Rating: 
Summary: Not so Sloppy Firsts
Review: Megan McCafferty's story of Jessica Darling is absolutely amazing. As a teenage girl, I've read many books supposedly *for* teenagers that fall into the same old traps: mushy, same old predictable plot, unbelievable characters. Megan seems to avoid all of these traps with an amazing ability to keep you in the story. All of the characters are written so realistically- You'll know every single one of these people.
Sloppy Firsts is a must read book for anyone who doesn't quite know where they fit in. Or for anyone who has their own p.o.v. and needs exposure to what life is really like. Everyone can get something out of this book. You will NOT be sorry if you read Sloppy Firsts. So pick it up today.
{P.S.- The sequel, Second Helpings, is just as good if not BETTER. Once you get started, you'll never wanna stop :) }
Rating:
Summary: A great all-around book
Review: I loved this book and it went really quick...three was so much in my life I could relate to in this book. It seems the expereinces Jessica goes through in the novel are things every girl can relate to. I have lent this to so many people and they all relate to it in some way. Its a great, colorful novel thats fun to read. I also recommend the sequel, Second Helpings, as well as See Jane Date by Melissa Senate and Carrie Pibly by Caren Lissner.
Rating:
Summary: Superior YA fiction!
Review: As a career librarian, I've been reading YA fiction for many years, and with considerable appreciation when it's well done. This is McCafferty's first published novel, and the field obviously has a new rising star. Jessica Darling (sometimes referred to as "Jes' Darlin'," to her irritation) is a fifteen-year-old New Jersey sophomore, a straight-A (and Type-A) student, a track star, insufficiently physically developed in her own critical opinion, and without a boyfriend. She's also minus her best friend, who has moved to small-town Tennessee, leaving Jess without allies in the struggles of adolescence. Her three other longtime friends are shallow, skanky, and socially calculating; she loathes them but still hangs out with them, in preference to being even lonelier than she already is. Her computer-professional, bicycle-addicted father seems to be interested only in her athletic performance, while her twin-setted Mom can think only of her eldest daughter's impending wedding. She worries insomniacally about everything, including the fact that her period is five months late -- and she's not even sexually active. Should she follow her cautious attraction to Marcus Flutie, a "Dreg" who is intelligent but always in substance-abuse trouble? (In a weak moment, she pees into a cup for him.) Can she deal with her hormonal fixation on senior knockout Paul Parlipiano? Will Hyacinth, apparent hip refugee from "the City," become a new friend -- or just another one of Them? McCafferty seems to have turn-of-the-century teenspeak nailed (I'm taking my granddaughter's word for that . . .) and she certainly knows how to create characters about whom the reader will care. And, given the obvious strengths at the core of Jessica's personality, a have the feeling she's going to be all right.
Rating:
Summary: In the words of Sara/Bruiser: Like Omigod! This book was gr8
Review: Wow I absolutly positively L O V E D this book, and its sequel: Second Helpings. I read them both in one week (the week after school let out, which says a lot because thats all I did.) One week for 2 books is extremely good 4 me b/c i read slow, but i was xtremely motivated. now that they r over i am just looking 4 another way 2 stay in the jessica darling world of pineville. i miss it so much and im afraid to indulge in2 ne other book b/c i know it could never measure up to megan mccafferty's interpretation of the teenage world. i'm counting down the days until sixteen candles comes out even though theres only one story in there. it will be an escape for me from reality. thank you megan. thank you thank you thank you. (o yea, i think im in love w/ marcus flutie 2!! haha, no lie.) MUAHZ READ THIS BOOK U WONT REGRET IT!
Rating:
Summary: Stereotypical--on pupose!
Review: You may have read some of the reviews that bash this book for having too many stereotypes. They claim it is "unrealistic." I beg to differ. For anyone that actually remembers high school (and this may only apply to the under-30 crowd, unfortunately), it was nothing *but* cliques and categories. Jessica Darling is witty and realistic in her commentary about her fellow high schoolers. Who didn't have a name for the separate groups of people on campus? If you really don't know where I'm coming from with this, you probably won't enjoy this book. Jessica is an intelligent youth who makes mistakes (as we all did and do), but still has a smart way of looking at the world. I think she knows she's whiney, but you have to remember that she is a teenager AND this is her journal you're reading. Most journals are whiney. Deal with it. Oh, and about the character "Hy" being offensively portrayed as a shallow and stereotyped "ghetto speak" black girl: Hello?! Am I the only one who read the description of her OLIVE skin? Also, this author (through Jess) has no problem with saying when people are black. Just look at her friend Pepe. If Hy were black, Jess would've said so. Which makes Hy's ghetto-speak very funny, if you think about it. I've also read the sequel to this, "Second Helpings," and am really looking forward to a third novel. If there is one coming. I know I'm not yet ready to say good-bye to such a snarky, sarcastic female voice in the fiction world.
Rating: 
Summary: If you've ever been a teen aged girl....
Review: Sloppy Firsts is the perfect book for summer; poignant, fast and funny. Our teen aged narrator Jessica Darling has a sharp wit and just enough ennui to make her often cringe worthy high school experiences hit home. If you are currently a teenager you'll love this book, and if you've ever been one you'll laugh and be touched remembering the wonder and heartache of those years. I will certainly pick up the sequel, Second Helpings based on the smile this one brought to my face.
Rating:
Summary: Sloppy Firsts
Review: "Sloppy Firsts" is by far one of the greatest books I've ever read. Megan McCaffery has really outdone herself on this book. I read the entire book in less than a day. I couldn't put it down! The main character in the book, Jessica Darling, is one of the most relatable characters I've ever read about! I give this book 5 stars, as one of the best I've ever read.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, someone gets us!
Review: I read this book within a time span of three days. It was such an amazing read, capturing the thoughts of a brilliant young woman caught in the middle of growing up. The main character, Jessica Darling, goes through several ups and downs, and learns how to cope with her best friend moving and finding herself. I recommend this book for anyone who has ever felt lost/alone in a world full of mainstream everything...it'll make you feel as though you aren't so different after all.
Rating:
Summary: Yet Again; Another Message That Your Not Alone
Review: Sometimes the world feels like its crashing down on you. It feels like you are just about to fall apart. That everythings gone and there's nothing left to live for. That's how Jessica Darling felt before Marcus, the school rebel, pushes his way into her heart and life. If you need a reason, you can sit and wait for your Marcus or you can read this book and have hope that your Mracus is there, waiting for you and not you for him. Learn, grow and just BE with Jessica as she grows and learns too. And don't forget, you're not alone.
Rating:
Summary: Sloppy Firsts, great book
Review: I loved this book "Sloppy Firsts" I thought it was slow moving at some points, but near the end had me reading it so quickly so I could get to the second book, "Second Helpings" I highly recommend this book to any high school or college girl who is searching to find who they are and what they are about.
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