "cool" kid and not an unpopular dweeb.

  We are both looking forward to the next novel starring Jessica Darling.
  
  

• Conair Pro Color Accents Temporary Hair Color Kit
• Conair MDF2R Facial Sauna With Timer

• Second Helpings: A Novel
• Charmed Thirds
• Fourth Comings: A Novel
• Just Listen
• The Truth About Forever