Rating: 
Summary: 5 stars isn't enough to describe this one
Review: five stars isn't enough for this book. Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings are by far the two best books i have ever read. Jessica Darling is quirky, cynical and hysterical, but she is also completely real, someone that almost every teenage girl can relate to in some way. she made me laugh and cry, and gave me be best therepy [money] can buy. for any girl that feels lost at times, or is sick of the high school heirarchy, this book is for you. i guarantee that by the end, you will fall in love with jessica, as well as bad-boy Marcus.After reading Sloppy firsts, i couldn't wait for my friend to finish Second Helpings so she could pass in on to me, and i ended up running out to buy it. I finished it that night at 3 AM. Meagan McCafferty had a magnetic hold on me, i simply couldnt put it down. since then, i have gone back and read the entire thing again cover to cover. i recommend this series to every high school girl. there is no sugarcoating in this story, you would swear Jessica Darling was the girl sitting beside you in your Chemistry class. i will just give you three words if you havn't already grabbed up Sloppy Seconds and Second Helpings... READ THEM NOW!!!
Rating:
Summary: A Great Buy! No Question About it!!
Review: Second Helpings is a story of realization, friendship and growing up. Aided by a childhood friend (and onetime Clueless Crew member) and another friend, Jessica dusts herself off after a heartbreak and pushes forward. A scene where she's told how Marcus feels about her is one of the best in the book. Marcus might be the best character in the book, being that he's always highly intelligent yet not always in control. Megan McCafferty shows us two characters who are both head and shoulders above their peers intellectually, but also both in need of friendship (namely each other's). No matter how intelligent Marcus is, he's almost unable to make Jessica warm up to him. Regardless of how vulnerable Jessica feels, she won't let Marcus inside, possibly out of fear for his motivations, intentions and past. Subplots in the story include Jessica's search for a college to attend, her struggles with the track team, the ongoing gossip trail of her friends (most of them from Sloppy Firsts), meeting up with her old crush, and her family. All roads lead to growing up, and each subplot is a part of that. It's a tightly woven story and while it's significantly longer than Sloppy Firsts, the two stories merge together well, and there's realistic character development. In short, it's a fine novel and improves upon Sloppy Firsts. I'd also like to recommend two other fun Amazon purchases -- the losers' club by richard perez, dogrun by arthur nersesian. Love these books! Mmmmmm!
Rating:
Summary: Rite of Passage
Review: Second Helpings is best summed up not as just a teen angst book, but a razor sharp angst book. Like Rikki Lee Travolta's rite of passage book "My Fractured Life" and Meagan McCafferty's first in this series ("Sloppy Firsts"), "Second Helpings" breaths with real life and fiery breath. Read "Sloppy Firsts" and "My Fractured Life" first, then follow it up with "Second Helpings" and you will not be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant! Amazing! Perfect!
Review: If I could I would give this book 20 out of 5. Like it's prequel Sloppy Firsts, Second Helpings successfully captures teen life. Everything about her life, I can relate to. I am 15 years old, around the age of the main character Jessica Darling in the first book, and when I read these books I feel like they were written about me. As cheesy as it sounds, the author just knows everything about teens. From Jessica's struggles with friends, her lack of sex life (or any romance for that matter) and pressure from her parents are as true to real life as they come. This book is so witty I found myself laughing out loud several times. Quotes jump out at me from the pages, urging me to write them down. In short, Jessica Darling used to be 'the girl that every teen girl could identify with'. After this book, she has now added to that, the title of 'the girl that every teen girls hopes to become.'
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: I loved this book. It was awesome! I loved the end or at least what happened near the end. It made me feel so much after the first's book's ending. I can't wait to read 'Charmed Thirds' or whatever McCafferty plans on titling it.
Rating:
Summary: BETTER THAN THE FIRST!
Review: this one was even better than the first! i absolutely loved it!
Rating:
Summary: Running Back for More!
Review: Second Helpings, the sequel to Sloppy Firsts, is not just another teen angst story, it is angst with an edge--and with a heart, a soul, and a sense of humor. The main character, Jessica Darling, is NOT darling--but she brilliantly finds a way to get along with the resident jocks, tramps, and poseurs at her high school--without creating a blip on their radar--that is except for Marcus McFlutie (one-time dreg, reformed to ironic model citizen)--who has her pegged and sees the beautiful, intelligent wit that she is. Jessica does for braniac virginity what Britney did for umm...Ack. Read the book!
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars doesn't even express this book
Review: I myself am a 17 year old highschool student. At this point, I have ventured off of the teen books and onto "bigger and better things" , but the compelling reviews made me pick up the first and second novel about Jessica Darling. I must say, reading these books, I find that this is the best portrayal of a teenager and her life than anything else ever written. It doesn't matter that I haven't read every book on the planet, it just cannot be topped. I may not think like Jess does, but it is the most accurate and intimate character that I have ever encountered. The subjects may seem crude to the older crowd, but it is those people who put this book down that do not really understand that, Megan McCafferty has the high school scene down. If you are a parent and are disgusted by this book, you are blind, this is real, it is not some over the top 90210 or Dawson's Creek prose, there is no exaggeration in how the teenage life of America is conducted today. **This is the real deal.** The growth of all the characters over the last years of highschool have the ability to impact one's life, while touching their heart, making them laugh, and even making them cry. I have experienced more high school settings in my life than most will, so if you do not believe this book could be such a marvel, pick both up, Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings, and read and find out for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: "The books to end all books".
Review: The novel Second Helpings, is the black and white speckled note book journal of a sixteen year old girl named Jessica Darling. in this diary, Jessica reveals her most private deep, embarrassing, and sometimes moronic thoughts, which are based on some of the characters (sara, manda,Len,Marcus) and her opinions about them. in this journal she learns to cope with the loss of her best friend hope, her feelings of being a social out cast at pineville high, Len Levy-her first real boyfriend, and...her first heartbreak.(He who shall-but couldn't-remain nameless).this novel is about a young girls journey of finding her self, through the pressures of the outside world, and making it on your own, even when the only person you thought understood you, is gone. its the most amazing book i've ever read and the character Jessica is so unbelivably real, that i feel as if i've made a new friend....it's abosutely a winner, and its changed the way i feel about life in so many ways, and i feel as if im not completly alone in the world. this novel is hillarious, and i gaurantee u will enjoy this...it will leave u feeling good, and realizing that life is what u make of it..so why not make it the best?
Rating: 
Summary: Loved the characters...but is this mainstream high school?
Review: We are a mother/daughter(13-14 year olds) book club that has been together for five years. We have read a wide variety of books from classics to contemporary young adult fiction. The discussion we had after reading Second Helpings was one of the longest and in depth ones we've had. The girls really liked the book, and didn't seem to take it as seriously as the moms. While we all loved the characters, especially Jessica, Marcus, and Gladdie, all of whom didn't conform to what the author portrays as the norm, we found the language to be a bit much at times. Actually, we were a little shocked at what seems to be mainstream for high school kids. No where in the reviews we read on Amazon was the strong language an issue. Is this what has become acceptable in our culture? It might be helpful to note that this book is a bit much for middle school kids and may be recommended for ages 15 and above. We thought this book would have been great to read and talk about when the girls were a couple of years older. Second Helpings is on the ALA List of Notable Books for Young Adults for grades 7+. This is deceiving. Grades 10+ would get a lot more out of this book.
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